Septic Systems

[micky]

By the standard system. Where do you think it goes? If we had a sewer system we wouldn't need a septic tank in the first place.

[trader_4]

So your septic tank effluent sprays out on the lawn? Must smell like a shit hole. Normal ones the leach field is 2 or 3 feet deep, it's not going to water the grass, the roots are maybe 6 or 8 inches deep. Even if some water made it's way up there, it's clearly not what one would call watering the lawn, because it's going to be very localized not distributed across the lawn. And the conversation was about gray water, which is used for irrigation in the normal way.

[micky]

You never said "spray" before. Your last verbs were "irrigate", "used", and "using". Why did you change to spray? To pretend to win? Of course it doesn't spray.

Your language is so refined. It doesn't small at all.

There is a lot you don't know. It would help if you'd learn to accept that.

Who said it was distributed across the lawn? I said it watered the lawn, not that it watered the whole lawn. "Very localized"? It waters about 1/4 to 1/3 of the lawn where the finger system is. Is that "very"?

I think there are a lot of ways to do irrigation. What do you mean by "the normal way".

[Cindy Hamilton]

Your leach field is too close to the surface. It should be 18-36 inches deep. Grass roots rarely grow that deep (YMMV is you grow something like buffalo grass or bermudagrass).

[Frank]

If wetting the surface, it stinks. Maybe smells like the rest of Baltimore ;)

[micky]

I feel the conversaion was about septic tank output, just as much as it was about grey water.

[micky]

What makes it too close? That is, what problem is caused by its being as close as it is?

How can you be sure it wasn't? Why wouldn't capillary action bring the water from the finger system up high enough to reach the roots?

If it were so deep that the grass got none of it, then none of our grass would be green. This brings up my first question, what is the problem? What's wrong with some of the grass getting water? Just that the color of the yard isn't uniform?

Going back a step. You don't quote this so I guess you were not taking a position, which is fine of course, but trader asked "...what do you think would happen if they used your "gray water"?" That is, septic tank effluent. I infer that he's saying there would be a problem, but we don't know what the problem is. Some of my grass is green and some of it is pale, faded green? Is that the problem?

[Cindy Hamilton]

Septic field water is not free from pathogens. If you're spraying it around, it's a problem. If you're just letting capillary action or some other force draw it upwards, it's not irrigation.

[micky]

Believe it or not, I don't like arguing with you but trader hasn't posted here lately. ;0)

I'm glad I didn't use the word irrigation, only watering the lawn.

OTOH, I just now read

which starts off "Irrigation is .... to assist in the production of crops, as well as to grow landscape plants and lawns, where it may be known as watering. So that would makes watering the lawn irrigation whether I used the word or not. But I didn't use the word for any of its connotations etc, only to point out to trader that, as I put it, "whatever comes out of septic tank including toilet water also waters the lawn." Not sure what better words to use.

It also says "There are several methods of irrigation......... Subirrigation has been used for many years in field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone." But I'd never heard of subirrigation before. I only meant that it watered part of the lawn and turned it green.

Googling septic tanks as irrigation gave many intesting articles, some that seem to me to show contradictory practices.

A) Is septic tank water good for plants? Vegetable gardening over a leach field is a bad idea. Though properly functioning septic systems won't contaminate the soil with harmful pathogens, there is no easy way to guarantee that the crops grown over a leach field will be safe to eat. --- Fortunately, only the rabbits ate the grass. (or do they?) Is it okay to plant a garden over a leach field? - UNH Extension

› blog › 2019/12 › it-okay-plan...

B) Can sewer water be used for irrigation? Williams said there is plenty of water to be had, and his research shows that municipal wastewater can be used to irrigate crops. “One of the best ways we can increase efficiency and sustainability is to reuse reclaimed water,” he said Treated Wastewater May Be the Irrigation Wave of the Future - USDA

› media › blog › 2020/07/21 › treat.

C) Can you use septic water on fruit trees? Never use grey water on food plants of any sort: ie, vegies, herbs, fruit trees etc. And don't even consider using grey water near native plants, as the phosphates from detergents will kill them in no time. Spread your grey water around the property, don't always dump it in the same spot. Grey Water - Burke's Backyard

› fact-sheets › grey-...

D) Maryland Imposes Drip Irrigation System Moratorium

› editorial › 2010/12 Dec 31, 2010 — Problems with two of the 13 drip irrigation septic systems in Maryland have prompted a yearlong moratorium on new drip systems in the state. --- I didn't know there were "drip irrigation septic systems". " must install soil moisture sensors (tensiometers) in the drip irrigation field. If soil moisture reaches 90 percent saturation, drip irrigation must be terminated."

But all it says about what the problem is is " Ponding and other problems over the last several years at two developments in the southern part of the state led to calls for a three- to five-year moratorium from

16 environmental groups." And interesting that google search page gives a date, but there is no date to be seen on the webpage itself. I see that a lot. And why is there no date on the webpage given that it's about news and a *yearlong* moratorium. I also see a lot of pages that should have dates but don't.

There are lots more and they all sound interesting.

[trader_4]

I didn't change to spray. It was clear that when I said septic system effluent is not gray water and that what is actually gray water is allowed in some places for lawn irrigation what I meant. When you irrigate a lawn with a system, how is it done in almost all cases? How is it done with gray water? Sprinklers, of course. i

Just reasonable people that can follow the thread and the actual discussion. When you irrigate a lawn, it's almost always done with a system that waters the whole area, uniformly, not just your "finger strips" that would look very strange.

I said it watered the

That must look great. And if this is a conventional septic system, I would suspect it's probably a sign of a failing septic field, where the effluent no longer is percolating properly. Eventually the effluent winds up on the surface. But all this is irrelevant to what the definition of gray water is and what actual gray water can be used for.

A way that an intelligent, rational person would do it. That sure isn't using your "fingers" of a septic system that was likely either not done properly or is failing so that effluent is going up instead of down.

[trader_4]

Good grief. I said that actual gray water is different from septic tank effluent, that gray water can be used for irrigation of lawns and asked the rhetorical question, what do you think would happen if septic tank effluent was used? Everyone here understood it, except you. Gray water is used like any other water, in any other lawn irrigation system, it's sprayed. What you are talking about is some incidental greening of specific small areas of a leach field, which may happen in some cases. The system was not designed to do it, it just happens, it's not intentional irrigation. And it's for sure going to happen in a system that isn't percolating properly, either because it was not designed correctly or it's failing. Eventually effluent winds up on the surface and it stinks up the neighborhood.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

Along with suitable signage that states the water is non-potable.

[micky]

It was anything but clear, silnce no one I've seen uses bathtub or washing machine water to water their lawn unless it's gone through the septic tank and mixed with the toilet water.

When sprinklers are used it's with fresh water straight fronm the water supply company. Not grey water or black water. So it's irrelevant.

I didn't ask you what the BEST way to irrigate a lawn is. You asked "Those regulators allow gray water to be used to irrigate lawns, what do you think would happen if they used your "gray water"?"? *His* grey water was septic tank effluent.

Irrelevant.

Your suspicions are worthless.

Eventually? In another 1000 years?

It's directly in answer to what grey and black water can be used for. It's an answer to your strange question above, "at my home and many others, whatever comes ouut of septic tank including toilet water also waters the lawn. "

What an idiotic answer. And you still didn't say what you meant.

Who says it's not going down too?

[micky]

I understood the question but you don't understand the answer.

Gray water is used

We're not talking about irrigation. We're talking about septic systems. Look at the subject line. And we're not talking about spraying. Find me anyone who takes the bathtub water and sprays it on his yard or his crops. You either believe in nonsense or you're trying to change the topic.

So why did you ask "Those regulators allow gray water to be used to irrigate lawns, what do you think would happen if they used your "gray water"?"? *His* grey water was septic tank effluent.

Intention or not makes no difference.

Now you're changing the subject again. We've been talking about normally working systems, and I still am.

Maybe in New Jersey :-) but no place else I've been.

[Scott Lurndal]

That's an anecdote, not a fact. Indeed as trader_4 says, grey water is, in some locales, allowed as irrigation water. Others ban it. In the west, irrigation of lawns and landscaping for commercial properties uses purple (reclaimed) water from the treatment plant.

No, that's not true. Sprinklers can also be using reclaimed (purple) water which is sourced from the local sewage treatment plant.

Should my leach field be wet? If you notice puddles on the field, it is possible that a hydraulic overload has caused the water to rise to the surface. With a clogged leach field, the pressure is causing the water to rise. When discharged in large quantities, wastewater can literally puddle on the ground.

Why is my leach field wet? When solid waste builds up in the soil at the base of the leach field, it prevents proper drainage and may result in wet spots in the field. Additionally, a poorly functioning leach field can contaminate your groundwater and put your family, pets, and livestock at risk.

[Hiram T Schwantz]

On Fri, 16 Dec 2022 03:03:53 -0000 (UTC), Boris posted for all of us to digest...

I know I'm coming in late so it may have been stated before... Only put down what you can eat. No bones, wipes, grease, oil, etc. Do not use a garbage disposal. It has to use bacteria to break up the waste. Anything not broken up is sludge. Sludge drops to the bottom of the tank and builds up and the tank has to be pumped. How often it is pumped is determined by your usage or the municipality. If the sludge goes into the leach field it will 'kill' the leach field. Expensive repair. If the municipality has a web site it should explain all this. My municipality requires pumping every 3 years and water softener water is required to be drained into the septic system.

[Hiram T Schwantz]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2022 07:49:55 -0800 (PST), trader_4 posted for all of us to digest...

There are systems that chlorinate the effluent and sprays it on the ground. No leach field.

[Hiram T Schwantz]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2022 20:11:11 -0500, Frank posted for all of us to digest...

Corpse smell?

[Frank]

A neighbor down the hill had that but it went into the stream that ran in front of his house. He is in sewer now.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Threads like this one are good for me. Makes me realize paying about $25 a month for sewer service is really a good deal.

In 56 years of home ownership (three houses) one time I did have to have my drain snaked but it just went to the sewer.