Limb in Septic Line

[paulharvey]

I would go about 12-18" back from damage, and replace. Add new rock, back fill with something that perks.

 

[lakngulf]

I would go about 12-18" back from damage, and replace. Add new rock, back fill with something that perks.

Oh No. More digging. My third grade teach told the whole class "Now if you do not study hard, and apply yourself, you will end up digging ditches" My, I have dug a lot of ditches in my 63 years.

 

[bcp]

2. Deep beneath the white pipes is a septic tank field line, perforated 4 inch I think, with rock bed below and rock bed above. I have shoveled enough to hit the rock bed, so I know I am near the pipe.

I don't understand how damage could make a perforated line leak. It is supposed to leak. What difference would it make if it has a crack?

What am I missing here?

Bruce

 

[daveshoot]

Right, leach lines leak all the time on purpose. A break isn't going to cause a mud puddle. And couplers for them are cheap and plentiful. The area is going to smell septic anyway if it's the leach field dug up.

Either you hit the main septic drain, or (more likely) the irrigation lines. Slip fix or compression coupling for irrigation lines under pressure. Fernco (rubber and hose clamp) fitting if main septic.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Agree.. if its a leach field, then its perforated line and a hole will make little difference. However, if its a break, then you have lost some leaching capacity and I would repair. Simple cut and replace with couplers would suffice.

If its that irrigation line, then the easiest is to cut out the damage and replace with good pipe and couplers.

If you can not see the leak now, then more digging is required - sorry

 

[quicksandfarmer]

My amateur's opinion is that the picture shown is not consistent with a crushed field line. If there is flooding I'd be looking at a leaking irrigation line first. Septic systems are generally well over-engineered, they're supposed to work when your house is full of guests and the water table is the highest it's been in 100 years. At worst, a stick going into a pipe would block the pipe, everything downstream of the blockage would be cut off, and the capacity of the system would be reduced proportionately. Unless the blockage is in a particularly unlucky spot, or the capacity of the system is right at the margin, it should just keep working fine with reduced capacity. If the flow now exceeds the capacity, it's going to leak, but there is no reason to expect it would leak at the point of impact -- it should leak from the lowest point of the system.

As another poster pointed out, field lines leaking isn't a problem, they're supposed to leak. Blockage is the problem to worry about. If a section of pipe is blocked the repair would be to unblock it. If you dig by hand I wouldn't worry about restoring the condition of the soil, losing 1-2 feet of absorption isn't going to affect the operation of your system.

But I would be looking at the irrigation pipes first.

 

[lakngulf]

Agree.. if its a leach field, then its perforated line and a hole will make little difference. However, if its a break, then you have lost some leaching capacity and I would repair. Simple cut and replace with couplers would suffice.

If its that irrigation line, then the easiest is to cut out the damage and replace with good pipe and couplers.

If you can not see the leak now, then more digging is required - sorry

Thanks for all the replies and help. I am still searching, but have a theory. I dug some more, got to the top side of the field line pipe. Indeed, as I dug, more and more water (??) oozed into the hole. I put in a siphon hose and remove most of the water. No damage to pipe at this area. As the suction removed the puddle, the water oozed in from each side, probably having leached from the lines like it should.

My theory (absent finding a leaking water source): The limb from the tree penetrated the field in that spot, when I pulled it out with chain I did not refill it well enough, that created a seep area for the liquid in the leach field. Is that a possibility?

 

[lakngulf]

But I would be looking at the irrigation pipes first.

Will continue to look at that. Also, the washing machine's exit pipe is in this same area. I will check on it. The theory I posted perhaps has one serious flaw: We have probably not had enough rain for the amount of water that appears to be at the level of the field line pipes.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Will continue to look at that. Also, the washing machine's exit pipe is in this same area. I will check on it. The theory I posted perhaps has one serious flaw: We have probably not had enough rain for the amount of water that appears to be at the level of the field line pipes.

Washing machine pipe is a good candidate too. Water seeks its own level, and it doesn't flow up. Unless this spot is the lowest spot in the field, and the whole field is saturated, the fluid you're seeing isn't septic.

 

[crazyal]

I wouldn't be too worried about the "septic" smell since you've removed the dirt on top of the washed stone. How high is your water table this time of year? If you dig somewhere that didn't get damaged by the tree do you also hit water?