Septic Tank Problem

[JK_xyz]

Recently we have been told that our septic tank drainage is leaking into a newly built house next door. I guess I shouldnt say next door….we live in a huge field and a new house was built across the field from us. A health department lady came to our house, put dye in our toliet, bathroom sink, kitchen sink and in our sump pump. The next day she called and said that she had check the site and it was indeed green (the dye). We rented this house for a number of years before buying it. After living here for 17 years now, we find out that when the septic tank was installed, it was installed wrong…or I should say cheaply. My question would be, is this our fault? Should we have to pay for the correction of this or should the person who sold us the house and installed the tank? This is a BIG deal and we dont have the money for a whole new septic tank. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

[Pam]

: Recently we have been told that our septic tank drainage is leaking into a newly built house next door. I guess I shouldnt say next door….we live in a huge field and a new house was built across the field from us. A health department lady came to our house, put dye in our toliet, bathroom sink, kitchen sink and in our sump pump. The next day she called and said that she had check the site and it was indeed green (the dye). : We rented this house for a number of years before buying it. After living here for 17 years now, we find out that when the septic tank was installed, it was installed wrong…or I should say cheaply. : My question would be, is this our fault? Should we have to pay for the correction of this or should the person who sold us the house and installed the tank? : This is a BIG deal and we dont have the money for a whole new septic tank. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.Im not a lawyer, but I would think its your problem now. Whether or not you could seek recorse from previous owner would be up to courts. Check with a Real Estate lawyer. A lot depends on how long youve owned the place and wording of contract. One thing in particular catches my eye, Is this a sewer sump pump or simply a water sump pump for your basement etc. Is it tied into the septic tank? The dye showing up the next day sounds mighty fast over a great distance unless you use a awful lot of water or there is absolute no absorption in drain field. Are you sure this person was from Health Dept.? Good luck

[Pam]

We have called a lawyer. I was just wondering if anyone has ever had a problem like this or related to it before. We dont meet with a lawyer until Monday. From what we have learned today after talking to people, the sinks, washer, and water softener are all running into the sump pump. Im not sure if the water softener running in there is bad or not. It is a water sump pump running from the basement…totally seperate from the septic.I am not surprised the dye showed up that fast. We have 6 people living in this house. We do use a lot of water.Yes, I am sure she was from the Health Department. We had to call her there yesterday.Thanks for the information you gave. I know one way or another it is going to have to be fixed. I agree with the Health Department that it does. Its not right.

[Pam]

: We have called a lawyer. I was just wondering if anyone has ever had a problem like this or related to it before. We dont meet with a lawyer until Monday. From what we have learned today after talking to people, the sinks, washer, and water softener are all running into the sump pump. Im not sure if the water softener running in there is bad or not. It is a water sump pump running from the basement…totally seperate from the septic.: I am not surprised the dye showed up that fast. We have 6 people living in this house. We do use a lot of water.: Yes, I am sure she was from the Health Department. We had to call her there yesterday.: Thanks for the information you gave. I know one way or another it is going to have to be fixed. I agree with the Health Department that it does. Its not right. :Well good luck with the problem, I wanted to mention that the water conditioner should not be run into the septic tank if at all possible, this in itself could overload a drain field.

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