Leach field specs...

[exeter_acres]

Does any one have very basic specs on how much piping I would need for a new leach field.. Basically all I am looking for is approx. linear feet for a 2000 sq ft home with 2 adults (one child) with soil that is semi-clay based (not too porous) so I would add some length to account for this...
Trying to find work for my brothers BX!!

Thanks in advance...

Curtis

 

[RJohnson]

Curtis
Try this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://agpublications.tamu.edu/pubs/eng/l5227.pdf>link</A> to a Texas A&M waste water fact sheet. You are still going to have to determine the hydraulic loading of your soil and the daily flow rate from your house.
You will need Acrobat Reader to view the fact sheet.

Randy

 

[JJT]

Work with your local building inspector on this one. It all depends on how well your soil perc's.

I have heavy clay soil that had a marginal perc rate. I built a 3 bedroom home 8 years ago and trucked in 600 yards of sand, ~300 yards of number 2 stone and laid 15 50 foot laterals, (5 dedicated to the kitchen and the washer). This was 3X the spec, but I did all the labor myself and was building this to last my lifetime. I had to replace the leach field at my last house and it's not something I ever want to go through again. (I also used ADS's N12 pipe which has a 9000 # crush, rather than your normal sewer and drain pipe which has a 3000 # crush).

 

[ICGREEN]

Most places require permits for leach fields these day's. They're normally issued by the local board of health. They'll tell you what you need to do to have a properly operating field. The EPA has really cracked down on states the past few years and the states have really cracked down on the counties. Depending on where you live it can be quite a chore to get a permit so plan ahead.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I am a state licensed sewage enforcement officer for three municipalities in Northeast Pa. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires every municipality to employ at least one sewage permit officer. They are the only person authorized to issue permits in that municipality. Permits are required for all installations and modifications to septic systems and septic tanks. Pennsylvania has about a 165 page code book that refers to about a 300 page field manual. All provisions of the code must be met prior to permit issuance. They (soil testing and construction codes) are for water quality protection and public health standards. Funny thing is I have a 1 PM appointment tomorrow to document an illegally unpermitted installed system. It will ALL have to be removed as the homeowner started himself and none of it meets any state standards. Fine for noncompliance - $300.00. Every day is considered a new occurrence and fine. These are the worst kind of headaches for code enforcement officers, homeowners who think they know better. There are three phases to getting a sewage permit in Pennsylvania.

Application process
Soil testing and site evaluation
Design preparation and review

After all three have been completed and approved a sewage permit can be issued. It would be easier to check on what permits are required before starting as it may save quit a bit of effort and money. Of course I am not familiar at all with what is required in your state. Best of Luck!

 

[dmccarty]

exeter_acres,

To back up what Glen said, get your permits. I would be shocked if they are
not required anywhere in the US.

There is an article on http:// [url]www.nando.com [/url] under the Health section
concerning the lack of septic systems some areas of Alabama. The health
departments are going after the home owners to put in the septic systems
that have been missing for years. If they fail to do so its jail time.

Frankly, they should have done this years ago. I can understand people
not having money. But there are specs to build an out house instead of
just flushing toilets into streams or forests which is what is mentioned in
the Alabama situation... Pretty sick. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Later...
Dan McCarty

 

[BobT]

Anothe echo...

I just paid a state licensed engineer $550 to inspect my land and draw up plans/blueprints for a new septic system. I have about -0- percolation, so it has got to be a sand filter system with chlorine at the end, they tell me.

The engineer will inspect and certify various steps along the way, and also does the final approval. It is going to COST me around $8,000 for the whole deal, but there is little choice any more for home owners. I probably could make some kind of reapiurs, but the "authorities" can come in and give me big headaches. So I am being the Good Citizen and just doing what they tell me. The "inspectors" won ...

 

[exeter_acres]

Permits are required in our area and an inspection, but the land owner can submit there own drawings and plans for a system for issuance of a permit....
Not as strict as many other places, I know...

We probably won't build the field until next year, but I am just starting to get all the ducks in a row now....
ie: material cost estimates, etc. etc..

Thanks so much for all of the input on this one...

One of my neighbors put one in... They had the appropriate permits, etc. and did the work themselves...
Worked out fine.

Now... who has a tractor that would work for this /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[dummy]

Are you referring to a mound system? One solids tank, then a liquid holding/pumping tank, then the mound acts like a leach field.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm surprised that the septic tank company would deliver and set a tank at an unlicensed site. Here in florida, I havn't seen a single tank company that will sell or set a tank ion the ground for you unless you send them a copy of your permits. Occasionally farmers will buy the tanks as dry storage, or as water tanks, etc.. and they have a hard time doing it, as the companies want proof it is not for a wastewater application, etc.

I guess in PA the companies are just a bit more lax? ( Or did the guy form his own tank? )

Soundguy

""Funny thing is I have a 1 PM appointment tomorrow to document an illegally unpermitted installed system. It will ALL have to be removed as the homeowner started himself and none of it meets any state standards. Fine for noncompliance - $300.00. Every day is considered a new occurrence and fine. These ""