Yes I get a lot of questions...but I find it rewarding when I can help people walk through the issues they face when building/buying/selling a home with a septic system. It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it.
FAQ - Getting ready to build....
We bought some property 5 years ago. Now we are getting ready to build but have been told by others in the area that we may not be able to go with a regular septic. What are we going to do? Karen T.
If you are located on high ground with 6 feet of dry, sandy loam soil, you have a great site for a septic system. But not every site is going to meet that criteria...and those great sites are getting harder to find. Think about it, when people start building in an area, they pick the best spots first. People that come in later are getting what is left over.
You will also find this problem a lot when buying older homes. Often older homes will still have cesspools and/or systems that won't fit today's codes and/or will not meet the needs of today's families (our water using habits have changed over the decades).
There are several options, the easiest and cheapest is the standard, gravity-fed trench system. In the past these trenches were filled with gravel but there are now other options like chamber systems that use open bottom plastic "domes" that eliminate the need for gravel. These types of systems use the soil around the drainfield to perform the treatment process.
These are the most desirable because they use no electricity, have no pumps to burn out and use large diameter pipes that do not plug easily.
However, if you have high groundwater tables, tight soils that will not accept water at a reasonable rate, a lack of soil (like in mountain areas) or near a body of water, the soil can not perform the treatment process and an alternative system will be needed. These include mound systems, sand or peat filters, aerobic systems, or constructed wetlands.
Many people do not want these types of systems because:
They cost more.
Well they do cost more because they are much more involved to install, but they are usually still cheaper than hooking up to a city sewer system.
They have a higher failure rate.
This is also true and this is because they use pumps and smaller diameter pipes to move the effluent...these items plug easier which cause them to fail easier. However, these premature failures can be prevented if people take steps to prevent this plugging. Jim