Check Septic and DF for leaks.

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DarylF08

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My lovely neightbor called the Health Dept. on m saying I was dumping sewage into our lake we live on. I have been there for 3 years and never seen any signs of septic problems. The County did a visual and found nothing but they want to do a dye test. How can I do this test before they come out. If I do have a problem, I want to address it before the county comes back out.
PS.
My neighbor and I do not get along. So any ideas what to do to him is helpful also.

Thanks
Daryl
 

Gary Swart

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I'd just let the county do the testing. If they do find a problem, they will give you time to address the problem. As far a dealing with your neighbor, the best advise I can offer is just to stay away from him as much as possible, be polite to him if it is necessary to talk to him. There is no use arguing with him, because even if you are 100% right, you won't convince him to change his mine, nor will he likely change your mind if he is right. You are addressing the issue that he brought up so let sleeping dogs lie. You will only make your situation worse by trying to get back at him.
 

DarylF08

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Thanks for the advice Gary, but it's been 1 1/2 yr since he moved in. Since then he has threaten to kill my dog, tried to claim and steal a dock that I built and paid for, called the police on my wife for having the weather channel on outside on our patio, complained to our lake board about 7 different issues about my house ( the board laughed at him ) but my name was in the neighborhood paper looking bad and I had addres the issues with the board, and I am sure I left some out. I have done exactly what you said but I have had enough.
Sorry for vent, the drain field, I am an electrical and mechanical engineer and have redone half the plumbing in my house including pressure tank, house filtration and softener. the only thing I haven't done any work on is the septic, I pulled the aerator motor out and took it apart and fixed it ( froze up ). I would like to try and see if there is problem before they come out. For my piece of mind. Is there any thing I can do ? I have read about doing the dye test which doesn't seem to difficult. Just asking for advice. Thanks
Daryl
 

Alternety

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I believe they will put some flourescene dye in the tank and watch for anyplace it may appear. Look online for a supply. Do not trust my spelling. Get one safe for use in potable water since it will potentially get into the lake. You should probably color coordinate with the septic people.

I had a neighbor sort of like yours. He now has his property surrounded by 3 separate sets of fencing. This includes barbed wire with the top supports angled out like a prison fence and an electrified fence. I sold the lot and built somewhere else. I did not want to spend my retirement being aggravated by them.
 

DarylF08

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He is in his late 50'S and I am 40 so I can just wait and hope. But you can only take so much. I have 2 little ones and don't want to see them grow up behind bars. But he is pushing.
I have seen the dye online and was looking that way, I also read you have to 50 gal of water per bedroom , min of 100 max 250. Do I have to use the my well or can I pump out of the lake into my tank ?
 

Mikebarone

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Just a thought...

He is in his late 50'S and I am 40 so I can just wait and hope. But you can only take so much. I have 2 little ones and don't want to see them grow up behind bars. But he is pushing.
I have seen the dye online and was looking that way, I also read you have to 50 gal of water per bedroom , min of 100 max 250. Do I have to use the my well or can I pump out of the lake into my tank ?


You may try the, “kill him with kindness†approach. Mail him a letter saying something like you want to put the past behind you and just become good neighbors. Tell him that if he has any issues that you may be bothering him about, that you want him to feel free to come talk to you about them and you guy’s can come up with a good solution to the problem. If something comes of it great…if not…nothing lost.
Just remember there are a lot of people out there that have been on drug for so long, (or are still on drugs) that they don’t think rational, and communicating with them is useless. My parents also had a neighbor like that, and they also had to finally move away. I kind of agree with the idea of just letting the county come out and do their thing. Things happen, and you have a leak, you will fix it. It’s not like you by-passed the line to the leach field yourself, just to pump it into the lake. The end result will be the same…you find the leak, or the county finds the leak…things like that happen. I wouldn’t get the old blood pressure up over it. Just deal with it when the county does their test.

Good luck with both,

Mike
 

Alternety

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If you want to test, any old water should work. I presume the lake is not covered with a layer of oil. You need to put enough in to get a good flow through the tank and into the field, but not so much that you leave pieces (other than the field) that need to be tested without standing dyed water for a while.

Do you have any idea what the soil under the field is like? Sand, clay, etc. If you are contaminating the lake, it means unprocessed materials are getting out of the system. It could be a broken pipe or leaking tank. It can also be a drain field that is not functioning properly. If the field is clogged from accumulation of solids the water will not be absorbed and processed through the soil under the field. It has to go somewhere, and if it is aside of a lake it can run through soil layers and enter the lake. Same thing as if it was never actually built properly. Like a thin soil layer on top of rock or other impermeable layer sloped toward the lake. If you have the original design you might want to review it just so you understand what is out there. The County (or whomever administers the septic installation) should be able to provide a copy. I would also probably want to know as early as possible. It is just the way the engineering head works.
 

DarylF08

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Don't have original plans/
Lake was 8 ft low ast year, lake water was about 50 yrds from my property.
Steep slope to lake, never seen any wet spot or eveidnce of leaking. Soil is rocky clay and shelf rock not very deep. guessing 10 ft. Just not sure on how much water and how to judge water intake to where I don't overdo it but give a good test.
 

hj

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test

For a dye test you have to inject a colored material, preferably efflorescent into the drain piping and then see if it appears on the shore or in the lake. It will take a considerable amount to give a proper test. ANY septic tank near is lake could be contaminating it because of the shallow water table and the fact that the effluent will soak down to it. Some fly by night installers will just run a discharge pipe from the tank out into the water.
 
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