I would ask again what it is venting. I can sure be wrong--- just ask my wife-- but I've not seen a septic tank with a vent other than the roof top vents normal to the house. Is there a chance it is something to do with a radon system? The candy cane is a great illustration to use, and it sure is typical of some form of vent. Speedy Jim could perhaps indicate whether or not a Studor type vent would be adequate under the circumstances.
Does it lend itself to being buried in a decorative rock berm with appropriate plantings?
No, a mechanical vent would defeat the purpose in this case; the vent allows air to circulate and, maybe more important, to permit large flows of water (toilet flush/washing machine draining) to push the air ahead of it without restriction.
First off, you need to be absolutely certain if you have a septic system or are connected to the municipality sewer line. IF its a septic system, you better have some documentation showing the tank's location and the extent of the drain field. Since you probably didn't get any of that at closing time, you are most likely connected to a sewer system. Call them and ask them what the pipe is for and why it is there, and what your options are. I've seen something like this in the back yards of a housing tract that we did some work in. They were connected to the sewer system, but I didn't find anyone who knew about them.
One thought just came to mind here. It may be that high because it will not vent if snow covered. Not knowing where the OP lives I can't say if that would be the case. If up north where it is common to have a few feet of snow on the ground it may be raised to compensate.
I read the whole thing hoping someone would mention that. I have never seen a septic sytem with a vent. And one in front of the house makes no sense. Who in their right mind wants to walk around their yard smelling crap. Yes, any vent to a tank will smell of crap 24/7. It appears to be a vent for something but for a septic tank it ain't. Mine runs through a dry well before it goes into the drain field. Capped with a concrete cover but even from the few cracks that are under the cover I can smell it.
Why couldn't they just bury a pipe and run it back to the side of the house and up 3 feet? Or the OP do it? It might cost a few bucks but it is better than a white plastic candycane in the middle of the front lawn. Unless you're a dam' white reindeer.
To chime in with Ed, I would make damn sure I knew what this thing was, and what function it performed. If it is a vent, and you cap it off, the gas will escape somewhere else, maybe in the house. That would be fun. Or a raw sewage backup in the house. Six weeks of strange odors. Digging through the snow, into frozen ground, redoing it back the way it was.
Call up your local municipality, or find someone who can give you the answer to what it is. Opinions here are free and worth twice that. Someone in your area can give you some real time info.
I have not seen one in my part of the country, but I am not so stupid as to say that they are not necessary in yours. It could have to do with water table levels, soil compaction, some special septic tank vent, percolation rates, or many things that if you go changing, might come back to bite you hard in a sensitive place.
Find out what it is. Then do whatever you think is appropriate. If it is necessary and functional and has to stay, make it look like an antique pump or some lawn ornament. If it is not necessary and functional, you won't be capping something that's going to cause your house to back up with sewage while you're away for the weekend.
I think I finally recall seeing a 2 or 3 of these over the years, and they weren't in anyone's yard. So maybe it has nothing to do with his house. I have the most vague recollection one being near long distance gas lines, but I could be wrong or that could be a coincidence.
It appears he's in Canada. Any advice I have to give is typically null and void above the 45th parallel (too cold for me). Still, his best bet is to call the municipality for options.
As others have said, you need to find out for sure what it is, before you go fiddling with it.
If by "new house", you mean a house that was newly constructed, ask the builder. If by "new house" you just mean new to you, then ask the sellers if they know what it is. If they don't, ask the house inspector (you did have the house inspected, right?). He's probably seen just about everything in the way of weird pipes, so might be able to help.
Asking around the office, some people have seen things like you describe--to let air into underground oil tanks. Does the heating system use oil? Or perhaps there is an old buried tank?
When builder finished our new subdivision 6 years ago, everyone of us who have a slopped backyard had a a 4" black pipe stick out of the ground for 2' to 3'. The plumbers did not know how the final grade would look like so they left cleanouts high enough so that they can be sure they wouldn't be buried at end. Some of us asked the builder to cut the pipes to the ground level. Those of neighbours who did not, still have those black metal pipes stick out of the ground 6 years later.
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