Septic Tank Owner Responsibilities

As a home and septic tank owner, it’s your responsibility to take care of your septic system. Not taking the necessary steps to inspect and pump out your septic tank can cause major damage to your property and result in thousands of dollars spent for repairs or system replacement. Moreover, a malfunctioning sewerage system may contaminate groundwater, possibly leading to health hazards. To make sure everything runs smoothly, you should consult with the resources provided and use this article as a resource. Proper maintenance of your septic system will ensure its proper functioning and protect your home investment as well as safeguard public health.

Components

A septic tank consists of four main components – a pipe from the home, a septic tank itself, a drainfield, and the soil. Through this system, wastewater from the home is discharged into the septic tank where solids settle out and oil rises to the surface. The partially treated wastewater then exits the tank and flows into the drainfield for further treatment by microbes in the soil which remove harmful bacteria, viruses, and nutrients before it reaches groundwater. For efficient functioning, it is important that there is suitable soil present to allow successful treatment of wastewater. Additionally, it may be useful to install risers with lids at ground level to enable easy location and pumping of the septic tank alongside screens to keep solids out of the drainfield. A reserve drainfield may also be necessary in some states as an area on your property suitable for a new system if your current one fails.

Alternative treatment options for a septic tank owner

If you don’t have suitable soils to install traditional septic systems, or if the area has high concentrations of existing typical septic systems, you may need an alternative septic system. These use new technologies to improve treatment processes and typically operate with sand, peat, plastic media, or wetlands; they also require various components such as float switches and pumps to operate. If an alternative system is required for your property, be sure to contact a local health department or installer for detailed information regarding operation and annual inspection needs.

Reasons a septic tank owner should maintain their system

Maintaining your septic system is essential, not only to help it last longer, but also to protect the environment and your health. An unmaintained septic system can lead to all sorts of pollution, including contamination of ground water and even the spread of diseases. Regular maintenance checks are required to make sure that the system is working properly, so that it doesn’t cause any problems for you or your environment in the future.

Maintaining your septic system is not only important for the health and safety of you and your family, but for your wallet as well. Failing septic systems can be costly to repair or replace, so regular maintenance and inspection of your system can go a long way in helping keep it functioning properly. Additionally, it is necessary to maintain your system to protect water resources from pollutants like bacteria, viruses, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Without proper treatment of sewage, groundwater can be contaminated; leading to diseases such as gastrointestinal illness, hepatitis and ear and eye infections caused by contact with polluted surface water. Proper maintenance of your system will help to lower the chance of these illnesses occurring!

How should a septic tank owner maintain their septic system?

Maintaining a septic system is essential for proper and efficient operation. Generally, an inspection should be carried out every 3 years by a professional, and the tank should be pumped according to the inspector’s recommendation (usually 3-5 years). Additionally, alternative systems with electrical float switches, pumps or mechanical components should be inspected more regularly, usually once a year. During the inspection, the service provider will look for leaks and check on the layers of scum and sludge in your septic tank. If the bottom of the scum layer is within 6 inches of the bottom outlet tee, or if the top of sludge layer is within 12 inches of the outlet tee – it requires pumping. To determine how often pumping is necessary take into account factors such as number of people in your household, amount of wastewater generated and volume of solid wastewater, as well as tank size itself. In terms of additives often claimed to breakdown sludge in tanks – their effectiveness remains questionable since tanks already contain bacteria needed for its treatment. Thus, periodic pumping remains a better way to ensure septic systems work correctly over many years. After pumping has been completed record any repairs done in report provided by pumper, as well as noting whether or not tank was in good condition. Lastly, if recommended repairs are one’s pumper cannot perform themselves – hire someone else to carry them out swiftly.

Efficiency

One of the easiest ways to start using water more efficiently is by making sure that your plumbing system does not have any leaks. Check for leaks in toilets and faucets, as even a small drip can add many gallons of water to your septic system every day. If possible, replace old, inefficient toilets with high-efficiency models that use 1.6 gallons of water or less per flush. Installing faucet aerators and high-efficiency showerheads can also reduce the amount of water entering your septic system. By taking these simple steps, you will be able to use water more efficiently and reduce the risk of septic system failure.

Pay attention to your drains

It is important to watch what goes down your drain in order to keep your septic system functioning properly. Make sure you do not flush items such as dental floss, feminine hygiene products, diapers, cotton swabs, cigarette butts, coffee grounds, cat litter, or paper towels down the toilet – these items can clog or damage septic system components if they become trapped. Additionally, household chemicals, gasoline, oil, pesticides, antifreeze, and paint should never be flushed into a septic system as they can harm the biological treatment process taking place or contaminate surface waters and groundwater. It is wise to be mindful of the size of washing machine load; opting for small loads on large-load cycles wastes water and energy. Try to spread out laundry loads throughout the week in order to give your septic tank time to adequately treat wastes and allow sufficient recovery time for your drainfield. Washing machines with Energy Star label use 35 percent less energy and 50 percent less water than a standard model.

Take Care of Your System

As a septic tank owner, it is important to take good care of its drainfield. Make sure to keep trees or shrubs with long root systems away from it. Do not drive or park vehicles on any part of your septic system as this can compact the soil in the drainfield and damage pipes, tanks, or other components. Additionally, be certain that roof drains, sump pump drains and other rainwater or surface water drainage systems are kept well away from the drainfield – flooding it with excessive water will slow down or completely stop treatment processes and may cause plumbing fixtures to back up.

What makes septic systems fail?

What can cause a septic tank system to fail? When too much waste is put into your septic system, it can back up and create a health hazard. You might also be able to tell when it’s failing when you start to smell foul odors or see nothing but partially treated wastewater in the yard. In some cases, this problem could have been prevented by limiting water use and having the system inspected and pumped regularly. Other possible causes of failure include unsuitable soils, inaccessible tanks, or clogged components within the system. Roots from nearby trees can also interfere with treatment processes.

Failure symptoms and causes

Homeowners must be aware of the potential causes of septic system failure in order to maintain a properly functioning system. Household toxics such as oil-based paints, solvents, and toxic cleaners should never enter the septic system. Latex paint cleanup waste should also be minimized. Cleaning products with labels indicating “Danger” or “Poison” should not be used because they are highly hazardous to your system. Hot tubs and swimming pools should not be drained into a septic system as this can cause clogging of the drainfield. Any freshwater purification systems, including water softeners, must have alternate routes to avoid pumping large amounts of water into the septic tank. Use of garbage disposals should be avoided as they can accumulate sludge and scum in the tank and require frequent pumping. Generally, it is necessary for an adequate soil analysis to be conducted prior to designing or installing a new septic system in order to ensure that soil conditions are suitable for proper wastewater treatment. Improper installation can also lead to failure due to poor levelling or compaction of soils resulting from heavy equipment used during installation. And surface drainage needs to be diverted away from the field in order to prevent saturation of drains and infiltrations systems from excess water overflowing from other sources.