Need advice on septic systems

[KBennett]

I am looking at some land (5+ acres) that is located on a high water table. There are homes in the area and all are on septic systems with city water. I spoke with one of the neighbors that has a newer home in the area and he said that it took him a while to get a perk test done and he still had to go with a "special" septic system.



Have any of you had experience with this? I need some insight on alternatives.

 

[Rotty]

Sounds like a sand filter system. $$$$$ twice the price of a regular system

If you have high ground water, look out.

You could be in for a life time of problems...

 

[smartineau]

Don't buy the land until you get a perk test and cost of a septic system.



We just paid $600 for the design and $11,000 for a pressure system, @#$% clay mud.



A sand filter system can easily run $20,000.



The designer as he inspected the land and figured the best places to dig perk holes, told me a story of a guy who bought some land and was unable to get a septic permit at all. There was no design of any kind that would allow a septic permit in the county. The guy was stuck with a non buildable 5 acres.



steve

 

[TboneMan]

Check with the local heath department (assuming they are the ones who dictate the septic system regs. ) to see if they allow aerobic septic systems like this one. http://www.consolidatedtreatment.com/multiflo.asp



These can be used in areas that don't perk well. They work like a municipal sewage treatment plant only smaller and under ground. Waste is "eaten" by aerobic vs anaerobic bacteria. This results in a complete clear effluent and NO SMELL. When you get the tank pump out (every 3-4 years) you are actually just removing dead bacteria shells. The waste is completely consumed.



They cost a bit more than a standard system, and there are maintenance costs (plus electricity for the aerator), but compared to a raised bed type system that cost more initially plus will eventually need to be replaced, they are a very good alternative.



As a side note, they are MUCH better from an environmental stand point than even a standard system.

 

[KBennett]

TBoneMan,

That is exactly the info I was looking for. That aerobic system looks like the ticket. I couldn't find anybody that is a dealer in Utah for aerobic systems but I did talk to a guy in Texas (http://www.clearstreamsystems.com/) that sells the systems for $2K. It requires a 500 gallon tank upstream, the aerator draws 80 watts, and the water that comes out is 98% clean. He said down there they use it to irrigate.



Rotty,

What kind of problems do you foresee with a high water table?

 

[TboneMan]

Technically, in pour draining soil the effluent is suppose to just evaporate. You place finger drain lines in a trench lined with stone and cover with dirt and grass seed. Since the effluent is so pure, there is no need for it to perculate through the soil to clean out the nasty stuff before the effluent reaches ground water. If your site has any slope, you many need to surround the "leach" field with french drains (a deep trench filled with stone and a drain pipe) to limit the amount of ground water near the field. They may even allow you to drain directly into a body of water (wetland, stream, river, lake).



In NYS residential waste water is controled be the county health department. The system must be designed by a licensed professional (PE, RA or LLA), the health department then must approve the design. Contact your health department, I'm sure they can recommend an engineering or architectural firm that can help you.

 

[JPope]

Just finished putting in a similar system to what is being discussed here. Higher intitial cost, and the dewsign engineer needed information such as number of people, ages, appliances, etc.



Requires some maintenance (every 3 months to start, checking filter interval, then can increase interval, as necessary clean the filter), and installed a check valve in case the creek rises, to miminize water sending particulates into the drainfield and messing it up. We chose to not use a dishwasher, garbage disposal, (which the design engineer, county guy, DNR, and installer!) said were big factors in septic system problems. Basically you are trying to limit the amount of water, particulate material (garbage disposal grindings evidently do not decompose well) etc. into the system to prolong its useful life.



Our place in Mn. had a mound system, which is the drainfield above the ground and covered by a mound of dirt. Mn. now requires pumping the tanks every 3 years max. , which is good practice anyway to p[rolong useful life of system!

 

[TboneMan]

JPope,

NYS requires the home owner to maintain a service contract with the manufacture's rep. /installer. This cost us $200/year but it covers filter changes, and inspections twice a year. All of our grey water enters the system (I don't think NYS allows you to bypass your system),



We just have to watch how many loads of wash are done in a day and avoid pouring cooking grease/oil and strong cleaning chemicals down the drain.



We have had it 10 years and have had it pumped twice and replaced the aerator once.