Posted by Douglas Harrington on May 7, 2004, 12:36 am
Hello,
I'm looking for any suggestions/comments you have about our situation with
the septic tank...
My parents bought this home new in 1993, meaning it will be 11 yrs old this
June. For about 4-5 years living here the tank was not pumped. When it
was, a riser was installed and there had been no apparent problems. For the
past 5 years it has been pumped every 1-2 years. We live in New England and
the ground can become -very- saturated with water from melting snow/spring
rainfall, and our neighbors have their yards sloped so that when we get
heavy rainfall we can get as much as 5" of flooding in areas of the back
yard where the tank/leach field is located. (The main flooding area is near
the tank, however during severe storms it spreads to the leech field area as
well)
We have recently been having problems with a toilet, in which it would
continue to fill with water and go out the overflow drain. We would get
frustrated with it and leave it until it stopped (sometimes it ran for 15
min). This went on for about a week or so. Then one day as the toilet was
still running in the overflow, someone spotted water coming out of the riser
cover on the septic tank. I stopped the toilet and the water stopped
flowing out of the riser. About an hour later I pulled the cover off the
riser and noted the water level was about 1' or so below the top of the
riser. This means the water level fell 1' during that hour. We had the
tank pumped the next day, and there was almost all water in it, only a small
amount of sludge at the bottom as the cleaning guy seemed to say. The tank
is either a 1250 or 1500 gallon concrete tank. We have never had such a
problem before, nor have we had a problem with the leech field. *The toilet
was fixed immediatly after the tank was pumped.* Today it's been almost a
week since it was pumped (last Sat.) and the tank is about half full with
water (which I understand is normal). We are assuming that it was a
combination of the ground saturation and the toilet problem which caused the
situation. We are considering putting in sump pumps in the yard to pump the
flood water out to the street and into the storm drains. We have all been
pretty uneasy about the situation and are not sure if something as seemingly
small as the toilet problem could have caused it, or if this could be a
serious problem with the system.
Douglas Harrington
Seekonk, MA
riws@msn.com
Posted by Don Bruder on May 7, 2004, 1:07 am
> Hello,
>
> I'm looking for any suggestions/comments you have about our situation with
> the septic tank...
<Snip the tale>
Let's look at the critical ingredients:
1 flooded-out leach field
1 1250-1500 gallon septic tank, also in high water.
1 non-stop toilet
Mix well. Let simmer for a week or so.
Yield: 1 overflowing septic tank.
Yeah, sounds like a workable recipe to me. Seems to me that it would be
something to keep watching for a bit, at least.
Ever seen some of the numbers for how much water goes down the drain in
24 hours if you've got a drippy faucet? I've seen estimates as high as a
hundred gallons a day. That's just a drippy faucet - not a steady flow,
like in the toilet. Imagine how much more water was hitting the tank...
Now consider the 1250 or 1500 gallons your tank is rated for, and how
long it could take that kind of flow before hitting the (flooded)
leach-line, and starting to back out the riser. Big surprise, what with
the recipe you cooked up.
I'd say keep an eye on it, but I don't really expect you'll have much
problem. At least, not so long as you aren't dumping more down the drain
than you realize through a leaky loo. :)
--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
I respond to Email as quick as humanly possible. If you Email me and get no
response, see <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> Short
form: I'm trashing EVERYTHING that doesn't contain a password in the subject.
Posted by Babbling Brook Photography on May 7, 2004, 7:19 am
I agree with Don, you'll be surprised at how much water is wasted every day
by leaking faucets, try an experiment and put a one gallon milk jug under a
dripping faucet and time how long it takes to fill, then multiply that by
the hours in a day and then by the week, etc. it's amazing. Also consider
how many people live in the house and how much water is wasted by simple
things like letting the water run while shaving or brushing your teeth, it
all adds up fast. Good luck!
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Babbling Brook Photography
Quality Framed Photography of
the Great Outdoors.
30 Day Money Back Guarantee!
http://www.babblingbrookphotography.com
Email info@babblingbrookphotography.com
> Hello,
> I'm looking for any suggestions/comments you have about our situation with
> the septic tank...
> My parents bought this home new in 1993, meaning it will be 11 yrs old
this
> June. For about 4-5 years living here the tank was not pumped. When it
> was, a riser was installed and there had been no apparent problems. For
the
> past 5 years it has been pumped every 1-2 years. We live in New England
and
> the ground can become -very- saturated with water from melting snow/spring
> rainfall, and our neighbors have their yards sloped so that when we get
> heavy rainfall we can get as much as 5" of flooding in areas of the back
> yard where the tank/leach field is located. (The main flooding area is
near
> the tank, however during severe storms it spreads to the leech field area
as
> well)
> We have recently been having problems with a toilet, in which it would
> continue to fill with water and go out the overflow drain. We would get
> frustrated with it and leave it until it stopped (sometimes it ran for 15
> min). This went on for about a week or so. Then one day as the toilet
was
> still running in the overflow, someone spotted water coming out of the
riser
> cover on the septic tank. I stopped the toilet and the water stopped
> flowing out of the riser. About an hour later I pulled the cover off the
> riser and noted the water level was about 1' or so below the top of the
> riser. This means the water level fell 1' during that hour. We had the
> tank pumped the next day, and there was almost all water in it, only a
small
> amount of sludge at the bottom as the cleaning guy seemed to say. The
tank
> is either a 1250 or 1500 gallon concrete tank. We have never had such a
> problem before, nor have we had a problem with the leech field. *The
toilet
> was fixed immediatly after the tank was pumped.* Today it's been almost a
> week since it was pumped (last Sat.) and the tank is about half full with
> water (which I understand is normal). We are assuming that it was a
> combination of the ground saturation and the toilet problem which caused
the
> situation. We are considering putting in sump pumps in the yard to pump
the
> flood water out to the street and into the storm drains. We have all been
> pretty uneasy about the situation and are not sure if something as
seemingly
> small as the toilet problem could have caused it, or if this could be a
> serious problem with the system.
> Douglas Harrington
> Seekonk, MA
> riws@msn.com
Posted by Douglas Harrington on May 14, 2004, 8:53 pm
It's two weeks today since we noted the water coming out of the riser.
I opened the cover only to find that the water level was an inch
below the riser! Apparently we have a serious problem, it hasn't
rained all week and it's been in the 80s and even 90s. The ground is
VERY dry, at least on the surface.
We dumped some septic treatment down the toilet today (the stuff you
put in monthly which we had been putting in every month) - going to
check tomorrow but I doubt that will make a difference. Going to buy
some stronger septic stuff and talk to people at home depot tomorrow.
Unable to find where the diagram is but can get another one from the
town if I need to.
Were not exactly financially capable of a $15k+ septic job, even with
a low interest loan we may be able to get off the town. My father has
the idea that he can get books and re-do the leach field himself with
a bulldozer. Not quite sure what the next step to take is, but I
don't think it belongs at an inch below the bottom of the riser with
no rain all week - and I don't think the odds of it going down are
very high either.
Well, any suggestions/comments as to what's next? We'll keep using
water for now as we have no choice - if it comes out of the riser it
comes out, nothing we can do about it.
Posted by Seth Goodman on May 15, 2004, 2:25 am
> My father has
> the idea that he can get books and re-do the leach field himself with
> a bulldozer.
Not a good idea in Massachusetts. Ever hear of Title 5? To re-do the
leaching field, you need a perc test and an engineering plan. Then, the
plan has to be approved by your town's Board of Health. After the work
is done, the town health agent must inspect the leaching field before it
is backfilled, to insure the work was done in accordance with the
approved plan.
> Not quite sure what the next step to take is, but I
> don't think it belongs at an inch below the bottom of the riser with
> no rain all week - and I don't think the odds of it going down are
> very high either.
>
> Well, any suggestions/comments as to what's next? We'll keep using
> water for now as we have no choice - if it comes out of the riser it
> comes out, nothing we can do about it.
I suggest you get a reliable professional to come out and take a look.
Make it clear you *don't* want an official Title 5 inspection, because
if you fail a Title 5 inspection, you *must* make repairs within two
years.
--
Seth Goodman
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>
> I'm looking for any suggestions/comments you have about our situation with
> the septic tank...