General

Almost every mountain home is on a septic system, usually located on your property and owned by you. A septic system consists generally of a septic tank and leach fields. The tank is a buried concrete or composite vault that receives raw sewage through the sewer pipe from your home. Through a biological action it processes that sewage and produces a resulting liquid  - called "effluent" - that exits through an underground overflow pipe. The overflow pipe is connected to one or more leach fields which are just porous trenches filled with rock and covered over to be virtually invisible. The septic tank overflow is filtered by the leach field rocks, further decomposes, becomes harmless, and leaches through the sides and bottom of the trench over time. The size of the tank and leach field is determined by the size of your home and the kind of soil the system is built in.

Every septic tank has one or two covers - or hatches - that give access to the tank. These are usually buried in the ground, but can be exposed on the surface in various ways to make them easier to find. Its a good idea to know where the hatches for your septic tank are so if there is a problem a lot of time is not wasted by the pumping company when they arrive. Most septic system pumpers are pretty good at quickly finding them but it is better to take chance out of the equation by already knowing where they are if possible. Newer leach lines often have vents in the form of PVC 4" diameter pipes that stick vertically out of the ground at one end. That's a good way to find them. Some leach lines are built as a pair so that one can take over when the first one reaches end of life or act as an overflow.

Preventive Measures

Avoiding putting strong chemicals (bleach, paint, etc.) into drains, as they can kill the bacteria working in the tank. Also avoid flushing anything that won't decompose, including feminine hygiene products. Some suggest that garbage disposals are also a bad idea with septic tanks, or at least should be used sparingly. Items that are ground up by a disposal need to be small enough to readily decompose, at least.

In addition, some people add a bacterial supplement to their tanks once a month or so - RID-X is one common brand - but there is disagreement about whether this is needed or even beneficial. If you use such a supplement, follow the directions that come with it for how often to add it to the system.

Finally there are people who suggest that filtering lint from your washing machine so it won't go into your septic system is a good idea. Some lint won't decompose, and eventually winds up in the leach field, plugging it up. There are lint filters that can be installed in washing machine discharge lines, but caution is advised. Some don't provide an overflow if they plug up, and so can put back pressure on your machine's discharge pump. Do some research before deciding on such a device.

Maintenance and Cleaning

There isn't a lot of direct maintenance that is needed, but occasionally it is a good idea to have the tank pumped out and inspected. How often the system needs this service depends on the amount of sewage generated by your home and what is put into the system. If you follow the preventive measures given above you may be able to go longer between pumpings, but septic tank pumping companies generally advise a period of 2 - 5 years between cleanings. That said, many mountain residents wind up going much longer between cleanings. One advantage of having the tank pumped out is that it can be inspected for problems only when it is empty. If the baffles are failing - or the concrete is decomposing (a condition called "Summit Rot" in our area) - your tank may start to fail (and/or clog the lines to the leach field) and you won't find out about it until it is too late.

The pumping company will need to get within 100 - 200 feet of your tank hatches with a large truck. That truck has a big tank on it, a lot of hose, and a vacuum to suck the sewage out of your septic tank. Once the tank is empty they will inspect for problems and usually file a report with the county in which you live giving the date the system was inspected and noting any issues found. (County environmental health departments are concerned about the health of septic systems, since effluent that isn't sinking into the ground can introduce bacteria into creeks and streams.) If you are having work done on your home - such as remodeling an addition - the county may require you have a recent (usually within the last 3 years) septic inspection on file. If you lack such an inspection they may require one as part of getting your permits. And adding additional bedrooms may require your tank and leach fields to be expanded to handle the larger number of people your home might now have living in it.

Leach fields will eventually fail. When lint and other non-dissolvable items build up in the field, effluent will be unable to percolate into the soil, and will start to seep out at the surface. When this happens a new leach field needs to be dug. Most homes built to code will have an alternative leach field location* specified on the original plans to handle this eventuality. There is no certain lifetime for a leach field, but some are known to fail at around 40 years old or so. Again, it all depends on usage and soil conditions. Among many reasons to pump and inspect occasionally is this: the worst possible time to learn that your leach field has failed is during the process of selling your home. A cautious buyer will insist on a flow test (and replacement if necessary, at your cost) as a condition of the purchase. It is very possible to have a septic system that is only serving the needs of the family, but which will decisively fail a flow test. (The second worst time is on Thanksgiving Day with all the relatives from the mid-west in the house.)

*The location and extent of the alternative field must meet standards of separation from any dwellings, streets and roads, the brink of a hillside (greater than a certain slope) falling away from the field, and perhaps most importantly, from the original field. Once the original field fails, an application must be made to the county for a permit to construct a new field, either at the location specified as the "alternative leach field ... on the original plans", or at a new, compliant location. Even when applying to create a field at the alternative location, a new alternative site must be specified at the same time - that is, yet another site on the parcel. Another way of stating this: there must always be an alternative location on file with the county.

Septic Pumping Companies

Laws generally require that septic pumping companies dispose of the sewage they remove from each tank with the county the tank is in. This means that companies don't always serve all counties in our area, and you will have to call a company that can serve your home.

Some companies that are known to work in our area are listed below. Please add more:

 

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