?s for owners of well water/septic systems...

[Larry Frank]

A lot depends on the particular location. I have both a septic system and a well. I had to put in a mound system when the septic system was about 18 years old. It really depends on the type of soil that you have. I have hard clay that does not drain well. I have the tanks for the septic mound pumped about every 2 years. I could go longer but the cost of having a major repair to the mound system is so great that I will just do the preventative maintenance.

As to well water....I have extremely bad water with high hardness, sulfur, manganese and iron. However, all is good as I found a very good water treatment guy who has been working with mine for 35 years. I have a filter/air oxidizer system that uses air to oxidize the iron, manganese, and sulfur which is filtered out. This system takes no maintenance and back washes every night. The softener is after it and finishes the treatment. I will take my treated water over any chlorinated city water. You have to find someone who knows the area water and how to treat it and not just some salesman.

If I were looking at a new home with a well and septic, I would pay for a testing on both the water and septic and also find out what the soil type is. With the water, get it tested as it comes from the well and then after treatment. If you pay for the tests, you are more likely to get a good assessment.

I think the key to these systems is maintenance and knowing what you have.

One last thought, if the power is out it is nice to have a barrel of water to add buckets to the toliet tank and to have a case of bottle water sitting around. The power requirement for a well pump is pretty high especially the starting current and getting a generator that size and getting it wire properly is a pretty big cost.

[Lee Schierer]

Yet some of you have your systems pumped every 2 years?!? And they are only supposed to last 20 years or so?!? AFAIK, none of my neighbors have theirs pumped either. It makes me wonder if we are headed for a problem in the future.

Septic systems work by anaerobic bacteria breaking down the organic matter you put down the various drains. This process produces certain amounts of gas, water and ash. The ash accumulates in the tank, settling on the bottom. The water is supposed to be put into the ground by the leach field. When the ash level reaches the height of the outlet to the leach field, you can fill your leach field with ash, which is bad and will clog the field. Pumping the tank periodically removes this ash and prevents it from getting into the leach field. Tanks should be pumped every 2-5 years depending upon the tank size and amount of material being put in it each year.

More and more these days, local & state governments are restricting what septic designs can and cannot be used in a local area to prevent potential pollution of the ground water and other sanitation issues. Most of the approved designs and repair solutions do not come cheap so regular maintenance is a way to avoid or at least postpone major expenditures.

[Mark Bolton]

When the ash level reaches the height of the outlet to the leach field, you can fill your leach field with ash, which is bad and will clog the field

This isn't really true. The baffles in the tank, as long as they are present, prevent anything other than clear water from flowing into the leach. There is an inlet baffle which is there to deposit solids below the scum layer and there is an outlet baffle to prevent any floating material (solids) from following into the leach. There should never be anything other than clear water flowing into the leach.

There is no point at which material begins or stops flowing into the leach. For every single eye dropper of material that flows into the tank there is the exact amount expelled. It's a one for one ratio other than any miniscule allowance for tank seepage in a concrete tank.

A spoon full in equals a spoon full out.

If anyone fills their tank to the level of hitting the baffles there is no solids flowing to the leach. The tank will stall and you will shortly have a blockage internal to the home. The system is designed to stall the flow from the residence and never allow solids to flow to the leach.

If you do happen to ever hit this point you either have a drastically undersized septic or your family needs to eat far less food. Most septics can practically handle years and years without pumping. Many go decades and are still well functioning. No different than changing the oil in your car though it's better to be safe than sorry..

[Ole Anderson]

Boy, I thought this is a question I can really add some content, being a civil engineer and all. Frankly I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said. All I can do is relate my personal experience. I live in a subdivision that was built in segments, the most recent is now 40 years old. Neighbors on both sides have wells, those across the street are on the subdivision municipal well system. Knowing the folks at the county, I was able to connect to the municipal well system when I built and I am glad I did. Wells need replacing once in a while, I don't have that hassle. And I have water when the power fails as the well is on a generator. A lot of iron up close to the well, but it seems to settle out before it gets to me so I don't see much of an iron issue. Great tasting water by the way. Municipal wells around here are in sand/gravel and 200-300 feet deep thanks to the glaciers. Our soils are also sand/gravel, but do vary lot by lot. Our soil is prime for a septic system. I built the house 39 years ago and have pumped the tank, I think, three times. And yes I am due to pump and karma probably has me due for a new field. Unless it is a raised field, there are no indications in my 400 lot sub by looking as to where the leaching fields are.

Folks that have always lived on a sewer system seem to freak about having to do with a septic tank and leaching field. In reality, a properly designed system with good soils is better than a sewer where you eventually dump all of that waste into somebody's river even after treatment. We don't dump copious amounts of stuff down the garbage disposal, mainly dinner plate scrapings. The bigger issue is what you flush down the toilet. Plenty of bacteria there, no need to spend money on Ridex or other septic tank treatments. Just don't flush a lot of wipes or disposable diapers down and you should be ok. And don't worry, any kind of TP is ok. Tanks are designed to first skim off the grease and floating scum, then allow heavier solids to settle to the bottom with fairly "clean" water exiting the tank to the field.

Around here we refer to the bottom deposit as sludge, never heard it referred to as ash, must be a local term. Maybe ash just sounds more refined than sludge.

[Myk Rian]

assuming the system was cared for properly in the past?

This is key, and something you may never know.
I do not recommend a disposer. Backup power for the well, as well as everything else in the house.

We've had well/septic for 37 years in this house. The last field gave out 25+ years ago. It was an older tile style field and had collapsed.

[Justin Ludwig]

Let me preface my post by saying I haven't read everyone's posts. With that said:

We have a 120ft well that pumps some of the hardest water in the county. It's full of iron, manganese, magnesium and sulfur. It'll stain porcelain in a week if not filtered. We set up two 300 gallon reservoir tanks in a custom built well house. I built an aerating spray bar out of PVC that separates the sulfur when entering holding tank 1. Tank 1 and 2 are connected via 1" gravity line 2 inches off the bottom (allowing sediments to go undisturbed). Tank 2 has a couple fish tank aerators to separate any remaining sulfur. From there the water runs through a 110v jet pump that supplies the house. Between the house and jet pump, we installed a set of 4 filters (5 micron) run in parallel to get the remaining junk out of the water. What comes out of the ground as a dingy brownish mess (still drinkable) comes into the house clear and clean. We still use 2 reverse osmosis units in the laundry room to clean our drinking water because my wife is a germ-a-phobe.

Back up power is only needed from a small generator that provides 110v. Last year's ice storm had us out of power for 4 days. We didn't do laundry and we hand washed minimal dishes. The toilets will use the most water, so the rule was: "If it's brown flush it down, if it's yellow let it mellow!" We used less than 100 gallons.

As for the septic: no grease, tell the wife not to use half a roll of TP each sitting, and NO feminine hygiene products to be flushed! As long as it was perc tested properly when installed and properly plumbed, you should have minimum upkeep. We use our garbage disposal on a regular basis and have no problems.

[Matt Meiser]

This is key, and something you may never know.

Actually its easier to find out than I would have ever imagined. The guy who did the inspection here probes around over the field, finds a tile a little ways out from the tank and digs a hole for an inspection. He can see what's in the gravel and soil, and with PVC he can cut a flap in the pipe and look inside.

Backup--you don't need a huge generator. We had typical portable (maybe 6500W?) and it ran our well and a lot of other essentials just fine for days. The backup generator we put in a couple years ago was definitely nicer but the worked as long as I was home to hook it up.

[Mike Lassiter]

Dan I have both well and septic system. Both installed when I bought property in 1996. Water has a little iron in it which requires a "bladder tank" to keep rust from forming inside pressure tank. Later I installed a filter inside house that removed it. Never really bad but over time white clothes would turn yellowish from washing. Anyway, I have had to replace the in ground pressure tank twice, still on original pump; and never had septic tank pumped out. First few years 4-5 living here and since only 2.

When the health department came to do the perk test, it was the day after we have a huge rain and we had to install a "curtain drain" across part of our yard partly due to a field beside our yard which is higher than the yard. During the peak of summer I can tell exactly where the field lines are in my front yard because the grass turns brown from lack of water. Typically you see most have a dark green grass where their field lines run due to the extra water they put into the ground - we use little enough I guess that the lines actually allow the water in the ground above them to wick down away from the surface enough to dry out the ground.

Zero problems. Here the minimum city water bill is around $22 or so a month. While it does cost to run the well, it am sure with the limited amount of water we use that we have saved hundreds over the years living here by having a well. Well cost $2100 to install in 1996. Tanks replaced because rubber bladder inside became porous and the air charge in the tank seeped through the rubber into the water. You will know it because when you turn on the water the water will cycle with the pump cycling on and off (not good for pump). Tanks without the rubber bladder will become "water logged" sometimes and the air cushion in the tank will gradually become lost and the same thing - pump has no air cushion and will quickly spike pressure and pressure switch will quickly cycle on and off and water pressure will fluctuate rapidly. There is a valve that can be installed in the pressure tank called an air volume control valve, that is suppose to prevent this automatically, but my mother in law had it on her well and the tank filled with air to the point that the tank would completely empty of water and stir the sentiment up at the bottom of the tank and she was getting muddy rusty water out. They thought the well had gone out, but all it needed was turning off the well and draining the tank of air, removing the pipe plug at the top of the tank and turning the pump back on to fill the tank about 1/2 or 2/3 full then putting the pipe plug back in the tank. Water level was so low in the tank the air volume was enough that the air was blowing out after the tank ran out of water. Simple fix - she hadn't had water in days when my wife told me about it. It took about 15 minutes to fix it,
I don't have a garbage disposal, we live in the "country" and just take scrapes outside and either put them in a dozer pile I have on property or wherever my wife decides and the neighborhood pets and raccoons, possums and so forth eat them at night when they are out foraging.

City sewer rates here are tied to water usage, and many cities around the sewer is higher cost than the water. Watering garden, or yard is a double cost because you are paying for the water and paying for sewer to treat it too. Water bills in several surrounding towns have increased 30-70% of late due to small cities having to cover the cost of treating their water, and once city just on the local news showed one lady saying her newest water bill was $131 not counting sewer and garbage. That makes a well look pretty good in my book. I had no choice here when I bought the land. No city water to my area - but they did run a natural gas line to me since I have a gas furnace and stove. I have ran a 5000 watt generator maybe 3-4 times in 17 years for about 2 days max over the years due to severe storms downing many power lines all around and trees down across the roads type situation. Had to drive to Jackson - about 30 miles away and around town there then to find a gas station that had power to get gas for generator. Future plans to get a generator that will run on natural gas as a stand by.
Power outages happen fairly regular but normally just a matter of minutes or hours and they will not be too big a concern as you know the toilets are full of water and can be flushed once at least, what you don't know is how full the pressure tank is when the power goes out. It could be "full" or just about to the level that the pump was about to cut on, which might mean you get 3 - 5 gallons out of it and then run out. Unless you get a huge pressure tank you will have maybe 15 - 25 gallons of water to draw down out of the tank before it is empty. The main purpose of the tank isn't really to hold a big storage volume of water so much at to provide a cushion to the pump were it doesn't cut on every time you turn on the water to get a glass full or fill coffee pot. You will have to learn to limit usage while power is out coming from the city were that hasn't been a issue before. It's not a big deal really, just an "adjustment" to living in the country.

[Dan Hintz]

Looked it up last night... the house was built in '87. Has there been anything more than mild changes/updates in septic system design over the years that would warrant paying closer attention to what's likely in the ground? For example, maybe it was common to use plastic tanks that often failed within 30 years, that sort of thing.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

In the VI we use cisterns to catch rainwater. Sounds primitive, but the cistern is a concrete structure like a swimming pool. If you keep it bleached every now and then it's perfectly clean. I have never had to buy water. We get enough rain to keep it full. We also have notorious island-wide blackouts. The pressure tank keeps enough pressure for a couple of flushes and brushing your teeth. If it stays off a long time you dip a bucket in the cistern and bathe with it. I would not worry about power outages.

I do not drink the cistern water but I had housemates that did. Recently I moved to the downtown area- the only area with public water, but I also have a cistern. The public water is so nasty that I prefer to keep it as a backup.

[Jim Becker]

1) Well water can be "da best"...no chlorine taste and nice and cold year round. But yes, it can have some "regional" taste based on minerals, etc. Whether or not you do any treatment depends on a water analysis. Sediment filtration is a must but beyond that it depends. My water has way too much fines in it to use something like charcoal filtration unless it was a double filtration situation. We don't do any further treatment as our water tests out naturally soft, albeit acidic from the limestone mountain we are at the base of.

2) Septic systems should be pumped every 2-3 years typically, but it depends upon usage. As to the system itself, in almost all cases, the local jurisdiction will be inspecting it as part of the sale process. If it's old, they will require it be replaced as part of the change of ownership. In many cases, the seller is on the hook for most of the cost but there will often be negotiation. When we moved in here, we had to contribute $5K and the seller put out $15 of the then $20K cost. When we put on our major addition, we had to have the field replaced as it was not large enough for the additional bathrooms by code. That was another $25K at that point from cost escalations over time. And in many areas of the country, traditional leach field are no longer allowed. Sand mounds have replaced them. We effectively have a sand mound setup, but because of the physical conditions of the specific area it was installed on the hill behind our house, it was able to be constructed underground so there was no change in grade.

For us, loss of power in a sense means loss of both water and septic because effluent is pumped up the hill to the field. Not an issue with the latter for short term, but for a very long outage it could be an issue, even though we have a 1500 gallon septic tank and a 500 gallon pump tank. We will be installing whole-house generation in the very recent future...as soon as I can fund it. I planned on doing that last fall, but this year has been a bit tougher financially and I haven't been able to do it yet.

[Brian Elfert]

The city I was living in bases your sewage costs on your water usage in the winter months. They assume most of your extra water usage in the summer months is not going into the sewer system. Higher water rates do discourage using large amounts of city water to irrigate grass. People with wells figure it is nearly free to irrigate their grass not thinking about what happens when the aquifers dry up. There are areas of the USA where aquifers have dried up, or are drying up.

I question why a four bedroom house like the one I am buying needs a 600 gallon per day septic system. If you figure five people in the house at most they would each need to put 125 gallons a day into the septic system.

[Mark Bolton]

The city I was living in bases your sewage costs on your water usage in the winter months. They assume most of your extra water usage in the summer months is not going into the sewer system. Higher water rates do discourage using large amounts of city water to irrigate grass. People with wells figure it is nearly free to irrigate their grass not thinking about what happens when the aquifers dry up. There are areas of the USA where aquifers have dried up, or are drying up.

I question why a four bedroom house like the one I am buying needs a 600 gallon per day septic system. If you figure five people in the house at most they would each need to put 125 gallons a day into the septic system.

That's actually not far off from the average US household when you factor in everthing from showering, toilet, baths, laundry, dishwasher, and so on.

I personally use a mere fraction of that but all you have to do is look at the end of peoples driveway on trash day to see how flagrantly wasteful the average household is today. If you think they are putting out that much trash per week and are somehow "reasonable" with their water use,.. well,.. I don't know what to tell ya.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

We have an aerobic septic system because of our heavy soil. It uses sprinklers instead of a leach field, the water is treated to the level of the recycled water used to irrigate golf courses. It cost a lot more than a leach field system, uses electricity and the county requires us to keep a maintenance agreement agreement for it. That's not all bad because the company inspects the system yearly as part of the contract. It also makes the minimum lot size larger to accomodate the sprinkler area.

[Brian Elfert]

That's actually not far off from the average US household when you factor in everthing from showering, toilet, baths, laundry, dishwasher, and so on.

I personally use a mere fraction of that but all you have to do is look at the end of peoples driveway on trash day to see how flagrantly wasteful the average household is today. If you think they are putting out that much trash per week and are somehow "reasonable" with their water use,.. well,.. I don't know what to tell ya.

The house I just sold I averaged about 75 gallons a day in water use for the entire house, but I lived alone. I really didn't do anything to save water, but I didn't waste it either. I figure a household of five isn't automatically going to use five times as much water as certain water uses don't up with more people. 600 gallons a day just struck me as a lot of water to use.

I had the smallest trash can available and I rarely filled it up. Often I only took it to the curb every other week. A family down the street had two of the largest trash cans available and they were overflowing every week.