This document suggests methods for estimating the age of a cesspool.
The age of a cesspool can assist an owner in evaluating its condition and planning for its maintenance or replacement.
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A cesspool combines the septic treatment tank and absorption system into a single component.
Several readers have written to ask if it is possible to determine the age of a cesspool A cesspool is pit into which sewage is discharged. Solids remain in the pit, effluent is absorbed into soil around the cesspool. Cesspools have a limited life and capacity, but they have been in use since the late 1400's (the beginning of the Renaissance).
While cesspools have been used for a long time, since the development of the more modern septic system (tank and drain field) cesspools may still be in use at old properties or even at newer ones (where permitted by local health departments) if there is not enough room for a conventional leach field.
Estimating the age and condition of anything which is buried is tricky, but not completely impossible. An estimate of the age of
a cesspool may assist the building owner in planning for its maintenance, repair, or replacement.
Recently a reader asked if one could estimate the age and usage of a building by evaluating its cesspool. I was somewhat doubtful of this approach as cesspools have been in use for such a long time and have used such a variety of materials. But it's a very interesting idea, and certainly bounds can be put on the age of a cesspool by noting how it was constructed. The following details suggest other means for estimating the age and perhaps indirectly the condition of a residential property cesspool.
Here are a few suggestions about estimating cesspool age, all of which can be answered only by collecting historical information about the home and perhaps by excavating to inspect the cesspool system.
Hand made cesspools
of stone, brick, or something else could be of any vintage unless we can recognize the probable age of the materials themselves. Same for cesspool covers.
Pre-cast concrete cesspools:
Finding a "new" pre-cast concrete (and safer) cesspool does not mean there was not an older one there previously, but the new unit is likely to be less than 20 years old.
*** SAFETY WARNING *** digging up or poking into old septic systems or cesspools risks discovering a collapsing and very dangerous system. Dig and poke and excavate with great care and using a professional and not with anyone working alone - falling into a collapsing cesspool can be a quick and ugly death.
In Summary: watch out for cave-ins, keep away: cesspools, particularly older site-built cesspools present a very high risk of collapse from an unsafe cover or following some types of service involving pumping, aeration, or hydro-jetting.
Watch out: Adults or children should not walk over or even near cesspools because of the risk of falling-in followed by collapse, a virtually certain cause of death. If the presence of a cesspool is known or suspected at a property its location should be roped off to prevent access and it should be investigated by a professional.
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