# Septic Tank Questions



## vinny11950 (Nov 6, 2016)

Need some help figuring out some details on my septic tank.

I pulled the original plans for the septic tank system for my house submitted to the building department so I could find my tank and have it pumped.  I don't know much about septic systems so please bare with me.

I have never had the tank pumped and don't know if the previous owner did it either.  So lets assume it hasn't been pumped in 10 years.  The system works fine, no issues with any of the drains in the house.  I am just trying to be proactive.  I have been using those little septic tank bio treatment bags that you flush down the toilet.

Anyway, the plans say the system was built in 1972.  It has 1 rectangular septic tank (900 gallons, precast) that feeds 2 round cesspools (block).





I pulled out the tape measures and started digging.  3 holes later I think I hit the top of the septic tank.  It was getting late so I had to stop.







It's about 24" inches below ground.

My questions are:

1) How much do I dig out?  Until I find a manhole cover?  Any other inspection ports I should look for?

2) Do I want to look for anything else?

3) When I have it pumped, any other maintenance items I should have done while it is open?

4) Also, I am assuming only the septic tank gets pumped and not the cesspools, correct?

Thank you all who read this.


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## gzecc (Nov 6, 2016)

vinny11950 said:


> Need some help figuring out some details on my septic tank.
> 
> I pulled the original plans for the septic tank system for my house submitted to the building department so I could find my tank and have it pumped.  I don't know much about septic systems so please bare with me.
> 
> ...


Yes you need to uncover the cover. (let the pumping company remove it).
When the company opens it,  have him inspect the interior (cracks, outlet baffle etc)
Only tank gets pumped.
Put tape around the area so no one falls and gets hurt.


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## Hogwildz (Nov 6, 2016)

Some tanks have two lids. One on each end for inspections. I dug about 2' to find mine, not much fun. I didn't bother digging the other end out to find the lid there. My guy uses a mirror after it's pumped and hosed doe, to inspect the inside. 
When I had them come out to pump it, I had them add a riser with new lid to make it much easier to get to. You may want to think about that, so no digging needed with each pump in the future.


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## peakbagger (Nov 6, 2016)

If you have access a to metal detector, the covers frequently have an iron handle cast into them. Many pumping firms tie a piece of yellow or orange rope to the handle so when its dug up in the future the rope shows up pretty easy. Prior to reburying take a good set of swing ties to known points, usually the corners of the house. A lot of folks attach drawing of the house with the swing ties shown on the electrical box cover.


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## jatoxico (Nov 6, 2016)

I have a cesspool, just a simple pool in the ground with an overflow that was added later. I also periodically add enzymes to help break down fats and paper since the system is fairly old.

In my research though I have seen a lot of mixed info on adding enzymes to a septic system. Apparently some folks found that by treating the solids they inadvertently caused blockages down the line since the pools are supposed to receive liquid only. This was especially the case with systems using leaching fields. For routine maintenance I believe you are supposed to have the solids removed every 2-3 years.


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## mitchell721 (Nov 6, 2016)

Not sure about the cess pool side of it. I have a leach field. I have 2 part tank you probably do also. Flows into one side from house. Then there's a pipe baffle that goes down on opposite side.(Used to be concrete but they break off due to old age) this is essentially a solid tank then the other side is liquid tank if you will that then disperses it to the field. Or I would imagine in your case the cess pools. To slowly drain. Them solids get to high and that's where things can start to go very bad. When I had the guys out when I bought the house i asked about the packs of enzymes he said to save my money and just dump spoiled milk down the drain when it goes bad and spoiled meat. Also mine was 1000 gal I believe and with 3 of us he said pump it every 3-5 years closer to 3 if we use garbage disposal. Hope this helps


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## vinny11950 (Nov 6, 2016)

Yeah, I have also read heated online discussions about adding enzymes.

We don't flush any paper into the system, food or anything that may clog it up.  Long Island has great soil drainage which is why I think the system has been able to last as long.  

Thanks for the valuable input, guys.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 6, 2016)

A septic system question ... seems like there is one guy here who is a legit expert in this topic ... I expect he'll be along shortly.


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## mcdougy (Nov 6, 2016)

Find the lid is all u need to do. A reputable pumping company will do the rest for you, give you reccomendations. Adding a riser would be wise. Try using some sort of probe to locate your corners of the tank. The lid should be somewhere near the middle of the tank at the end of it. If pumping guy starts talking scary talk, listen, and use common sense from that point.


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## Highbeam (Nov 7, 2016)

So in 1972 you may still have a single large tank with no divider in the middle. I know that my 1963 tank is a single 1000 gallon tank with no divider and only a single manhole in the middle. If yours is divided into two cells then you will have two manhole sized lids. Then , at the inlet and outlet of the tank you will have access ports in the lid to inspect and clear blockages of the inlet or outlet. Those will be smaller, like 8". If you have a divider in the middle of the tank you will sometimes have another one of the small lids in between the two manholes to clear that weir. So anywhere from 5 lids to just 3 depending on your tank style.

Center dividers are actually a stupid decision by regulators that don't understand septic tanks. Each half (sometimes not equal) is a solids separating tank and each must be pumped. Do not let the pumper leave without pumping both sides dry. Do not let him leave some on the bottom for "seed bacteria". That's dumb. No reason to ever add things to the tank other than sewage.

I would uncover all lids for the pump. My location has laws that require risers be added so that the main manhole lids are no longer buried but the small access lids may be buried.   

Be there when the tank is pumped. Ask him how "full" it was. Understand that the tank will always be full of sewage but that the solids accumulation starts at zero and slowly increases until failure. So you want to know if it was half full or 10% full so that you know if you can go a longer period before the next pump. It does not hurt a thing except your wallet to have it pumped too often and do not believe anybody that says you don't need to pump it at all. There are solids in sewage that do NOT decompose that will ruin your cesspool/drainfield if allowed to accumulate to the point that they spew out of the septic tank.


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## peakbagger (Nov 7, 2016)

There is a device called a "sludge judge" that can be used to sample the solid depth. The cost to pump the tank isn't steep in most areas and I expect that most folks just get it pumped rather than sample it. The guy who pumped mine had a mirror tilted at 45 degrees that he sticks down the hole. If he sees solid built up on the outlet he recommends searching for the distribution box and seeing if the are any solids that made it to the field.


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## vinny11950 (Nov 7, 2016)

All great info, guys.  Thanks again.

I asked one neighbor on one side if he had his tank pumped, and he said never (he's been there for 20+ years).  I asked my other neighbor and he said he had it done a few years ago.

I will keep digging next weekend when I have time, and will give an update to what I find.

Funny thing is the town is now surveying our neighborhood to install public sewer systems.  We think another 6-10 years before we can connect.  We are bracing for the taxes to pay for it and the hookup costs.   Not sure it is the best plan because we are on the southern shore of Long Island and when hurricane Sandy hit it knocked out a lot of the sewage treatment plants in the low lying towns.  Sewage flowed untreated for months until they could fix the treatment plants.  Then again, it would be nice to flush toilet paper down the toilet.


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## jatoxico (Nov 7, 2016)

If you're not experiencing any issues why are you not flushing paper? I go with single ply but there's no reason to be concerned to use it normally. Even my simple cesspool is fine handling it.

Solids do have to be removed from a septic system like yours though, that's how they're designed.


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## Highbeam (Nov 7, 2016)

No reason not to flush toilet paper. None of those "wipes" though. 

Put a wad of tp in a mason jar full of water and wait a week, or shake it up. You'll see it readily dissolve to dust.

Worry more about synthetic lint from poly based clothing. That stuff doesn't decompose and doesn't sink out of solution in the septic tank.


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## Highbeam (Nov 7, 2016)

I would love to be on sewer. You could flush anything, use a garbage disposal, take three hour showers, etc. It's just very expensive to book up and pay the monthly bill.

We pay almost 400$ to pump out a septic tank about every 5-10 years.


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## velvetfoot (Nov 8, 2016)

I can't see not flushing toilet paper either.  No food, cooking oil, anything else, basically.

I located the tank manhole the same way, measuring from either corner of the house to the dimensions shown on the plan filed with the county.

The company I hired to pump out the tank gave me a paver type of marker to put on the surface, over the manhole.  Of course it had their name and phone number on it, lol.

A tip one guy gave me is don't get it pumped in the middle of the summer because of the stink-less so in cooler ambient temperature.

In my experience, talking with some acquaintances, the trend seems to be raised beds with electric pumps in the tank.  For myself, if things were operating well, I'd leave things well enough alone.  There might be companies or agencies that could want you to 'upgrade'.  Just my thinking, extrapolating from what I've seen-nothing specific.


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## peakbagger (Nov 8, 2016)

velvetfoot said:


> In my experience, talking with some acquaintances, the trend seems to be raised beds with electric pumps in the tank.



Raised beds with pumps generally means that the local soils don't have enough depth to the ground water table or folks who want plumbing in basement on a flat lot.. Many older systems don't meet the current specs yet work well, if someone has a choice avoid the pumped systems if at all possible. One of the more unpleasant and expensive jobs out there is pulling and replacing a failed pump. I have met more than a few folks who despite warning labels on the pump controls, turn off the circuit as the pump alarm is "annoying". The likelihood of freezing the line between the pump and the field is high during winters where the frost goes deep. Unlike a normal system where the underground line drains empty to the tank, a pump up system has a check valve and the line is always full which means its far more likely to freeze.  If the check valve fails, then the electric bill is quite high  as the system has to refill the line every time anything goes to the pump tank.


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## maple1 (Nov 8, 2016)

Can't imagine not flushing toilet paper. What do you do with it if it doesn't go down the toilet? Yee-uch.

Had ours pumped maybe 3 years ago. It was way overdue - had been 17 years since it was installed, never pumped. (Got lazy there). Similar sounding tank, had a cleanout on each end, over inlet & outlet. Think there was a larger manhole in the middle, over the baffle - may have gotten away with just pulling that up. Actually, I cabbaged up a quick short riser out of PT lumber I had laying around to hopefully make it easier next time - and I think I put it over the center manhole. Guy that did it said his hose would fit in each way over the divider.

There was a large accumulation of 'biodegradable' baby wipes on the bottom - trust me, those things don't degrade, & have no place being in a septic system. Otherwise, ours looked good & I think was done just in time. We're down to 3 from 5 occupants now - maybe 2 after next fall. So I might wait another 5 years or so. We also flush the odd bit of food gone bad - liquidy stuff, like the leftover stew that got pushed to the back of the fridge last month...


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## mark cline (Nov 8, 2016)

Learning a lot on this thread . I will have my septic put in this spring  . Is it overkill to have 2 -1000 gal tanks then to dist box then leach field ? I don't mind the extra cost , I'm thinking towards the future , I live 1800 ft back off the main road which is dirt/gravel , surrounded by amish families , so I will never have a public sewer line run down my road.
Are the plastic/ fiberglass tanks better than the concrete tanks?


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## vinny11950 (Nov 8, 2016)

maple1 said:


> Can't imagine not flushing toilet paper. What do you do with it if it doesn't go down the toilet? Yee-uch.



Just roll it up into a ball with more TP and throw it in the trash.  No one will ever notice, unless you go digging in the trash


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## peakbagger (Nov 8, 2016)

mark cline said:


> Learning a lot on this thread . I will have my septic put in this spring  . Is it overkill to have 2 -1000 gal tanks then to dist box then leach field ? I don't mind the extra cost , I'm thinking towards the future , I live 1800 ft back off the main road which is dirt/gravel , surrounded by amish families , so I will never have a public sewer line run down my road.
> Are the plastic/ fiberglass tanks better than the concrete tanks?



Look into something called a Presby system. They are superior to standard septic systems. They take up less room and are much harder to screw up plus they are more effective at cleaning up the leachate.


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## DickRussell (Nov 8, 2016)

Here's the link: http://presbyeco.com/products/advanced-enviro-septic™-wastewater-treatment-system/

We have that for our leach field, actually built on a hillside. It doesn't have to be on level ground. The rows of wrapped pipe run across the slope, with just a slight pitch downward.

As to there being a check valve or bleed-down hole in the pump discharge line, to prevent freezing in a system with a pumpout chamber at the end of the septic tank, to pump to a leach field higher than the septic tank, there was a thread on this here back in  2011: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/septic-tank-pumping-up-to-drain-field-check-valve.66524/. It was suggested (post #13) that having a bleed-down hole prevents freezing in the discharge line and that having a check valve in a 2" line is asking for trouble. Perhaps this is a matter of local practice that varies from one region to another.


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## Highbeam (Nov 8, 2016)

mark cline said:


> Learning a lot on this thread . I will have my septic put in this spring  . Is it overkill to have 2 -1000 gal tanks then to dist box then leach field ? I don't mind the extra cost , I'm thinking towards the future , I live 1800 ft back off the main road which is dirt/gravel , surrounded by amish families , so I will never have a public sewer line run down my road.
> Are the plastic/ fiberglass tanks better than the concrete tanks?



2-1000 gallon tanks is not as good as 1-2000 gallon tank. Septic tanks work by giving floaters and sinkers time to sink or float away from the middle and then that relatively clean zone in the middle goes to the drainfield. So the longer the sewage resides in the septic tank, the more stuff can sink or float out of the clear zone. This is also the reason that a single 1000 gallon tank with a center divider is dumb. It cuts the residence time in half.

After the scum and sludge layers are established then the anaerobic bacteria get to work eating the solids in those layers.

Plastic tanks are no better or worse than concrete. You're just trying to get a long lasting tank. Be careful in areas of high ground water that you don't float a plastic tank out of the ground if it's emptied.


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## mark cline (Nov 9, 2016)

peakbagger said:


> Look into something called a Presby system. They are superior to standard septic systems. They take up less room and are much harder to screw up plus they are more effective at cleaning up the leachate.


I will look into this type of system . Thanks for the reply.


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## mark cline (Nov 9, 2016)

Highbeam said:


> 2-1000 gallon tanks is not as good as 1-2000 gallon tank. Septic tanks work by giving floaters and sinkers time to sink or float away from the middle and then that relatively clean zone in the middle goes to the drainfield. So the longer the sewage resides in the septic tank, the more stuff can sink or float out of the clear zone. This is also the reason that a single 1000 gallon tank with a center divider is dumb. It cuts the residence time in half.
> 
> After the scum and sludge layers are established then the anaerobic bacteria get to work eating the solids in those layers.
> 
> Plastic tanks are no better or worse than concrete. You're just trying to get a long lasting tank. Be careful in areas of high ground water that you don't float a plastic tank out of the ground if it's emptied.


Very good points  I will look into a 2000 gal tank vs 2- 1000 gals.  As far as high ground water, don't think that is much of a problem. Thanks for your reply.


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## peakbagger (Nov 9, 2016)

One other option is an aerobic septic system http://www.thecleansolution.com/. This is a new variation of several systems used over the years in problematical sites with poor or insufficient soils. They can be quite effective but generally require electricity and usually monitoring to operate. I believe the state of Maine was approving these types of systems for ocean front lots with existing buildings that had failed systems or straight pipes. Unlike a conventional leachfield where the bulk of the biology is going on at the individual weep holes of the piping, the majority of the biology is going on inside the media chamber with an aerobic system. 

The Presby design leach field has a mesh media wrapped around the corrugated distribution piping which is then covered with geotextile, it acts as a poor mans trickling filter as the media forms far greater surface area for the bacterial mat.  

The aerobic technology has been around for years and usually is referred to as trickling filter. One plus is that anerobic conditions tend to be far more aggressive to concrete than aerobic conditions so tanks should last longer. Note most municipal treatment plants are aerobic based.


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## Highbeam (Nov 9, 2016)

peakbagger said:


> Note most municipal treatment plants are aerobic based.



That's because aerobic bacteria eat much much much faster.


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## CheapBassTurd (Nov 10, 2016)

The outlet to our drainfield collapsed but the 1,000 g tank is fine.
I dropped two concrete blocks (with a rope) and lowered a submersible sump pump
onto the concrete.  This put the pump above the lower sludge, and the tank is about 6' tall.
I pop the manhole cover myself and pump into the drainpool that leads to the drainfield through
the collapsed piece of 6" clay pipe.

After our annual $175 dollar ritual started getting bothersome and I did the pump thing.  There's also
a siphon effect.  I plug it in to start the flow and shut it off.  This drains the watery stuff about
halfway before stopping itself.  After doing this last two years it's evolved to not even lifting the
cover any longer.  I just pump twice a year and all is good.   This was a band aid temp fix until
I could find better than a 14 dollar job.  Got the good job now but it's works so well no need to dig
up the yard to replace the clay pipe.  Plus, the pumper guy said we need a much larger tank with the family
size.  Used to be two people living here, now it's a zoo with my crew.   The old tank is still there and if
necessary I can pump into that one.  Most septics are 90% other than flushwater.  Showers, kitchen sink, washing machine, etc.
I pump the water and leave the rest to the bacteria.


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## iamlucky13 (Nov 10, 2016)

Highbeam said:


> That's because aerobic bacteria eat much much much faster.



Both faster and more completely, as I understand it.

For residential on site septic systems, keep in mind that local authorities usually have a couple fairly conventional designs they are familiar with and can permit based on existing standards, a simple percolation report and sizing calculation, and a layout drawing by the installer. More advanced designs often require an engineering report, which drives the cost up, so if you aren't dealing with a small lot, poor percolation, or other such problems, a conventional system probably has a cost advantage.


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## Highbeam (Nov 11, 2016)

iamlucky13 said:


> Both faster and more completely, as I understand it.
> 
> For residential on site septic systems, keep in mind that local authorities usually have a couple fairly conventional designs they are familiar with and can permit based on existing standards, a simple percolation report and sizing calculation, and a layout drawing by the installer. More advanced designs often require an engineering report, which drives the cost up, so if you aren't dealing with a small lot, poor percolation, or other such problems, a conventional system probably has a cost advantage.



Correct, and with those fancy "alternative" systems comes an annual, burdensome, expensive, and extensive test report that must be submitted. I do wish our state would come around to allowing surface application (sprinklers) of the finished effluent.


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## brenndatomu (Nov 11, 2016)

Highbeam said:


> Put a wad of tp in a mason jar full of water and wait a week, or shake it up. You'll see it readily dissolve to dust.


If you are using Scott 1000 or equivalent, yes. If using Charmin and the like, you'll just have a jar of wet TP at the end of the week.
I work for a municipal water/sewer utility and we just did this test, results were surprising, the Scott 1000 was the only one that really started to dissolve at all.


Highbeam said:


> I would love to be on sewer. You could flush anything, use a garbage disposal, take three hour showers, etc.


Ahh, no. Well, I guess you can, but it will bite you in the butt sooner or later when your sewer lateral line plugs up (which is usually your responsibility, not the sewer utility) People seem to like to flush baby wipes, wet wipes and those danged Swiffer mop pads. None of that stuff should ever be flushed (even though some of it says "flushable" on the package) Have you ever tried to use a baby wipe with rough dry hands? They are like velcro, you can't let go of 'em! They do the same thing in the sewer...catch on any little rough spot on the pipe, tree roots, etc, etc, etc. These darn things are probably the number one reason for municipal sewer backups these days! Here's a link to an article about one such incident https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...8.html&usg=AFQjCNH-UvcIriiajqqKlC_pYD8jQe0iZA


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## peakbagger (Nov 11, 2016)

I am not advocating the new high tech systems but some folks on small lots with bad soils don't have a lot of choice. In some cases the only alternative is holding tank that needs to be pumped out.

As an aside, as my forum name implies, I hike a lot. While backpacking the Appalachian Trail through Maryland I noticed all the shelters had holding tanks on their outhouses including some shelters up on mountains and far in the woods. I talked to a person involved with the trail in that area and Maryland outright banned the use of conventional outhouses for this application. In order to build those back county shelters, the trail clubs had to obtain a right of way from the nearest road and maintain the right of way so a pump truck can drive up and pump the tank out. Nearby me the local national forest had to rebuild an old logging road several miles long including three bridges washed out in a flood so that they can drive a pump truck out to a backcountry campsite a couple of times a year. Definitely a road to nowhere. The Maine AT club uses an elevated composting design, after use the user adds a handful of leaf litter from a bucket. They work really well and don't stink.  

With respect to flushable wipes, yup they are major problem. Many utilities are having to retrofit their pumping stations with inline macerators upstream  (aka Muffin monsters) upstream of their pumps to deal with these flushable wipes.


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## brenndatomu (Nov 11, 2016)

peakbagger said:


> Many utilities are having to retrofit their pumping stations with inline macerators upstream (aka Muffin monsters) upstream of their pumps to deal with these flushable wipes.


We just removed our MM because OHEPA made us install an influent screen to take out anything 5/8" or larger...but we installed a 6mm screen and it works great...no more trash in the plant. We are a 2 MGD average plant and the screen is generating about 1 cubic yard per week of compacted waste (trash) filtered from the influent...that is a lot of solid waste accumulated in the sludge digesters in a years time!


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## iamlucky13 (Nov 11, 2016)

My experience when hiking has been the composting toilets, if properly designed, have much lower odor than the more common vault toilets that are at most trailheads. In Washington, we still have a few basic pit toilets and outhouses on some trails. I've not heard any agitation from the state Department of Health about removing them. I'm hoping that means they've considered the question and decided they are adequate. There's not many matters in our state that don't get blown out of proportion, so I pretty certain it must have been studied at some point.



brenndatomu said:


> We just removed our MM because OHEPA made us install an influent screen to take out anything 5/8" or larger...but we installed a 6mm screen and it works great...no more trash in the plant. We are a 2 MGD average plant and the screen is generating about 1 cubic yard per week of compacted waste (trash) filtered from the influent...that is a lot of solid waste accumulated in the sludge digesters in a years time!



Based on water usage in my area, I think that MGD that would put you at 10-20,000 people served? I'm almost surprised you only average about 1/2 cubic inch per person per day.


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## brenndatomu (Nov 11, 2016)

iamlucky13 said:


> Based on water usage in my area, I think that MGD that would put you at 10-20,000 people served? I'm almost surprised you only average about 1/2 cubic inch per person per day.


Its actually a population of 8500, but we have large commercial/industrial flow


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## Highbeam (Nov 11, 2016)

brenndatomu said:


> If you are using Scott 1000 or equivalent, yes. If using Charmin and the like, you'll just have a jar of wet TP at the end of the week.
> I work for a municipal water/sewer utility and we just did this test, results were surprising, the Scott 1000 was the only one that really started to dissolve at all.
> 
> Ahh, no. Well, I guess you can, but it will bite you in the butt sooner or later when your sewer lateral line plugs up (which is usually your responsibility, not the sewer utility) People seem to like to flush baby wipes, wet wipes and those danged Swiffer mop pads. None of that stuff should ever be flushed (even though some of it says "flushable" on the package) Have you ever tried to use a baby wipe with rough dry hands? They are like velcro, you can't let go of 'em! They do the same thing in the sewer...catch on any little rough spot on the pipe, tree roots, etc, etc, etc. These darn things are probably the number one reason for municipal sewer backups these days! Here's a link to an article about one such incident https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj_2cbytaHQAhUE6CYKHbqbAtwQFgglMAI&url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/fatberg-london-sewer_n_7125878.html&usg=AFQjCNH-UvcIriiajqqKlC_pYD8jQe0iZA




I too work for a small water/sewer utility. Knowing what gets flushed allows us to know what we can get away with flushing if we were hooked up.


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## vinny11950 (Nov 17, 2016)

After much digging, I found the lid.  Buried 2 feet below the surface.  I used the probe trick suggested by Mcdougy (thanks) to find the edges and then the middle.   It's a big lid 24" in diameter.  From probing around the tank I don't think there is much room left for additional covers, so I am hopefully confident this is the one.






I called around to a few cesspool services.  The first one I called never called me back after quoting me $350 (seemed annoyed I was calling and asking for a price) to pump the septic tank.

The second place I called I found in the yellowpages and had good reviews online.  They quoted me $325 to pump the septic tank but strongly inferred I should also pump the 2 cesspools that the septic tank overflows to.  Does this sound right?

It's an additional cost of $300 for each cesspool plus digging around for the cesspools, which the original building plan says are block.

Not sure if I should go the additional expense.  Though the system has probably never been serviced as far as I know so maybe I should go all out.


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## mitchell721 (Nov 17, 2016)

It doesn't seem like you should really have too. Key words Rd being should. If my understanding is right cesspool are just essentially dry wells that allow the water to permeate back into the ground the solids should all be in your first tank. Now that's where the should comes into place. I would be there with them when they pump and see how high the actual  solids where and if they were close or at the line going to the cess pools then yes I would have them done also. That's just my 2 cents. Mind you the tank is always full but it the solid level your looking for. There's also a benefit to being there. You can ask the guy pumping questions. They are usually pretty helpful in my opinion.


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## iamlucky13 (Nov 17, 2016)

$325 is a good price in my area. The company I used had a flat fee up to 1000 gallons of somewhere in that price range, and then a per 100 gallons add on fee based on size to cover the extra time and disposal costs for larger systems, since he has to pay to dispose of the waste at the municipal sewer plant.

I think mitchell is right. You should not need to pump the cesspools, but if significant solids are reaching them, you might.

The solids are comprised of the sludge settled into the bottom of the tank, which should not reach the cesspool unless the tank has filled up too far, and scum that floats on the top, which also should not reach the cesspool unless the level has filled up too far, or if the baffle is damaged or missing.

You can measure the level yourself. Here's one method:
http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehoss/inspect_septic.html

The baffles are harder to inspect if the tank hasn't just been pumped.

Installers in this area also typically offer inspections (they'd love to convince you to do them annually - usually only done by home sellers who want a document confirming the system is in good condition) for a lower price.


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## peakbagger (Nov 17, 2016)

When I talked to a local pumping firm years ago they didn't recommend pumping the cesspool as their experience was that there was good chance that the pool would collapse in on itself if disturbed.


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## jatoxico (Nov 17, 2016)

Considering you're doing this for maintenance and not due to any problem I would pump the septic and call it a day. Far as I ever heard that's what you're supposed to do. Once on-site a certain amount of info will be clear to the guy doing the service. So if the pools start back-flowing as he pumps then maybe you need to go ahead and pump them. For that reason it might be worthwhile to at least locate the other pools.

But even if they do have to come back it doesn't sound like a big discount for doing it all at the same time ($325 vs $300) so having them come back a different day is no biggie IMO.


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## vinny11950 (Nov 18, 2016)

Alright, it's happening tomorrow morning.

Will try to get some nice pictures for the group here.

Thanks again for all the replies.  Let's see what happens.


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## Highbeam (Nov 18, 2016)

vinny11950 said:


> Alright, it's happening tomorrow morning.
> 
> Will try to get some nice pictures for the group here.
> 
> Thanks again for all the replies.  Let's see what happens.



Ah, the smell of money. It may be poo to you but it's my bread and butter.


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## vinny11950 (Nov 21, 2016)

Well, it was pumped on Saturday (luckily before the wind storm hammering us now).

Getting the lid off was a PITA.  I don't think it had ever been removed. 




The guy said it wasn't full and the scum on top wasn't too thick.

First he stirred the brew with what he called the spoon and then drained it.




 The sludge at the bottom was piled on the corners, so he had to move the hose around to get to it.




Behind the hanging wall are the outlet pipes to the cesspools, I guess.  The guy didn't have mirrors to check things out.  But I take it the hanging wall keeps the scum from the outlet pipes.  

Anyway, this is what it looked like towards the end.




I leave you all with a nice picture of the Maple tree in the backyard.


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## brenndatomu (Nov 21, 2016)

vinny11950 said:


> Well, it was pumped on Saturday (luckily before the wind storm hammering us now).
> 
> Getting the lid off was a PITA.  I don't think it had ever been removed.
> 
> ...


You need a new camera man...those are some crappy pics!


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## vinny11950 (Nov 21, 2016)

brenndatomu said:


> crappy pics



So true.


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