Septic leach field in rough shape...

Well, been in this house now for just over a year and this is yet another post on addressing another problem with the place we bought! Since I've gotten great responses here, and I've solved many smaller issues, I thought you folks could help me with what seems like a pretty serious issue. This is our first property with a septic, and we are 99.9% sure our leach field is failing.. telltale signs include a significant wet spot (especially following heavy water use), very green/lush grass and finally a TERRIBLE stench! It smells like effluent. I am convinced it's failing. My brother-in-law is also convinced b/c he had the same symptoms on his system. He mentioned that the build up of deposits in the pipes at the end of the system (sodium, sludge etc) is the cause of the failure of the system to disperse the liquid portion of the septic. It hardens then blocks the absorption (hard panning?)

So I research a bit yesterday and came across various solutions, from digging up the system and reinstalling the absorption field (expensive option) to adding "aerators" to the septic tank (but this option seems gimmicky and read that there's a lot of scams out there).

The septic tank was just pumped and and the company who did the pumping dies really correct leach field problems as far as I know. The toilets are flushing fine and there's no smell in the home - yet... It's just the absorption field that is looking bad for now.. But I think it will get worse.

What should i do at this point? Who would you call? Have you experienced similar problems?

Thanks for any assistance on this matter!

If the previous owner did not remove the solids from the tank often enough than the solids may have carried through to the tile bed and plugged a % of the runs. This is typically the cause of wet spots on or close to the edges of a tile bed due to hydraulic overload of the remaining unplugged or partially plugged runs. Plugging can also be caused by flushing items that contain plastic (condoms, diaper wipes, feminin products, paper towels etc.)

This can often (but not always) be corrected by digging up the distribtion box and the ends of the tiles and jetting them with a specially designed pressure washer. Waste from this process is collected by a vac truck for disposal off site. Following jetting a special type of bacteria is added to the tank to consume remaining solids.

Very good company is Liquid Operations 519 270 5272. Speak to Roger and tell him you got his # from Dufferin Water.

Also I believe at some point you mentioned you are in Pottageville. This area of King has a very high water table and poorly drained soil making septics very tempermental and as a result proactive maintenance and watching what you flush are very important.

Have you had the tank inspected? Not saying it is just tank but it could somewhere to start and a lot cheaper.

Also, you sometimes get a stink in one spot from the way the gases come out of the vent on your roof, trust me that freaked me out too but no smell anywhere but a few places around corners.

If your leach field is toast that is by far the most expensive thing to replace, that sucks.

If the tank is working properly there should be nothing but relatively "clean" effluent to the field lines.

Decomposition leads to stratification, leaving the further decomposing solids towards the bottom and the waste water/grey water up top to flow out and be scrubbed within the soil around the field lines.

I have seen tanks with the outflow to the field lines located too low on the side of the tank allowing sewage to enter field lines.
Also improper/insufficient decomposition can cause this even with a properly locate field line outlet.

I have holding tanks and flush beef liver every few months to enhance "bugs" for better decomposition. I also minimize bleach and other cleaning products in order to help extend time between pumpings.

Google percolation of septic fields to get an idea of testing the soil for appropriate soil makeup for field lines.

Between all of the above it may help you narrow down the problem by process of elimination.

I guess if I was confronted with this problem and knew that my septic tank was ok I would start digging to find the pipes that come out of the tank and over the drain field - as you uncover the pipes you will see what kind of shape they are in - replace any broken ones (sometimes pipes are crushed) and or clean the pipes as mentioned earlier - If the water table is really high and causing the problem then you might have to install a sand mount - good luck

My MIL's neighbour had to replace the field (not tank) and it was 28K three yrs ago in Ottawa. The new field is higher and they had to truck many new loads of dirt to complete this job. The system has not worked right since the day it was installed, they cant sell because. Part of the fee was a new eco fee slapped on by Conservation Authority for septic fields. Do your research and ask for references and then call them.

so this does not necessarily mean I have to put in a new field, correct? That is very expensive from what i've heard. The blasting of the pipes with high pressure water is something i've come across over the past 24 hours on various sites... Species 8472, where is Liquid Operations located and would they come out to my area? And yes, I am in Pottageville. Others have told me that it's a high water table problem... but this is not swampy water. It's definitely a raw smell. We had a lot of water usage this weekend, and the water appeared on the spot out of no where when the water usage went up.

Also, my bro-in-law said that detergents are bad for septics and that a separate holding tank should have been installed. Not sure if we have one for the washer... We are otherwise careful about what goes down the drain. None of the items listed by you have been dumped down a drain.

If anyone knows of a reliable and honest company that services my area, please PM me or post here.

My uncle has had bubbles come up from the ground from severe use over a week of family at his house, we now limit showers and flushing when we pack 30+ people into his 3 bedroom home.

1. Inspect the tank, or have it inspected by a competent septic installer.
2. If tank is good, try and identify the issue with the leaching field. Until the OBC started overseeing septic installations in the late 90s, there were a lot of sketchy installs done. Some were good, others used construction debris and waste in the field. Determine if it's the piping in the field, or the material around same. If it's the pipes, they may only have obstructions at bends, and at the beginning of the lines.
3. Under the new Source water protection Act. It will be important to have any work documented and inspected.

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Originally Posted by Splaker

so this does not necessarily mean I have to put in a new field, correct? That is very expensive from what i've heard. The blasting of the pipes with high pressure water is something i've come across over the past 24 hours on various sites... Species 8472, where is Liquid Operations located and would they come out to my area? And yes, I am in Pottageville. Others have told me that it's a high water table problem... but this is not swampy water. It's definitely a raw smell. We had a lot of water usage this weekend, and the water appeared on the spot out of no where when the water usage went up.

Also, my bro-in-law said that detergents are bad for septics and that a separate holding tank should have been installed. Not sure if we have one for the washer... We are otherwise careful about what goes down the drain. None of the items listed by you have been dumped down a drain.

If anyone knows of a reliable and honest company that services my area, please PM me or post here.

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Normal detergent use, if the system is designed properly, is not normally an issue - running a laundry business from your home is a different story, but I'm sure that is not the case. It could still be a high water table issue - water will not appear swampy unless it is actually a swamp that is a groundwater discharge area and even than the water may appear clear.

Whether or not you need a new tile bed is impossible to diagnose over a forum but if the system was designed properly in the first place and the break out is due to poor/inadequate maintenance or age than yes there is a good chance the problem can be corrected. If it does turn out to be a groundwater problem than you will be on the hook for a new system and in all probability it will need to be a raised bed and depending on the what King requires it may need to be designed and stamped by a P. Eng. If this is the case you will be into significant $$$ - quite probably $25K or more depending on the size of the home.

L. Ops is out the Hanover area but he has clients all over Ontario and makes regular runs into the city as one of his clients is the Toronto Port Authority. He likely would not make a special trip for your house but can probably work a visit into his schedule when he is in the area. Based on what he sees he would likely determine whether jetting is feasible or not and than get back to you with a price. If I'm gonna guess a standard residential jet/bacteria/vac truck job is $3-4K.

He did a job for one of my clients on a tile bed that handles 70,000 litres a day (multi-celled, lots of tile, timed and pumped dosing) where the bed was experiencing significant breakout. Knock-on-wood the system has been running for 7 years since than without breakout.

One other thing to consider is if this is the first and only time this has happened and it corresponds to a very heavy water use period than you may have just exceeded the design capacity of the system and preventing "hydraulic overload" may solve the problem i.e. don't have a party with a 100 people over where everyone is drinking.