Falling Drain Filed

[greg]

Hello,

Found your site doing a search for a forum for Drian Filed issues.

The problem I am having seems to be a falling drain field.

Had my tank pumped in Sept of 08.Had an inspection done and all came back ok.Then starting in Dec we had a
awful smell in our house.

Did some investigation and found my drain field had some water leaking out.
No other issues like overflowing toilets or anything else in the house.Just outside.

Now we only encounter the smell and leakage like around once a week or 1 every other week.

The system is about 25 years old.


I found a system called Terralift.What do you know of this?
Do you think it would work?

I would like to wait a year or two before getting a new system put in due to my wife
getting laid off in this great economy.

They offer a 5 year warranty.

Thanks

[Toxic Avenger]

Well, unfortunately, your septic system is in failure.  Even though septic effluent is seeping to the surface only once every week or two, it still meets the State Health Department's definition of "septic system failure". 

One of Indiana's criteria for system failure is:  "Effluent discharge exceeds the absorptive capacity of the soil, resulting in ponding, seepage, or other discharge of the effluent to the ground surface or to surface waters." 

Your county health department, or equivalent, is responsible for permitting septic system installations and repairs, and in my experience, Terralift (which the generic term is air injection soil fracturing) is only a temporary relief to give you a little more time before actually replacing your system.  The county I live in requires a permit even for air injection soil fracturing!  So, basically, you are going to have to contact your local health department and tell them the problem, and they should inform you of what you need to do. 

If you decide to try and repair the problem yourself without contacting your local health department and acquiring a permit, then you would be risking having to pay much more later, including having to put in an "approved" system and possibly paying fines and/or legal fees imposed by you local health department.  Each county is unique in its specific requirements, but they ALL must abide by the State Department of Health requirements! 

My personal opinion on Terralift is this:  I have seen it work in areas where the ground is so compacted that liquid cannot move through it, and therefore seeps up to the surface.  In cases like that, Terralift works best because it is designed to break up compaction by shooting compressed air into the ground at controlled depths.  The thing is you must have a septic field with laterals (fingers/runs) that have some separtion between them, because you CANNOT do blast points directly over absorption trenches for risk of damaging your system even further.  It is designed to be used BETWEEN the trences in an absorption field. 

If you have a drywell, Terralift is not an option, and I would suggest having a new system installed.  Drywells are notorious for having been installed too deep, which in turn results in a higher likelyhood of contaminating ground water.  Also, drywells have been illegal to install for septic purposes in Indiana since December 1990 just for that reason!   

All in all, if you are an honest homeowner that whats to do the right thing, and you want to abide by State and County requirements, call your local health department ASAP. 

P.S. Do you have a well, or are you on municipal water?  If a well, then having a failed septic system which seeps to the surface can be a very serious health hazard.  Wells should be at least 50 feet from any portion of a septic system.  If that effluent was to come in contact with your wellhead, it would most likely contaminate your drinking water.

[Stuart Meade]

Hello Greg!

Where are you smelling the sewage smell in the house, everywhere?

Where is the system "leaking out"?

Does the leaking only occur during times of high water usage (laundry day) or after it rains?

25 years is old for a septic system!

[greg]

Stuart,

We only smell it on the ground floor level.We live in a 4 level split house.

Seems to only act up when we do laundry our give the kids a
bath.Never any back up in the house.................

Leaking out of our drian field.

I realize the optimal choice would be to get a new sysytem installed,But with the wife
layed off from her job 10 to 15k right now would be tough.

[Stuart Meade]

Your split level house probably has plumbing in the basement and therefor a very deep septic tank.
Systems always fail at the path of least resistance.  Sometimes this is at the tank, but since your tank is probably very deep, the water is instead pushing to the ground over the areA of the field system with the least amount of cover.

Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to fixing a system.  Be sure to minimize your water usage and don't use your garbage disposal (if you have one).  Cutting your water usage might buy you some time.  You might also consider doing laundry at the laundry mat.  No, this is not very glamorous but might get you by for a while.

I once met some college students living in a house with a totally failed system.  They reportedly would travel a mile down the road every morning to "do their business" at a Wal-Mart!   THAT'S NOT GLAMOROUS AT ALL! 

[Toxic Avenger]

Well, if money is keeping you from having a new system installed, then your only other option is to "pump and haul".  Basically, you will need to have your septic tank (and drywell if present) pumped out as much as necessary to keep effluent off the surface of the ground. 

Please understand that septic effluent on the surface is a MAJOR HEALTH RISK, especially to children and the elderly.  There are several types of bacteria detrimental to human health in septic effluent, including hepatitis.  Trust me, you may be paying much more later in medical fees if you don't at least keep you tank pumped and, like Stuart said, limit your water usage as much as possible. 

P.S. Did you call your health department yet?  Taking advice on a public forum, while it can give some good advice, still can provide you with "misleading" advice at times also.  The Health Department is the single best place to call (in most counties).  Some counties are still living in the dark ages.

[LM Excavating]

Hi,

You shouldn't smell it in your home,,,, you may have a vent issue in your plumbing.

Or you may just have a drafty home and the smell is from outside air.

I even once saw an air exchanger located near plumbing vents that was sucking the vent air into the home,,, ahhh yes,,,, April fresh!!

The smell in your home can be dangerous,,, Google "Hydrogen Sulfide" not mention several other gasses.

Find out where the smell is coming from and address that issue first.

Not a big fan of the Terralift either but it's your money,,,,,,, nickels and dimes can eventually add up to what you could have spent on the proper fix.