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We are looking at homes in rural areas that have septic tanks and leech fields. Is there a site that would show the location of those items? I assume it may be something on a Counties web site.
Looking at a place and the owner doesn't know where the leech field is and I'd want to build a shop. Plus it would come in handy when looking at other properties.
TIA
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"I didn't do it, nobody saw me"
(set 7 days ago)
Location: Ocala, FL
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Every property that I have seen with septic will have a pipe with a cleanout valve coming from a home or business to help you get a general idea as to what direction the leach field is located. I would hire a septic company that pumps out tanks to help you find it. If the owner doesn't know where it is, it probably should be checked out anyway and possibly have the tank pumped out as a precaution/general maintenance.
First... if you buy a property with a septic, you should have it pumped and inspected before closing, so you would learn where it is, long before you are locating your shop.
Second... if a septic inspector can't locate the tank from county records and good educated deductive investigation, there is a little tracker transponder you can flush that will show where the tank is. Septic pumpers carry these. They are *single use* so there is a charge... But easier than digging in the blind!
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 05-22-2021 at 10:58 AM..
Go to the local jurisdiction that handles septic approvals. Here it is the county. Even the super old homes will have a microfiche sketch on file.
Our own place has a sketch on file, but I think it must have been an early design plan that was never updated, because it's not even close to the right place!
The word is actually leach. Much better than leeches.
In my NC county older properties pre 1960s might have a very rough sketch somewhere but most likely it has faded considerably over the years and might be hard to read. Many rural properties didn’t have septic systems and indoor plumbing until the mid 50s believe it or not. After that the counties may have gotten more organized.
This is such the right timing for this question for me! Thank you for asking it!
My property has a rental house that has a septic, which was NOT cleaned prior to sale. There is NO above ground pipe or marker of any kind, as there is with my own house. However, you can easily see from a depression in the ground where the actual tank is. But, that doesn't tell ya the location of the opening/outlet/pipe to connect to the sucker truck hose.
I started calling septic cleaner companies in my area regarding coming out to clean, and all but one (there are only four) told me I needed to have a PLUMBER do the locating.
So, I asked the one septic co that said they would do the location to come out and do the location work and cleaning.
Day 1: the nimrods with the truck were an hour and a half late and after looking around said they didn't have the right equipment. They said they would go get the right equipment and come back later in the afternoon. They never came back. They did call to say they would come two days later.
Day 2: the nimrods came with a "locator". They went into the crawlspace, CUT A PIPE to put the locator down it, and spent two (2) hours trying to find the correct location of the opening/outlet/pipe. Either their locator machine wasn't working, or they didn't know how to use it, because they never found the location. I made them leave after 2 hours when it was obvious nothing they were doing worked.
So now I've contacted two local plumbers (there are only 4) and talked with them about coming out to do the location work and fix the cut pipe. They both said they'd come when they can. Neither has called back or come out in about 10 days now.
So, I hope your experience is better than mine. Keep us abreast with what's happening at your site, and I'll keep you all up with my saga.
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