Leech Lines are Full?

[Druxlucci]

My wife and I bought our house 10 months ago. Recently, we noticed that our washing machine was causing our septic tank to back up through the drain off valve. The septic people came out today and determined that our leech lines are full. We received a septic certification when we bought the house but that is apparantly worthless. I have already decided to re-route the washer line away from the septic.

I am curious if anyone has used these septic cleaner products advertised on the web that claim to restore your drainfield, avoiding costly repairs.

I am also wondering if it is safe for my family to live here and if our water supply will be contaminated.

Please Help.

[LazyPup]

I have heard of people using those chemical agents to restore the leecefield but I have never heard anyone say that they actually worked.

In regards to your concern about the safety of living there. Let me put your mind at ease a bit. The treatment of sanitary waste in a septic tank system is a multi-part operation. Inside the septic tank there are two chambers.

As the effluent enters the first chamber heavy solids settle to the bottom of the tank. The remaining material is liquified into a heavy slurry that passes into the second chamber called the digester. In the digestor Anerobic bacteria (Bacteria that thrive in the absence of air) break down the waste into a grew water liquid that passes into the leece field. The leech field lines are normally only about two to three feet below grade and air can penetrate the soil to the leachfield depth where aerobic (Air breathing bacteria) complete the treatment process by converting the waste into soil nutrients and plain water. Even if the water in the leachfield lines was to come to the surface it would only pose a short term health risk which could be minimized by preventing any person or pets from having direct contact with it. Once it is on the surface and exposed to air and sunlight the aerobic bacteria would complete the treatment process in a very short time and what remains would enter the soil as plant nutrients which are then consumed by your grass.

Years ago when many rural homes relied upon open springs or dug wells there was the potential that the waste from a septic tank could enter the water supply directly but now we rely upon deeper wells well below the level to which any of the septic discharge can penetrate under normal circumstances. The major concern about surface discharge today is that it might be carried into a surface watershed that would later end up in the streams and rivers that feed into our municipal reservoirs. Common topsoil serves as a natural filtration system and the chances of any surface effluent actually reaching the subterranian aquafer are very small.

There are numerous methods used to restore a leechfield system. In some cases if you have enough land available they may elect to just extend the leechfield lines. Another method, although seldom done because of cost, is to remove the top soil in the area of the leechfield and replace the soil and install new leechfield lines. In areas where it is determined that the soil is no longer capable of absorbing enough liquid to support a septic tank leachfield they may build and above ground septic system which is often called a berm system or bank system, but here again, this is a very costly project that requires not only building the above ground septic system, but it also often requires installing a Sewage Ejector Pump system to lift the waste up to the new septic tank.

There is another alternative that is just now gaining popularity. They add a third chamber to the septic tank called an aereation chamber. Basically it is just a large tank similar to the septic tank itself, but this tank has air injection nozzles built in and it requires installing a small air compressor to supply the necessary air for the system. In this manner air is injected into the waste to support the aerobic bacteria that would normally be present in a leechfield system thus the final treatment takes place in the tank and the remaining liquid is safe to discharge directly into a storm drain or surface watershed such as a nearby stream. In some localities they also require this type of system to have a chlorinator which is simply a PVC dispenser attached to the discharge line and you have to put large pucks of chlorine into the dispenser in the same manner as adding chlorine to a home swimming pool.

[Druxlucci]

Thanks for the info

Thanks for the info. I've definately received a crash course in septic operations through this whole ordeal. We're first time buyers and this is not the kind of thing a person wants to deal with after 10 months of owning your first home.

Thanks again.