</font><font color="blue" class="small">( </font><font color="blueclass=small">( Don't drive over your leech field, period. )</font>
Quite a harsh statement, don't you think. We have seen many situations where TBN members have proven your statement to be false.
Alot depends on the design and construction of your leech field. Different states and even areas within each state, have different design minimums that will effect how a field performs. Soil conditions play into that too.
The best answer to the original poster's question is that it depends on many factors and that he should consult with the designer and installer of his particular system to get that answer.
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The guy stated his leach lines are 15" deep.
Do not drive on these. It is a bad thing.
Over time, the soil will compact to 20 inches deep. Might not show up this year, or next year... Clay soils will be real bad, sandy soils will not show up so much. But they all will show up eventually on such shallow lines.
Compacted soil does not absorb water. The point of the leach field is to absorb water. In cold climates, compacted soil freezes much deeper, which is a real concern.
Different soils, different designs, things can work differently.
But it is always a bad idea to run traffic over the leach field. One only 15" deep, it is a real bad idea.
A leach field should be nice loose soil with turf growing on top. You don't want traffic compacting it, and you don't want anything with big deep roots on it, and you don't want it bare. You want loose soil that water can move through, & you want turf that uses some of the moisture & insulates the area.
Period. Whether that is a harsh concept or not, it is the way it is. Anything else makes life harder for your leach field. I would not want to make life harder for my field. Too many people want me to spend too much money on a new one....
As to pumping a septic tank, they need to be pumped every so often. Period. The number of years depends on the amount of use & size of the tank, but rarely can a normal household go beyond 5-8 years without serious damage occuring. It does not matter what 'additives' you put in, septic tanks fill with dirt particles, lint, fiber, and other items that do not degrade, but fill up the bottom. Period. Also they fill with grease from the top down, & it is near impossible to get that grease to break up no matter what magik potions you add.
There are many old septic sytems around here too that have not been pumped in decades. They are old houses that have the septic connected to a tile line. When the septic tank stops working, the stuff just happily flows down the drain line & into the public drainage ditches & streams & lakes. Might not even have had a tank to begin with. I do _not_ consider that a working septic system! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The harsh reality is that you need to be kind to your leach field, and you need to pump the tank every so often to protect the leach field from filling up with gunk overflowing the tank.
Period.
--->Paul
