Septic questions

[teejk]

OP said there were "problems"...more info needed there I think. What happened to cause him to open up the distr box after 2 months?

 

[Midniteoyl]

Oh, ok sure, there's a vent stack in the roof..

This prolly how yours is, and is the way mine is.. http://www.grit.com/~/media/Images/.../GRT-MA11-septic-drawing-na.jpg?mh=400&mw=400 .. My duplex has vent pipes also at the clean out location due to it having old steel pipe that is too small..

This is how my BIL's is.. http://www.nrc.govt.nz/upload/4077/Standard septic tank design (400).jpg

 

[Code54]

First - Thanks for all the information and help!!!
The things he knows are:
The contractor has offered to help but he is not too sure what this "help" is going to cost and the contractor does not seems to have an answer for what is going wrong - thus not instilling a lot of confidence.
He was there and even helped when the system was installed so he know a little about the system - there is no sand filter and that the leach field was leveled when it was installed. He said the dist. box is basically a plastic box with a lid that has one inlet and 2 outlets, there is a baffle inside (not clogged). basically just lets the water from the septic tank go in two different areas. The leach field is two runs of pipe 90' each and connect in a sort of "U" at the end. The system was designed to work for a house with more people/larger than his.
He checked the Dist. box and noticed the backup of water because he walked down there and water came out of the ground around it.
The area was perk tested and the county said it passed so he thought he was fine there. He did notice it didn't perk very quickly however. The county also inspected the system design and the installation so you would hope it was done correct with both a contractor and state agency checking it...
He does not have a vent in the septic system itself currently but one could be added at or near the dist. box. He also noticed it is damp at the very END of the leach field so he is guessing that means that at least some quantity of water is making it out to the end. He also has not had anything backup into the house (thankfully). They are being extremely careful with water usage and he is not experiencing and leaking fixtures/commode/etc...
Thanks and I hope this helps answer some of the questions.

 

[ustmd]

First - Thanks for all the information and help!!!
The things he knows are:
The contractor has offered to help but he is not too sure what this "help" is going to cost and the contractor does not seems to have an answer for what is going wrong - thus not instilling a lot of confidence.
He was there and even helped when the system was installed so he know a little about the system - there is no sand filter and that the leach field was leveled when it was installed. He said the dist. box is basically a plastic box with a lid that has one inlet and 2 outlets, there is a baffle inside (not clogged). basically just lets the water from the septic tank go in two different areas. The leach field is two runs of pipe 90' each and connect in a sort of "U" at the end. The system was designed to work for a house with more people/larger than his.
He checked the Dist. box and noticed the backup of water because he walked down there and water came out of the ground around it.
The area was perk tested and the county said it passed so he thought he was fine there. He did notice it didn't perk very quickly however. The county also inspected the system design and the installation so you would hope it was done correct with both a contractor and state agency checking it...
He does not have a vent in the septic system itself currently but one could be added at or near the dist. box. He also noticed it is damp at the very END of the leach field so he is guessing that means that at least some quantity of water is making it out to the end. He also has not had anything backup into the house (thankfully). They are being extremely careful with water usage and he is not experiencing and leaking fixtures/commode/etc...
Thanks and I hope this helps answer some of the questions.

I would recommend (as a previous poster) that you check for a running toilet or leaking faucet. Last Spring I thought I was in deep trouble with my system of 13 years, but turned out to be a running toilet in the barn.

 

[tractorshopper]

Yes check for a slow run somewhere. This can add up if constantly leaking even if just a trickle. Also has it rained a lot there lately? This can slow things down some. Or does he have an underground sprinkler system? If so check that that is not leaking and that he is not overwatering.

 

[Code54]

Thanks for the ideas - NO underground sprinklers and no major rains recently.

He is sure nothing is leaking anywhere so that one now seems ruled out.... Hopefully it is something else simple!

 

[gwdixon]

It seems the consensus on here is that the leach field is saturated. Another hint is that the water flows back out of the leach field when the boxes are drained. The system simply cannot handle the amount of water being put into it. If these are city folk that recently moved to the country there may be a hint there.

Tell your friend not to try to get help from the health department. They will board up the house (in CA). I know. In fact, leach lines in my area are now against code. New systems are $15,000+ here and involve special lines, pumps, large areas, and who knows what else.

Another clue is to get a soil map from the local Ag Service (if there is one). We found out that we have 10 feet of clay under 2 feet of topsoil. The leach field acts like a clay pot with no dispersion other than evaporation. That is problematic in the cold rainy weather time of year.

Longer leach lines are an option if there is room to put them in. It may be expensive.

 

[farmer2009]

I use this site it is run by the NRCS.

Web Soil Survey - Home

Sorry don't know how to make it link maybe someone can help in that department.

Edit: ok it worked. Now just click on the green circle that says "start wss".

 

[JimRB]

I am confused. I may have missed reading the posts but I see no discussion of the septic tank contractor coming back out to about the problem. i see no discussion of the soil engineer coming back out to discuss the problem. When my house was built 18 years ago I met with a soil engineer who dug, drilled, bored core samples of the soil. I went through my house receipts and found the soil report. It shows 4 samples taken, depth to bedrock, perc values. I have a tank for my house and another for my barn. No solids pumped off yet (I need to get that done but only two of us live here). No drama ever with the septic. No drama at any of my neighbors either so maybe our soil is good for tanks.

I gather that the 100 acres a 1/4 mile down the road from me did not pass the perk tests so that grand plan of subdividing fell through. I am not sure who said that as it may have been a neighborhood rumor. The final subdivision plan was 8-10 acre lots instead of the 1.5-2 acre minimum that zoning permits. As it was property went in to foreclosure, a few years later someone rented the un-subdivided property and later bought it with inheritance money.