Bad field lines?

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Tired-of-septic

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Just had new septic field lines replaced five years ago, and I had two new lines added last summer because I was getting a lot of wet soil at the end of the field line. Well it's no longer wet at the area they added onto, but now it's getting the same problem a the new end of the field line. The tank was pumped a couple months ago, and we've never had any indoor issues with the septic. The septic is on a hill/slope and we have had alot of rain. Is it normal to have some wet ground at the end of a septic line? Besides being on a hill, the end of the septic line is fifty feet from the lake. Would the water table be a issue? The area is mainly dirt with patches of grass, that's why it was so noticeable . Would it help the issue if I put more dirt on top of the area? Septic guy that did the install said it's because of the rain we've been getting. Any thoughts?
 

Plumber111

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The rain could definitely be contributing. A septic is designed to depend upon absorption and evaporation for x amount of water based on soil and how it will be used. Too much rain and/or water use can make things like what you describe happen.

Putting some dirt may help, but not too much. You could then decrease your evaporation rate, even causing slow draining in the house because the absorption can't keep up.

Make sense?

And keep things out of the lake. EPA could crawl into some of your orifices pretty quick. :)
 

Tired-of-septic

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Thank you for the reply, if it's not the rain, what would be my options? I called my septic guy and told him about it and he said it would probably dry up this summer, and told me he could always put new lines in the front yard and pump it there. Which would cost alot more money, Does this happen a lot at the end of the field lines? And does that mean the rest of my septic would continue to get worst or fail. It was just last year when they installed the extra lines, you would think it would work a lot better than this.
 

Jadnashua

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If the tank and associated stuff around it aren't done right, or if it isn't pumped often enough, you can force solids out into the field. This will tend to clog up the openings, slowing the percolation rate considerably. Get enough solids out there, and the line becomes useless. If the tank is setup properly, that shouldn't happen, but if it isn't, it could happen quite fast. What is the soil like? Lots of sand (often good!), or lots of clay (the worst)?

If the water table is higher than the trenches you installed the lines in, they would have filled with water. Now, that table height can change with the seasons, but if it is high right now, and the field is beneath it, it makes it hard to dispurse the extra water you're trying to get rid of.
 

Hackney plumbing

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The #1 reason for a properly installed septic system to fail here is the end user using too much water or having plumbing that leaks. Same difference in the end. Saturated field lines and solids being washed into the field lines before they have a chance to settle to the botttom.
 

Plumber111

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The #1 reason for a properly installed septic system to fail here is the end user using too much water or having plumbing that leaks. Same difference in the end. Saturated field lines and solids being washed into the field lines before they have a chance to settle to the botttom.

Very true. He says they have had the lines "replaced five years ago, and two more lines added to the system". Got to one of three things to me.

1) Something not designed or installed correctly.

2) Unusual amounts of rainfall.

3) Putting way too much water into it quickly.

Washing many clothes? Move there from the city?
 

Smooky

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The septic drain trenches are suppose to be put in level or no more than ¼ inche fall in ten feet. The reason is so the waste water is absorbed into the soil for the entire length of the drain trench. The trench should follow the contour of the hill and not run down the hill. If they go down the hill with much grade the water will run to the end and break out.
 
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