NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/misc/rural/2694

Text File | 1992-12-29 | 2.6 KB | 53 lines

Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: sparky!uunet!psinntp!newstand.syr.edu!barnyard!tmc
From: [e-mail] (Terry R. McConnell)
Subject: Re: concerns with well water and a septic tank
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Syracuse University
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 92 16:08:06 EST
Lines: 40

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Paul Campbell) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Anthony Datri) writes:
>>
>>>A septic tank is a "solid" cement tank. It of course does leak like all
>>>concrete does, to some extent.
>>
>>What I'm really worried about is polluting.  If this tank is supposed to be
>>solid, then why doesn't it fill up very, very quickly?
>
>The water is run through a dry well. This gets rid of the moisture and
>leaves the remaining solid wastes to continue into the septic tank. For
>some reason, the new thing is to use a drain field instead of a dry well.
>It performs essentially the same function.

[ stuff deleted ]

In most systems I've seen the "stuff" flows into the drain field
(called a leach field around here) _after_ leaving the septic tank.
In a properly working tank the sewage separates into 3 layers: a layer
of scum on top, a layer of relatively clear water, and a layer of
sludge which builds up in the bottom. The outflow pipe extends below
the layer of scum so that the water flowing out into the leach field
is relatively free of solids which might plug the pores of the soil
and bring the whole system crashing down. Another common feature is
that the inflow pipe is lower than the outflow pipe. That way, if the
solids in the bottom build up too much the inflow pipe gets clogged
and sewage begins to back up into your basement. That may not sound
like such a good feature, but consider this: you will be quickly
forced to take relatively cheap remedial action (getting the tank
pumped at $100-$200) instead of having your leach field get plugged
up, costing you thousands to have the entire system replaced.

Tanks dont need to be pumped nearly as often as the pumping outfits
would have you believe, but they do eventually need to be pumped.
Every 5 years is a good idea.
--
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Terry McConnell       Mathematics/215 Carnegie/Syracuse, N.Y. 13244-1150
[e-mail]                NeXTmail: [e-mail]
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