Leach Field

[exeter_acres]

We may need a new leach field soon and was curious if anyone knows anything about the Infiltrator System?
http://www.infiltratorsystems.com/overview.htm
Would love to do the project ourselves.

Thanks in advance

 

[MrP]

How do you know when you need a new leachfield? I have one and know very little about it.

 

[exeter_acres]

We had it inspedted, but also if your drains are slow.. ours are not as the leach field is down hill from the house. Also if you always have standing water over the leach field. And the telltale odor around the area. We also have....shall we say.... very well fertilized grass in the area that grows 3 or 4 times faster than everywhere else....

Hope that helps a bit...

 

[Mike_Dumond]

The ground around your leach field will, over time, become saturated with solids that find their way into them. usually take 20 or so years. But if it's not emptied often enough, the time gets much shorter. If it's bad, you can try to have it pressure washed, might add a few years or so. Ask whoever pumps tanks in your area.

If you do your research, and follow local codes, anyone can put in a leach field. Just remember to follow codes, and have the inspector check it before you cover it up.

With that said, some communities have passed ordinances allowing only licensed installers. Usually, if you get someone licensed to sign off on it, they'll accept it. Varies from area to area.

 

[Inspector507]

You might try this...........I did and the leach field works like new. Hope to get many years out of this fix. I had black water in the front lawn before, now it's just grass. Green as can be but it's still grass instead of black water.

 

[MarkV]

Exeter Acres,
We had an Infiltrator system put in at our weekend home 3 or 4 years ago. The length of the run or runs depends on your local code but in my area they allow a shorter run with Infiltrator that with a conventional field. The installation required a 3’x 3’ x (in my case) 88’ run. We did 2-44’ runs. The trench has to be dead level and the inspector used a laser level to check it. The Infiltrator sections just snap together and have end caps for the start and finish of each run. After inspection it gets backfilled with regular soil, no stone is used.

MarkV

 

[PaulT]

What is "this" solution that worked so well for you? I'm dying to know. Or are you referring to the infiltrator system in the first post?

 

[exeter_acres]

I was wondering the same thing.....

Now, to find someone with a back hoe.. I'm sure noone around these parts has one or knows where to find one!!!

 

[exeter_acres]

Here's the two part question to add on... what to do with the spoils of the old field? I have a few acres of meadow. Is it feasible to spread it out there to let it soak in then turn it in later, or would we have to have it trucked out?

thanks
Curtis

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I believe that the Infiltrator system would require the proper soil conditions, probably a very gravelly soil in order to work. I would be sure that your soil was suitable for this. With all the technology in the world, the liquid still has to be absorbed away from the leaching area. It would seem to be a very good system for lower use areas, such as a vacation home, where the liquid would have a great deal of time to drain away from the chambers.

 

[JJT]

Here's what I would do - Spread it and turn it over immediately. Don't spread it and wait for a neighbor to turn you into the health inspector.... If your leach field is ruined/plugged/saturated it's going to stink when you start digging it up.

 

[Inspector507]

Curtis,
In my area it has to be trucked to a hazardous waste facility that probably incinerates it.

 

[Darren]

Leach fields are french drains used in reverse. Like a french drain they stop working when the filter media is is blocked by solids. Leach fields are subject to infiltration from within and without. Many contractors don't build a leach field to resist infiltration from the surrounding soil. The same thing happens with french drains.

To maintain the effectiveness, the trench should be lined with filter fabric, geotextile, which minimizes soil infiltration. The geotextile should completely enclose the filter material surrounding the distribution pipes.
The other thing that has to be taken into consideration is the total amount of water dumped into the system.
It adds up to quite a lot when you think about not only the load from the bathrooms but also the laundry and any other graywater sources.

If someone does lots of laundry loads week after week, they're probably killing the septic system. A garbage disposal shouldn't be used in a household with a septic system. If you have a water softener and clay soil and you're routing the backflush water to the septic system, you're headed for trouble.

If the field is built to resist infiltration from without and the owner is careful not to overload the septic with water, solids and substances that are incompatible with the bacterial process, the leach field should last way beyond twenty years.

 

[MarkV]

Exeter Acres, can you relocate the new leach field? If the old field is causing problems it may be that the soil in that area is pretty clogged already. You would also have to bring in fill to backfill the new system.

MarkV

 

[exeter_acres]

I'm trying to figure that out.... a creek runs through the property so that limits it a bit. The majority of property is on the other side, but I can't pipe over it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Also have to stay a certain distance from the creek.
Looking at a couple long runs in a narrow area vs several short runs.../w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif
Thanks for all the input..

 

[JJT]

Several short runs is better than a couple of very long runs. I built mine 3 X the spec and put in 15 50 ft laterals.

 

[rozett]

You really need to become familiar with your local code. In New Hampshire, the system must be designed by a licensed designer and approved by both the state and your local building dept.

About 10 years ago, I was putting an addition on my house. I was required (by code) to expand my leach field because I was adding a bedroom (even though I was not adding any people to the house). The old field had to be trucked away as hazardous waste. In order to keep the new field in the same location, I had to truck in 600 yards of sand. Raised that portion of my backyard by 5 feet. The state inspected twice. First after the excavation and installation of crushed rock and then before closure. All were required by state and local code.

So go buy your building inspector a coffe and understand the local requirements.

 

[Darren]

Somewhere I've read of a technique that can recondition an existing leach field from the inside.

You could also construct the leach field on the other side of the creek. You could pump the black water under the creek to a point it could drain via gravity to a leach field. The inspector's eyebrows might go up but it would work.

If they don't want you to dig in the creek to lay a line because of environmental impacts, a contractor with a horizontal drill can pull both a guard pipe and the sewage line under the creek probably in a few hours if you don't have rock close to the surface. Even rock isn't a show stopper. It just gets much more expensive.

 

[JimMorrissey]

That's exactly what I'm wondering....What is "this"

 

[JJT]

"You really need to become familiar with your local code. "

I understood my local code and decided to build the system so I'd never have to replace it. Code said 250' of drain field, I put in 750'.