- This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 23 years, 7 months ago by
DaveMiller.
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Lori Forness
Our house is 4 yrs old. We have a few wet spots in the yard and very heavy clay soil. (Georgia Clay)
We have had a septic person out and they want to replace the entire drainfield. This is very expensive. We have not had the system pumped yet. Do you think this will help our drainfield if we did. -
If your house is only 4 years old, and your system has already failed due to poor soil, replacing the field probably won’t help much. If it were twenty years old, and the gravel in the field was clogged (not likely in 4 years), but the soil was good (yours is not), it might help.
Before investing in a new field, get the soil retested and run a new perc with someone you trust. There are a number of reasons that the original tests could have been bad, including incompetence, or even kickbacks from developers to get permits in areas that should not pass.
Depending on how bad your tests are, you MAY be able to increase the size of your field to compensate for slow drainage. Unfortunatlely, you may have to double it to have a noticable effect, and to be certain you will cure the problem.
Don’t rush into this without retesting–the tests are cheap compared to replacing the field. You don’t need another failed system. Good luck.
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Disposing of septic tank effluent into clay (especially using gravity)is a risky business.
I am a wastewater designer with a website at http://www.davemiller.co.nz and have recently helped a lady overcome a similar problem.
If the effluent will not soak away I would suggest you look at a pumped system to bring the effluent above the clay and evenly spead it out into the topsoil(assuming you have some) or treating the effluent in a treatment system or sand contactor before discharging it around the property.
If you have any queries check out my website and get in touch.
Regards
Dave Miller
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