Water Wells & Septic systems - what should I know

[legion]

I nearly bought a house a few years ago with a well and septic. We decided on another house at the last minute, but it was my intention to make having the septic tank pumped part of my offer.

[icemann427]

Normally, during the inspection period, the septic system IS pumped and IS inspected, in that order. Satisfy yourself that the system is working, properly, and that the tank is not cracked and full of tree roots.

As well, make sure the distance between the water well and the leach lines is satisfactory. You don't want your waste being leached into your drinking water.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Mark Henry

Anything that won't break down, most common items are sanitary napkins, baby wipes, tissue, etc. This might not be an issue with you and your wife but if you have visiting young (city) women they have to be educated. Also you don't want to use bleach cleaners and you have to use septic safe TP etc. We stopped using Costco TP, it says it's septic safe but I can see it doesn't break down well.

Best investment is I installed risers with covers on the tank so I don't need to dig to find the covers. We have two grown kids and their friends so we pump the tank every 3 years.

Good to know. About the only thing I remember about the septic in the house that we lived in when I was 4 is that the tank required digging in the back yard to access. The place that we're looking at buying has a clearly visible concrete pad with 2 large round concrete "doors". So no digging involved. Something is already in place to give permanent access.

Originally Posted by Groesbeck Hurricane

Have not been here in a while and saw this interesting bit....

Well: How deep is the well? Where is it placed in reference to the septic?

No idea. Part of the contract includes a disclosure/declaration sheet that discusses the well and septic. The current owners have only been there 5 years, and per the sheet, they don't know anything about the well or septic (other than septic having been pumped in 2018), depth, installer, etc....

I am assuming you are looking at places in Southeast Texas. In the Piney Woods many wells have a high level of sulpher. I would test the water through Texas A&M. You can get some very good, sweet water in that area!

I've been curious what part of Texas it's considered. Most maps seem to call it the Gulf Coast or Upper Gulf Coast, but some consider it "Central" or "South Central" Texas. We're on the northwest corner of Colorado county which is on the line of coastal vs central. Per some other maps, it would either be "Post Oak Savannah" or "Blackland Prairie."

Make sure of the rate of available water. We really, really loved this one place which was EXTREMELY secluded. Felt wonderful and had the perfect topography for cattle and hunting with a small area for growing hay. Available water was estimated at less than 1 GPM at 300+ feet. Not very much water! The previous people were taking off a three acre lake and filtering. We passed but do somewhat regret the decision.

good to know, thx

Septic: Most older systems are going to be drop systems. These will have fields for draining. They can work very well and give zero issues when maintained properly. We have had them and liked them. Last one was huge and had not been pumped since the early 1970s. Did not need it.

Check on zoning, some areas MAY require you to upgrade to an aerobic system no matter what you have or have not done or tested. My aerobic system was not that expensive. Check around!

Our current system is similar to what a small city utilizes. It cost barely more than a large drop system with multiple lines. We have a 1500 gallon first stage drop tank. There is a three station "processing plant" behind the unit. It provides further breakdown of components. The final stage pumps water and we have a watering system which waters a huge butterfly garden with lots of permanent plants. The water comes out the same quality as if we were a small cities processing plant. The installer joked it was of good enough quality to drink coming out. There is ZERO odor, system runs well but does require electricity to operate the air pump (does make droning noise) and the water pump to the spray nozzles.


Living with septic:

No processing of kitchen waste down the sink, this means do not even think of using a grinder. Kitchen waste does not breakdown easily in the system. Make a compost pile, much easier to manage. No hygiene products down the toilet. No wet wipes down the toilet.

Remember any chemicals going down the drains and into the septic system WILL end up on your land. No oils, toxins, other things you do not want to see again. You will kill the good microbes!

Run microbes into your system. Change the filters/chemicals as necessary. We do not use any chlorine/chlorox products in our system. All soaps we use are septic safe as is all toilet paper. Most toilet papers today are septic safe and they state as much on the labelling. We have an automatic dishwasher and use septic safe products from Cascade, they are no more expensive and are readily available locally.

Good to know, thanks.

Originally Posted by Groesbeck Hurricane

Oh, and salt water is only an issue nearer the coast if I remember correctly for SE Texas....

This place is ~70 miles from the nearest salt water (Lavaca/Matagorda Bays), and I think at about 320' elevation, so I wouldn't think salt water would be an issue.

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I agree with Mark Henry on the risers , if you don't have access once you do dig down install risers . I did that on ours and now any time an inspection or pump out needs to be performed remove 8-10 screws from the riser cover and you are there . The principle of a septic tank is pretty basic . Water and solids enter the tank , the solids go to the bottom and the liquids flow out to the leach field . The solids break down due to mold/enzymes in the tank .

Unfortunately most areas do not allow grey water to go into a separate tank so it all goes into the septic . Soapy water from showers/sinks/dishwasher/washing machine along with bleach and other chemicals has a tendency to kill the mold/enzymes needed to break down the solids . That's why there are products like Rid-X and others to add the bacteria back into the system . Old timers just flushed yeast down the crapper to feed the tank . Really anything that will promote mold/enzyme growth in the tank is good . Likewise anything that kills that growth is bad .

Thanks. Maybe we should occasionally flush some of our home-made sauerkraut.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Old timers just flushed yeast down the crapper to feed the tank . Really anything that will promote mold/enzyme growth in the tank is good . Likewise anything that kills that growth is bad .

Real old timers and some installers would just use some roadkill, a dead raccoon is about perfect.

[masraum]

Lots of good info folks. thanks.

I'll ensure that we don't hire any drunk, feckless plumbers that have moved from Humboldt county, Cali.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Mark Henry

Real old timers and some installers would just use some roadkill, a dead raccoon is about perfect.

[Rusty Heap]

run the well for a long time, see if you can run it dry or if you have unlimited hour long water head reserve

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

lOld timers just flushed yeast down the crapper to feed the tank . Really anything that will promote mold/enzyme growth in the tank is good . Likewise anything that kills that growth is bad .

Hey man! I'm younger than you! I still dump yeast down the drain when my beer is done fermenting. I figure someday I'll open the lids on my tank and a ray of sunshine will come beaming out. It'll be that shiny clean.

I think RidX is just a dry yeast and some other stuff tossed in.

[Jolly Amaranto]

My folks moved to a remote location in Milam County north west of Bryan/College Station back in the 1970s. They built their retirement home there. My brothers and I still maintain the property. There was a 100+ year old hand dug 60 foot deep well that we had cleaned out and added a venturi pump to pull water from the 10 foot deep pool. It almost ran dry when we had the big Texas drought a few years back and the water table went way down. Water quality is kind of sketchy with a very high iron content. Chlorination causes the iron to precipitate out but then you have to have a tank filter that needs to be back flushed periodically to empty all the iron mud. The chlorination injector pump is a constant maintenance head ache. We still use bottle water for drinking and cooking. Ice cubes made with it turn brown from the still dissolved iron.

This reminds me I should get the septic tank pumped out. Have never done that since my dad passed away 27 years ago. No one lives there full time so it doesn't get much of a work out. The place is getting used more lately now that my kids and nephews head there to get off the grid on weekends.

We installed a gray water dry well when we built the place. In spite of emptying the dish water tub into the flower bed after doing dishes, the gray water line gets fogged up periodically at the outflow into the well. Enough fats, oils and grease make it into the line from rinsing dishes and soap scum from the bath that I had to install a clean-out near it so it could be snaked out when that happens. All food scraps are pitched into the woods for the critters to munch on. They do a great job of cleaning up.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

My folks moved to a remote location in Milam County north west of Bryan/College Station back in the 1970s. They built their retirement home there. My brothers and I still maintain the property. There was a 100+ year old hand dug 60 foot deep well that we had cleaned out and added a venturi pump to pull water from the 10 foot deep pool. It almost ran dry when we had the big Texas drought a few years back and the water table went way down. Water quality is kind of sketchy with a very high iron content. Chlorination causes the iron to precipitate out but then you have to have a tank filter that needs to be back flushed periodically to empty all the iron mud. The chlorination injector pump is a constant maintenance head ache. We still use bottle water for drinking and cooking. Ice cubes made with it turn brown from the still dissolved iron.

This reminds me I should get the septic tank pumped out. Have never done that since my dad passed away 27 years ago. No one lives there full time so it doesn't get much of a work out. The place is getting used more lately now that my kids and nephews head there to get off the grid on weekends.

We installed a gray water dry well when we built the place. In spite of emptying the dish water tub into the flower bed after doing dishes, the gray water line gets fogged up periodically at the outflow into the well. Enough fats, oils and grease make it into the line from rinsing dishes and soap scum from the bath that I had to install a clean-out near it so it could be snaked out when that happens. All food scraps are pitched into the woods for the critters to munch on. They do a great job of cleaning up.

That's cool about the 100+ year old hand dug well. That's a job that I'd not be interested in doing.

"Gray water dry well?" You have various drains from the house run to a big hole in the ground? Interesting.

My wife's grandmother had a house on 100+ acres in Kurten which is North of Bryan/CS. We used to go there to get away for the weekend. When the wife's grandmother died, her remaining kids couldn't get along which made it impossible and/or uncomfortable to use the property (thankfully, Grandmother wasn't there to see it). It was eventually sold. We are hoping that this property, at least for a while will be used in a similar way. It's closer and easier to get to but still very much in the country and should offer a similar experience without being quite as isolated.

I had an aunt and uncle in FL with a well. I think they must have had a high iron content. I hated their water and wouldn't even drink sweet tea made with it. Apparently, my cousins' friends loved it. To me it tasted like low sodium blood. Blech!

We're going back Sat for the inspection. I'll check all of the sinks and toilets for rust stains which I think would be an indication if they weren't CLRed away.

I'll probably get composting set up for food waste, although, we probably won't have that much waste.

Honestly, my biggest concern is maintaining the grass. The current owners have 33 acres that they are splitting this off of. I think they make hay on about 15 acres. The garage by the house currently houses 2 mowers (or maybe a mower and small tractor) and a big tractor complete with mower and front end loader. I'm thinking about asking if they want to part with a mower or maybe temporarily store them in exchange for me being able to mow with whatever is most appropriate.

I think about 1 acres is "yard" while the rest is outside of the inner fence and inside the outer fence and more wild. I assume the outer portion gets cleared from time to time, maybe once a year or something. I'm going to ask about that.

I've wondered about taking a metal detector out, but I suspect for any one interesting item that I would find, I'd find 1000 (screws, nails, bottle caps, etc...).

[pwd72s]

This thread makes me realize how lucky I am when it comes to water. No treatment needed, and shallow enough to place an old gunsmoke style hand pump on the well head to use in power outages. When looking at the place the shallow well had me nervous. So I called a school classmate whose family homesteaded the area. He told me I'd never pump it dry, and was told to not go deeper or I'd hit bad water.

His advice has been spot on for...gosh, almost 40 years.

(edit) one of many times in my life that I learned local knowledge can be priceless.

[Seahawk]

We have both since we are remote.

There is so much good info in this thread - I need to do some septic maintenance!

For the well, there will be a tag on the well head that will direct you to the folks who installed it, you can work from there. The county also should have a record of the permit.

Our well is set up so that the pump can be replaced easily - not cheap, easily See if your can be as well.

Make sure the well head is free and clear of any debris or growth.

If the above was redundant, sorry!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

This thread makes me realize how lucky I am when it comes to water. No treatment needed, and shallow enough to place an old gunsmoke style hand pump on the well head to use in power outages. When looking at the place the shallow well had me nervous. So I called a school classmate whose family homesteaded the area. He told me I'd never pump it dry, and was told to not go deeper or I'd hit bad water.

His advice has been spot on for...gosh, almost 40 years.

(edit) one of many times in my life that I learned local knowledge can be priceless.

My parents old house had great water. It tasted great, and when they had it tested, the guy said that it was super clean due to the sandy soil (FL panhandle). They had a small filter that they replaced periodically for the particulates.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

We have both since we are remote.

There is so much good info in this thread - I need to do some septic maintenance!

For the well, there will be a tag on the well head that will direct you to the folks who installed it, you can work from there. The county also should have a record of the permit.

Our well is set up so that the pump can be replaced easily - not cheap, easily See if your can be as well.

Make sure the well head is free and clear of any debris or growth.

If the above was redundant, sorry!

I'll be out there Sat, for the inspection. I'll check. Thanks.

[Jolly Amaranto]

Originally Posted by masraum

That's cool about the 100+ year old hand dug well. That's a job that I'd not be interested in doing.

"Gray water dry well?" You have various drains from the house run to a big hole in the ground? Interesting.

They stacked sections of concrete "pipe" more like 3 foot sections of 3 foot diameter culvert pipe, one at a time. Then someone got inside and dug out the ground under the bottom section. As dirt is removed beneath the bottom section the stack settles down into the hole. When the top section is even with the ground, a new section is put in place on top. All the dirt is pulled out in a large bucket or basket with a line and pulley on a tripod. When the water table is hit, not only dirt/gravel/sand is hauled out but all the water that comes in as well. After 10 feet of water table I guess they just gave up. Looking down the well, I am amazed at how straight down the well is. I probably would have wandered all over the place.

For the gray water we dug a hole about 6 foot square and 6 foot deep. Lined it with cinder blocks and poured a concrete slab cap over it with an access hole on top. The hole is covered with a large concrete patio paver. The whole thing is buried under about 6" of soil and sod. The gray water pipe just pours into it on one side and soaks away into the dirt below. Occasionally pour some Roebic brand drain cleaner/soap destroyer down a drain to it as well as some Rid-X.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

They stacked sections of concrete "pipe" more like 3 foot sections of 3 foot diameter culvert pipe, one at a time. Then someone got inside and dug out the ground under the bottom section. As dirt is removed beneath the bottom section the stack settles down into the hole. When the top section is even with the ground, a new section is put in place on top. All the dirt is pulled out in a large bucket or basket with a line and pulley on a tripod. When the water table is hit, not only dirt/gravel/sand is hauled out but all the water that comes in as well. After 10 feet of water table I guess they just gave up. Looking down the well, I am amazed at how straight down the well is. I probably would have wandered all over the place.

I think it would be hard to wander far with the culvert sections sliding down. It doesn't sound too horrible, but still definitely not a job that I want to do.

For the gray water we dug a hole about 6 foot square and 6 foot deep. Lined it with cinder blocks and poured a concrete slab cap over it with an access hole on top. The hole is covered with a large concrete patio paver. The whole thing is buried under about 6" of soil and sod. The gray water pipe just pours into it on one side and soaks away into the dirt below. Occasionally pour some Roebic brand drain cleaner/soap destroyer down a drain to it as well as some Rid-X.

cool, thx

[HaroldMHedge]

I would also verify where the secondary drain field is located to make sure if it is not already in use or covered over with something. If the secondary drain field is in use it's ok but if it fails it could become a very expensive repair.

[MBAtarga]

Rather than using RidX - we use Septic Treatment by Cabin Obsession purchased off that big web site. Less than $2 a month - a year's supply and comes in convenient packs that you just drop in a toilet when you flush.

[Rodsrsr]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

Do not have a septic tank inspection done, if it is found to be out of code (size of tank vs bedrooms in house), you will have to bring the entire system up to date at an absolute minimum of $10,000 before an occupancy permit is approved. Many old tanks work very well, and just need to be pumped about every 5 years.

Having a well is no big deal at all, but most likely will need a salt water softner system to make the water more palatable, and less hard on appliances, and laundry. There will also be a water filter that needs to be changed periodically (5 minute job).

This^^^^It also has to do with soil quality. Is it rocky/does it drain well? An old system may work just fine but never meet today's standards in which case you may be required to upgrade the entire system in order to meet code.... 10 to possibly 20k depending on where you live and what type of new system is required.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by icemann427

As well, make sure the distance between the water well and the leach lines is satisfactory. You don't want your waste being leached into your drinking water.

I've always wondered about that.

Ground water flows in a direction.
Is there any way to determine which way it's flowing?