Hi,

Our house, located in central New York State, has a 1,000 gallon septic tank. The tank was cleaned last fall. There are only two people living in the house and we have had few visitors. Today, I noticed that the area where the tank discharges to the leach field is soggy and the grass is noticeably greener than the grass on other parts of the property. The soggy area is about 10 feet in diameter. There is no noticeable odor in this area (I brushed my hand over the wet area and smelled it). We had a particularly wet winter. I don't know if this situation is new, as this was our second winter in this house and I did not notice anything last spring. Do I have cause for concern, and, if so, what should I do?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi,

Our house, located in central New York State, has a 1,000 gallon septic tank. The tank was cleaned last fall. There are only two people living in the house and we have had few visitors. Today, I noticed that the area where the tank discharges to the leach field is soggy and the grass is noticeably greener than the grass on other parts of the property. The soggy area is about 10 feet in diameter. There is no noticeable odor in this area (I brushed my hand over the wet area and smelled it). We had a particularly wet winter. I don't know if this situation is new, as this was our second winter in this house and I did not notice anything last spring. Do I have cause for concern, and, if so, what should I do?

Thanks for any suggestions.


It sounds like your drain field is water logged and can no longer disperse whatever the septic tank sends it. Could it be froze up? Does it get that cold in March up there? (Remember, I'm a Florida plumber and don't know much about freezes.) For a short term fix you can pump the tank but I would get some estimates on a new drain field. Good luck, Tom

Thanks for the reply. Since the only visible issue right now is the wet ground (no smell or backup into house), is there any harm in waiting to see if the wetness goes away as the ground dries up? The ground here is really saturated; there are places where a vehicle cannot go without getting stuck.

No harm in waiting for the ground to dry up, however, for immediate relief I'd have the tank pumped. Good luck, Tom

Tom, thanks for the suggestions. Today, I had the local septic company come out. What we discovered is that I don't have a leach field. Instead, there is a drywell located about 15 feet from the septic tank. The drywell appears to be a concrete box with treated railroad ties on top of it. The septic people excavated the outflow inspection port on the tank and around the drywell. They also ran a snake from the tank to the drywell. In spite of this, there was not relief on the fluid level in the tank. However, when they dug around the concrete drywell, they broke through the clay and fluid gushed out. The fluid level in the septic tank dropped below the outflow pipe in a matter of minutes. So, it appears that the combination of heavy clay concentration in the soil and a very high water table are too much for the drywell to handle, especially in wet weather.

Temporarily, we cut a ditch from the drywell to a lower, open field. However, short of replacing the drywell, or building a traditional leach field, neither of which can be done in this area without engineering studies and approvals, is there anything that can be done to extend the life of the drywell and make it drain better, like encasing it in crushed rock? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

"Temporarily, we cut a ditch from the drywell to a lower, open field. However, short of replacing the drywell, or building a traditional leach field, neither of which can be done in this area without engineering studies and approvals, is there anything that can be done to extend the life of the drywell and make it drain better, like encasing it in crushed rock? Any suggestions would be appreciated."

I don't know about your health laws but it's against the law here to discharge a septic tank into a open ditch or area which is exactly what you're doing.
Not knowing the depth of the clay prevents me from suggesting a way to disperse the discharge. If were just a layer of clay perhaps you could dig down and expose soil that would drain better. In the mean time could you connect perforated drainage tile or PVC to the drywell and see if the overflow can be dispersed that way until the ground drys up? Since this appears to be a ongoing recurring problem I want you to check out a Mound Septic System. http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/housing/448-401/448-401.html#L2 Let me know what you come up with. Good luck, Tom