Water Wells & Septic systems - what should I know

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

At the time I talked to the guy who pumped the tank out, he said it wasn't necessary to use an additive. The reason being poop is a quarter to a third bacteria & is sufficient to treat the tank environment. My neighbor across the road has used his septic system for almost thirty years and never had it pumped.

That is the exact reason why I was told..."Do not channel your gray water into the septic tank. It deters the break-down of the solids."
The system will not work as designed.(too much water) You will be having it pumped often. Post#6
Mine has not been pumped in the last 25 years.

[cmccuist]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread but the advice to not get the septic inspected is something that scares me. I've owned multiple homes with septic systems. I've had them fail. In some areas the leach fields will fail over time. You need to know if it is in good shape or not. You need to know if it is gravity or pump driven, where the tanks and lines are, where the leach field is, what all goes into the tank. Toilet only or all gray water as well? A good septic person isn't going to report you to the health district if for some reason it is not to current code. It was legal and signed off when it was installed. Repairs can get expensive. If the field is no longer flowing well, doubly expensive.

We were looking at a house on a river and the dumbest move I ever made was to not have it inspected before buying it. The realtor said the existing system was grandfathered in to the old code. Well, a couple months after we moved in, the old septic failed. Due to the proximity to the river and neighbor's water wells, there was not enough land to put in a new system. We ended up losing the house as the health department said we couldn't live there. One of the neighbors bought it as he had some land across the street.

I would say get the inspection as you are probably grandfathered in with the existing system. Have the inspector tell you if you have enough land for a new aerobic system. If you don't have enough land, then get some incinerating toilets. That will save you as even if your system fails, it will just be wash water from the sinks and washing machine and not raw sewage. Less chance anyone will notice.

[Evans, Marv]

Originally Posted by stevej37

That is the exact reason why I was told..."Do not channel your gray water into the septic tank. It deters the break-down of the solids."
The system will not work as designed.(too much water) You will be having it pumped often. Post#6
Mine has not been pumped in the last 25 years.

I'm sorry I didn't have a gray water outlet plumbed into our showers & sinks at the time of construction. I did, however, put in a gray water outlet for the washing machine. With only two of us, I don't think our 1.5K gal. tank can be overloaded with gray water discharge. (I hope.)

[MBAtarga]

I'm tempted to say that 99% of septic systems installed in the last 50 years have both black and grey water plumbed to them. So long as they are installed correctly and designed for the capacity of use, they work fine.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

I'm tempted to say that 99% of septic systems installed in the last 50 years have both black and grey water plumbed to them. So long as they are installed correctly and designed for the capacity of use, they work fine.

I believe this to be true , I don't think many areas allow separate grey and black tanks . I wish they did . I am old school and still believe some extra bacteria added to the tank every once in a while is a good thing . My wife and I are currently out of state on vacation . Just before I turned off the water supply I flushed three packets of yeast down both of our toilets . Flushed three times to make sure it got to the tank . With no one at the house for two weeks the bacteria can have a party and do their thing .

[fireant911]

A follow up question: In regards to the well - is there any routine maintenance for the outdoor components that should be performed? The water was sampled and sent to the lab and the pressure tank was tested for proper operation. What about the well pump itself? Should it be pulled and inspected for clogging / build up? Our system is working great now (though we have only been here for two months) but as winter is approaching, I would hate to have any water-related problems occur when there is 20" of snow on the ground especially if some early detection procedures could have prevented this.

[rfuerst911sc]

I have never heard of " preventative maintenance " for a submerged well pump . Basically they work or they don't . Usually they either wear out due to age or are damaged by lightning .

[Evans, Marv]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I have never heard of " preventative maintenance " for a submerged well pump . Basically they work or they don't . Usually they either wear out due to age or are damaged by lightning .

I agree. I did have to have my well "gravel sleeved" to prevent the pump from getting clogged by sediment. The pressure tank will quit pressurizing the system when the internal bladder gives up & the tank needs to be replaced (minbe is 11 years oid now). One thing I'd consider is insulating the connections from your large storage tank to your pressure tank if you have freezing weather. My pressure tank is housed in a 5'x6' shed next to my 10K storage tank. One cold morning, I opened a faucet & a bare dribble came out. I kind of knew what the problem was & went up to the tank with a propane torch, warmed up the connection between the tank & the pressure tank shed. After that, water flowed freely. I insulated the pipe with foam insulation & wrapped it with black tape & haven't had a problem since.

[cgarr]

You should be able to drink the water off the top of a properly operating septic system

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cgarr

You should be able to drink the water off the top of a properly operating septic system

Good to know, but I'm not going to be testing that theory.

We spent a week out at the house. Coffee grounds went down the drain. I noticed that at least some (washing machine) stuff must drain separate from the septic, and I saw what I suspect is evidence of the drain field. The septic tanks are just north of the northwest corner of the house. I noticed that there's a depression that runs nearly due north from the septic tanks for about 50 yards. It's the sort of thing that you might see if people or animals frequently walked a path, but there's no reason for anything or anyone to have walked that path. You can see it in the photo below.



The missus had some laundry running and while walking around, about 30-35 yards due east we noticed water with a tiny bit of suds bubbling up out of the ground where the ground slopes down to a ravine with water runoff.

I'm assuming the track due north of the septic tanks is the drain field and bubbling water due east is (would actually have to curve around to the south a bit from the septic tank) is gray water for the washing machine, and possibly other stuff.

[GH85Carrera]

All I know is the grass is always greener over the septic field laterals and the tank.

[cgarr]

Anyone ever shock their wells? I need to, getting iron bacteria, otherwise nothing bad.

[unclebilly]

Mausram- that sounds like a single lateral field. You might consider putting some loam on top if it and seeding it. Do not drive over it or pack it.

With respect to shocking your water well, I have done this a couple times and am due to do it again. It isn’t just pouring bleach down your water well. This information/ instruction sheet is from our local government and is actually quite a good resource.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/09b71647-f9f5-45e0-9fa5-36276471f4fc/resource/68610f93-357b-49f6-ab4a-e5f84bd12a83/download/issue3-shockchlorinatingwell-mar2017.pdf

To get rid of the water afterwards, I pump it into my tanks and go for a drive. It’s lightly chlorinated water so not really littering. I just don’t want to put it into my septic system or kill grass with it.

[Paul T]

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.

That's nice and convenient. My well is 520', not sure that would work!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Mausram- that sounds like a single lateral field. You might consider putting some loam on top if it and seeding it. Do not drive over it or pack it.

That's what it looks like to me too. Most of the diagrams that I saw online looked like they usually branched out into 3 lines, but this definitely looks like one long one. The previous owners had a large tractor and several trailers (including a horse trailer) that they used to park out a bit past the end of the "trail". I suspect they mostly drove around the house and missed this area when they moved/used the trailers, but I can't say for sure.

[fireant911]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Mausram- that sounds like a single lateral field. You might consider putting some loam on top if it and seeding it. Do not drive over it or pack it.

With respect to shocking your water well, I have done this a couple times and am due to do it again. It isn’t just pouring bleach down your water well. This information/ instruction sheet is from our local government and is actually quite a good resource.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/09b71647-f9f5-45e0-9fa5-36276471f4fc/resource/68610f93-357b-49f6-ab4a-e5f84bd12a83/download/issue3-shockchlorinatingwell-mar2017.pdf

To get rid of the water afterwards, I pump it into my tanks and go for a drive. It’s lightly chlorinated water so not really littering. I just don’t want to put it into my septic system or kill grass with it.

unclebilly,
That is some great information in the link you posted. We have that sulfurous-type smell when we first turn on our water as well as some buildup in the toilet tanks. Apparently that is a common thing here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; however, I think that we will go the route of shock chlorinating to see if it improves things. The water was tested as part of the inspection process and came back fine. Our well is seven years old and has never been treated by the previous owner (we just bought it in September).