InspectAPedia®   -   Search InspectApedia

Photo of septic tank sludge and scum layer being broken up prior to septic tank cleanout. Septic System Article Index

Install, inspect, diagnose, repair, maintain

Septic System articles master index:

Article Master Index for information about all aspects of septic systems, onsite wastewater disposal, septic tanks, septic fields, soakbeds, drainfields, soakpits, soakaway beds, cesspools: design, installation, troubleshooting & repair.

Page top photo: our septic contractor is excavating the cleanout cover of a concrete septic tank in preparation for pumping out, cleaning, and inspecting the tank - part of regular septic system maintenance.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

Index to Septic Drainfield & Distribution Box Information

To find what you need quickly, if you don't want to scroll through this index (begins at ARTICLE INDEX after reader Q&A) you are welcome to use the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX to search InspectApedia for specific articles and information.

The index to our septic systems information articles is found just below these

...


ADVERTISEMENT



Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-09-22 by jeff white

I am in need of a new septic field to replace old undersized system. I am getting various opinions on gravel trench vs "newer" chamber systems and am having trouble deciding which to go with. I would install gravel system myself to save money but only licensed person can install chambers so i think costs will be similar, so I'm more concerned with which will last longer?

I have sloped property and system as currently designed will have to step down from one trench to the next, filling first chamber before spilling down to next. I'm worried that would overload first trench especially in the gravel-less chamber system. Any opinions as to what would be best system to use?

On 2020-09-22 - by (mod) -

Jeff

The life and failure rate of both types of systems depends principally on

1. correctness of original design vs actual use or loading of the septic system

2. the correctness of every step in the installation (e.g. did the contractor drive over and compact the soil so that it won't perc?)

3. the maintenance provided by the property owner - in the Index of articles you can see details in articles discussing SEPTIC SYSTEM LIFE and SEPTIC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

That arm-waving done, the claim is that either system will work properly; the footprint or area size will differ.

Sorry but I don't have data on chamber or gravelless or "no-rock" septic life on sloped sites but in the index you will see what we know about chamber or graveless septics.

OPINION: I'd not install a chamber system before knowing that the soil had adequate perc rate.


On 2020-05-24 by Bsrbra - Are septic system smells and gases dangerous?

If you smell gasses in your home and septic smsll out side.. can that be poison to breath. It comes and go strong at night

On 2020-05-24 - by (mod) -

Barbara

Methane gas from a septic system can be explosive depending on the concentration indoors, and there may also be airborne pathogens.

It's a potentially unsafe and unhealthy condition.

It also sounds as if your septic system has failed - discharging sewage to the surface, and is additionally unhealthy and in most jurisdictions an illegal condition.




On 2019-09-23 by C.Seh - Bought a home, owner didn't know where the septic field was but "never had an issue" - septic floods in wet weather

I need advice on an issue. We purchased a property 2 years ago not knowing where the leach field was. The owner was not sure either. They never had any issues. during that time, we found a fenced off area with some fruit bushes growing in it.

We though it would be a great area for a garden, already fenced off from the deer. We cleared the bushes and tilled the area with a tractor.

Everything was working great until the heavy rain this year and now the tank is not draining into the leach field. We thought there may be a plug in one of the outlet pipes so we dug up the outlet side of the tank to expose the pipe.

Turns out, that the pipe takes a 45 degree off the tank and heads directly into the garden area. The outlet pipe is 5'11" below grade, so the leach field must be around 6' deep (no pump, gravity fed). Question is; Did I just destroy my leach field? If not what steps can I take to restore it.

On 2019-09-23 - by (mod) - septic floods and leaks when it rains

C

Watch out: First off, in my OPINION, when you're buying a property and the owner doesn't know where the septic tank or fields are, most likely the septic system has never been serviced (see SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Tank_Pumping_Schedule.php) and that in turn means that the system is going to be in questionable condition or worse.

Next up, bushes might, depending on species, send down roots into the drainfield pipes and trenches - in the index above you'll find advice on PLANTING OVER THE SEPTIC system

Next up, driving a tractor back and forth over the drainfield may have been unavoidable though I'd have preferred a brush hog to a plow - but the risk is compacting soil or crushing pipes - not good for the drainfield

Finally we get to what you are asking: after heavy rain the field isn't accepting effluent from the tank. You did what I would: look first for a blockage. (You could also try scoping all of the pipes and peforated pipe trench lines with a sewer cam). Maybe you did that to find that 45 degree turn.

Heading into the garden area, yeah, the field could be damaged.

Don't feel bad. There is nothing you could have done that would be dumber or worse than stuff I've done - we learn from this, right?

I suggest

1. Find the D-box and inspect there for signs of blockage and to confirm effluent at least gets that far

2. Have your plumber - the one who has a sewer line camera - scope out the drainfield lines to look for

- crushed broken pipe

- flooded pipe

3. If you don't find an obvious blockage to fix, it's possible that the field is so old that the soil is clogged (the biomat has gotten too thick) - you don't give the age of the home but an owner who never pumped the tank has shortened the septic field life

So you might go to the far end (lowest end) of the lowest or most-distant drainfield trench and dig it up:

- is it flooded?

- do you see a thick black slime coating the edges of and penetrating the soil for an inch to three in inches or more around the perimeter (bottom and sides) of the trench?

- what kind of perf pipe is in the trench? what's its condition?

- did the original construction look right: gravel under and around the pipe?

When we know the status of the field we can decide if what's needed is simply a limited repair of damaged pipes or if, on the other hand the field really needs an entire replacement

On 2019-09-23 by C

Thanks for the advice. I should have noted that this year was very wet, well over 400mm (15.7inch) of rain since April and most of it coming in the span of 3 weeks in late June early July, not including the snow runoff, which was a record also.

The tank is not seeing any backflow from the field at this point, but it could have prior to that. We had both sides pumped out in July (was pumped out 2 years ago when purchased for a tank inspection - tank is about 1200 gallon). This is why I suspected either a block or saturated field. I do know that many of the neighbors around here had issues with saturated fields.

I did open the pipe and send a 100ft snake through, nothing blocking it for over 60ft, but this distance should be to close to the location of the d box.
You are right, it's a learning curve. I just hope the education tax isn't too much. I will contact a septic person to come scope the field.

On 2019-09-23 - by (mod) - septic system fails in wet weather

Noting the wet year,

OPINION

- depending on where you live, more wet years are coming

- a septic system must work always, under all conditions except of course nobody expects it to work if there is area flooding

No backflow from fields into tank is encouraging, but what you see when looking into the tank depends on the condition at that moment and also the pipe distances and field condition. E.g. A field can be in failure, saturated, clogged, but absorb effluent very slowly from effluent-filled piping between tank and field lines, thus appearing to handle surges in wastewater load.

Looking into the D-box is often diagnostic; let's see a photo of what you find there.




On 2019-05-27 by M.Peterson - Our septic alarm keeps going off, service company says nothign wrong

The Alarm light keeps going off. We ve had service calls, but the servicemen say everythings fine.
The system is 2 yrs old & the sprinkler goes off @ 2 pm in the afternoon, whereas it used to just go off once around 2am. Hey, I do lawn work in the afternoon.

We monitor the bleach level.
We travel but this is a problem we can t solve.
Thks!
Have you got any info. that may help?

On 2019-05-27 - by (mod) -

A good place to start is with the Articles listed above in thie ARTICLE INDEX to find

. There you will find the most likely causes for alarm sounding as well as some suggested diagnostic and repair steps.

I suspect that there is periodic flooding of your septic tank - perhaps from the sprinkler system or from other water sources. That can turn on the septic tank level alarm. But when the service person shows up the tank level is back to normal and they think nothing's wrong.

Sometimes a more-experienced septic service tech will be able to notice abnormal water or effluent flood lines in the septic pumping chamber even though at the time of the inspection the liquid level is normal.

That ought to start an investigation: when and from where is the flood water coming? That will tell us what repair is needed.


On 2018-05-25 by Marie-Josée Raymond - How do I find out the age of my septic tank and septic drainfield: we live in Navan, Ontario, Canada

Own house at 3397 Kentucky Lane, Navan, Ontario. Would like to know age of my septic tank and field.

On 2018-05-25 - by (mod) -

Marie,

Thank you for asking an excellent question: how can I determine the age of my septic system, tank, drainfields?

Watch out: do not dig up, open, nor try to enter old septic system components on your own. There is risk of death from leaning over (methane asphyxiation) or falling into a septic system. Keep people away from suspected areas of unknown septic tanks.

At CESSPOOL AGE ESTIMATES inspectapedia.com/septic/Cesspool_Age.php we give examples of using materials of construction and other clues to estimate the age of a cesspool. I have not tried to do the same thing for conventional septic systems that use a septic tank and drainfield.

Some help on septic system age is at

SEPTIC LIFE EXPECTANCY - inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_System_Life.php

SEPTIC DRAINFIELD LIFE - inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Drainfield_Life.php

I would start by looking at the age of the building and its plumbing system with the premise that for most sites the septic tank and fields won't be older than those.

See AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE at inspectapedia.com/Design/Age_of_Building.php

Then see PLUMBING MATERIALS & FIXTURE AGE inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Age_of_Plumbing.php

Next check with your local building or health department to ask if plans for your septic system were ever filed. If so get a copy of those. The septic system plans filed as part of a permit process may not accurately describe exactly what septic system was finally installed but you'll be in the right date range.
For Ontario residents the Ottowa government (that's in your immediate area) also publishes information on septic systems, but actual site approvals and plans for septic systems in Ottowa are managed by the Ottawa Septic System Office (link is external) at 613-692-3571 or toll free at 1-800-267-3504 ext.1129 Website: http://www.rvca.ca/osso/index.html

Also check with local septic contractors or best, septic tank pumping companies to ask if they have records of having serviced your property's septic system. [If the septic tank was never pumped or serviced or if nobody knows where it is, it's a reasonable assumption that the system has no predictable remaining life]

I was going to say "finally" but really these suggestions are not in order of priority: but

Inspect the accessible septic system components: the septic tank access port, cleanout cover, tank materials, piping materials (PVC, cast iron, terra cotta, orangeburg septic pipe (discussed in AGE of PLUMBING MATERIALS & FIXTURES inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Age_of_Plumbing.php) as the type of piping, septic tank materials (steel, concrete, plastic, fiberglass, home-made) also give date information.




...

Continue reading  at SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Suggested citation for this web page

ARTICLE INDEX to SEPTIC SYSTEMS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Search the InspectApedia website

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Comment Form is loading comments...

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.


ADVERTISEMENT