leech field

[HomeBrew2]

I sure do appreciate your interest in getting quotable information out to those of us interested in this topic. It seems as though we have lost some of the other respondants when documentable facts became a part of the conversation.
I do have to admit that my interest in this thread was nill until comments were made regarding a possible contribution to the detrimental health of one's family and/or neighbors if some more fill was put on a leach field. A leach field that is in an area unknown to most contributors to this thread. And, after reviewing a Fed doc, there seems to be little basis for previous claims of impending calimity, I find no need to pursue further links from Washington, a state far removed from the original poster. However, I do hope to hear of solid evidence of how a man that wants to add some fill to a portion of his leach field is, in fact, going to negatively impact the health of himself, his family, and/or his neighbors. But, then again, it's just me wound up about this ... I'll pull a lovely homebrew and forget about the whole affair tomorrow.
Cheers, but thanks again for the link to the doc /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[SCB]

DKinWA,
What part of GH are you in. I grew up in monte and lived in aberdeen for a while. My family is still down there. I'll be back down there in a few months to do a little hunting. I sure miss that little corner of the world.

 

[Egon]

The aerobic action in the leach field involves little buggies that futher help clean up the water. Covering vegetation also helps with transpiration of the effluent. Sewage treatment plants may spray the effluent in the air for additional purification..

Ground may act as a filter but still allow pathogens to pass on.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DKinWA]

I was born in Hoquiam and lived there for about 22 years and then moved to the Elma area. There's a surpising difference in weather and we get a lot more growing season than the aberdeen and hoquiam area. It's amazing how many people knock the harbor, but it really is a nice area. Within an hour you can be at the beach or in a tropical rainforest and if you make it two hours, your options really expand.

 

[Tom_H]

This is very interesting. Where I live, we have 1'-4' of very dense clay. Below the clay is a 3'-7' layer of silica cemented durapan, a type of hardpan that is like concrete and is totally water impermeable. Therefore, the soil will not perc.

Now up in the Sierra, where houses sit right on granite, they have to build greenhouses with huge sandboxes inside. This makes a solar evaporative leech field.

Here in the Central Valley we have a different solution. We go down, straight down and way down. Below the hardpan is a layer of sand, another layer of hardpan, another layer of sand. My wastewater goes from the septic tank to a distribution box, to 5 dry wells. Each dry well is 3' dia. and 30' deep. The hole is filled with 8" to 12" dia. rounded granite river rocks. The hole is tightly capped (at the hardpan level) with a concrete disc 3' dia. and 1' thick, to prevent soil from falling into the cavities between the rocks.

This system is obviously deeper than any leech field and far more sealed off from atmospheric oxygen at the surface than any leech field.

The sand layers provide a place for my wastewater to go. Perhaps some abovementioned maximum leech field depths were not so that oxygen could flow downwards, but so that water vapor could transpoevaporate upwards. We do have minimum distances between wells and septic and well depths are around 300', far below the septic level and separated by layers of claypan.

What you need to do is ask the experts in your region. Call the same city or county agency that inspects septic systems for new construction and ask what the local codes are. That way you will know you are doing the right thing and will not be taking any risks of getting into trouble.

 

[GabeTX]

Interesting--how does the cost of that kind of system (with the 3' x 30' drywells) compare to the cost of an aerobic system with sprinklers? That's all we're allowed to use out here in Denton County, Texas....

 

[Tom_H]

When I put it in 16 years ago, excavation, tank, boxes, 5 dry wells, everything was a bit under $5000.

They use a giant auger to drill the holes, then dump the rocks right in out of a dump truck. The rocks come from streams in the Sierra Nevada maybe 60 miles away.

 

[Jagmandave]

Wish I could get by that cheaply! I've been quoted $18 - $20K for a mound system for a house with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, but that's only if they don't hit rock (which, of course, they will)