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I recently purchased my first house. A 130 year old victorian beauty in NY.
About 3 months ago I noticed a pool of standing water by the road.. I checked it out and it had a bit of a funky smell. It is on the same side of the house as my leach field, about 100 feet from the septic tank. I confirmed with previous owner that there was a runoff from the leach field going under the road and draining into a field across the street. This was all set up decades ago and since then they have repaved, etc... It seems obvious that it's not draining off anymore and that's why I have that standing water... BUT the puddle doesn't change levels at all. I drained the septic tank when we moved in about 4 months ago...
Now I don't know what I should do about it. I had a septic guy come over and he suggested we dig and put in a drywall of some sort that would act as a leach field to take care of the wet spot.. Only thing is it would cost 3k!
He also said that I could try putting 4 gallons of bleach through my sinks and that may clear things up.. I've read that it's not catastrophic to do so, but generally not a good idea as it will kill good bacteria.
I don't know what to do here.. Would it be possible that I could fill the spot with standing water with gravel or something and hopefully that will filter and disperse the stuff?
Sorry if this is coming off muddled but I'm new to septic systems and a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of having to spend thousands to fix something like this.
PLEASE HELP!
First, you have a problem with groundwater. You may or may not have a problem with the septic leach field, but unless the leach field is way away from the tank, it is a separate problem. Typically, water from it won't go more than a hundred feet, much less one thousand feet. Looking at the Google satellite images of Westtown, there are a bunch of ponds on fairly level land. A drywell (not drywall) won't help.
You either have an opportunity for clean fill, or an opportunity for a water feature.
THANKS for the reply!! I'm really going crazy with this unexpected suprise...
I'm so sorry, I had an extro 0 in my initial post.. The water is approx. 100 feet from the septic tank, probably around 30 feet from where the leach field is.
The previous owner did confirm that there was a pipe going from the leach field out, under a road and across the street.. I couldn't find any sign of the pipe across the street. It was probably ruined in repaving, etc.. and I'm assuming that's why I see that puddle of stuff...
Does that info change anything in your opinion? I don't know if I should be looking into options for re-newing my leach field, drywell or if I can just fill it..
Sorry for being a bit redundant in my questions, please bear with me.
I'm no expert -- kind of new to septic tanks -- but the first thing I remember reading is that signs of a failing leach field is wet places above on the grass and standing stinky water.
I understand your fear of the Health Department, i.e., "authorities". But, if I were you... I'd prefer to get the Health Department involved and get free advice that is for your own good than to try finding a trustworthy Septic contractor.... Contractors are far more scary in this area of expertise -- especially if you are new to this!
The reason the Health Department oversees this area of our lives is for our protection.
You can also ask the Health Department for recommendations of contractors to use to fix your problem.
The health department has nothing to gain from telling you the truth about your septic system.
You can use their information when dealing with contractors -- maybe even have them oversee it!
btw - I would NOT use the person that you had come out and look at your system. You've already experienced what kinds of people you're going to be dealing with if you don't know what you're doing... talk about throwing money down the toilet!
Last edited by World Citizen; 09-07-2008 at 04:33 PM..
If the system is that old...it very likely needs to be replaced (the leach lines, not the septic itself), pipes corrode after time. The average life of metal pipes is about 30 years. Get another specialist (or 2) in there to look at it and give a professional opinion. It will not be inexpensive.
There is no stinky standing water directly over where the leach field is.. The ground is firm and the grass is green, so it seems to be functioning well. The problem is where this pipe that extended from the leach field under the road, etc.. is.
I am worried that if I call the health inspector over, they will ask for engineer plans (which I don't have, being that the house is 130 years old) or find other problems/regulations to cost me even more money. I live in a small town and I rather stay under the radar if possible.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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The health department will have the engineering plans. Thats where we got all the information about our septic system when we were purchasing the house.
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