will_b
New Member
Hi,
Currently I'm starting the process of building a house. We are closing on a piece of land tomorrow. The land planning engineer we are working with tells us that we will likely need a sewage ejector pump for any basement plumbing fixtures. Other than the basement, it's all gravity drain. I would prefer not to have any sewage ejectors in the house at all. Since it's all raw land with only an approved septic field at the moment, now would probably be the best time to look into options.
1) How deep can a septic tank/drain field be? I went through Maryland's requirements for on-site sewage disposal systems and found nothing indicating the depth of the tank or drain field. The preliminary engineering sketch shows the basement floor at 455.5 ft. The beginning of the approved drainfield closest to the house would be ~460 ft. @ ~25 ft. setback from the house. The rear of the drain field is ~450 ft. The perc test documents do indicate depth of stone and various invert depths for tank inputs/outputs etc. which are currently around 5-6 ft. below the existing grade where the house will be. However, during the building process there's always regrading. I don't know whether those numbers are set in stone or are relative to the final grade or are minimums that must be met. Can I regrade to get the tank lower? I will already be regrading some areas so that part of the basement will be walk-out at 455 ft.
2) If it's just not possible or practical to regrade and/or put the septic tank deeper, how reliable are ejector pumps? Do they fail often and/or catastrophically if treated well (i.e. nothing goes in the toilet that isn't supposed to)? My worst fear is a catastrophic failure of a sewage ejector pump.
3) Do the holding tanks leak gases? I know they are supposed to be vented and sealed, but over years, can or will the seal degrade?
Thanks in advance.
Currently I'm starting the process of building a house. We are closing on a piece of land tomorrow. The land planning engineer we are working with tells us that we will likely need a sewage ejector pump for any basement plumbing fixtures. Other than the basement, it's all gravity drain. I would prefer not to have any sewage ejectors in the house at all. Since it's all raw land with only an approved septic field at the moment, now would probably be the best time to look into options.
1) How deep can a septic tank/drain field be? I went through Maryland's requirements for on-site sewage disposal systems and found nothing indicating the depth of the tank or drain field. The preliminary engineering sketch shows the basement floor at 455.5 ft. The beginning of the approved drainfield closest to the house would be ~460 ft. @ ~25 ft. setback from the house. The rear of the drain field is ~450 ft. The perc test documents do indicate depth of stone and various invert depths for tank inputs/outputs etc. which are currently around 5-6 ft. below the existing grade where the house will be. However, during the building process there's always regrading. I don't know whether those numbers are set in stone or are relative to the final grade or are minimums that must be met. Can I regrade to get the tank lower? I will already be regrading some areas so that part of the basement will be walk-out at 455 ft.
2) If it's just not possible or practical to regrade and/or put the septic tank deeper, how reliable are ejector pumps? Do they fail often and/or catastrophically if treated well (i.e. nothing goes in the toilet that isn't supposed to)? My worst fear is a catastrophic failure of a sewage ejector pump.
3) Do the holding tanks leak gases? I know they are supposed to be vented and sealed, but over years, can or will the seal degrade?
Thanks in advance.