Locating septic leach field

[seapea]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( (I've never had the tank tested for coliform. I've also never heard of having this done. If it did have coliform, I would assume there is no way to get rid of it. Also, it seems like coliform would readily spread to pretty much ever septic tank in the area via the septic pumping service, unless they sanitize their equipment between each service.)

I was referring to having your water well tested, not the septic tank. If you don't have coliform bacteria in your septic tank, there is a bigger problem than you realize... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)</font>

Ah yes, I see now you did say "well" and not "tank". I thought it was kind of a strange question. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. Yes, I had it tested for E. Coli and Coliform about a year ago. They both turned up negative. The only risk of biological contaminents in the well water (with our geology) is via the well head. There's no way they could survive 100 feet of leaching.

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue"> The only risk of bioligical contaminents in the well water (with our geology) is via the well head. There's no way they could survive 100 feet of leaching. </font>

Thats my understanding to. I am having a percolation and mantle test for two areas at my place on August 3. It will basically tell me if I need a conventional, pressure dosing or sand filter system. I am obviously hoping for a conventional because of costs.

 

[Highbeam]

"I can't imagine a leach field that was approved being 6' below ground. 2 - 3 feet below the surface is the norm. In fact, with the leach field that far below grade, I can't see how there can be any evaporation from the system at all and the water has to be just filtering down into the rest of the aquifer, which isn't a desirable condition."

Standard septic drainfields do NOT utilize evaporation for primary disposal. The effluent is supposed to go down into the earth to be recycled into the aquifer eventually. This is how they are engineered/designed. Drink your pee. On it's way through the shallow soil, the oxygen in the soil allows bacteria to eat some more of the nutrients providing a secondary treatment after the septic tank has had its shot. This is why a deep drainfield is a problem, not much oxygen that far down. So Junkman and I agree that 6 feet is too deep. Not saying that the local approval authority didn't allow it for this special home.

Witching for pipes isn't what I would call a religion. It is physics, flow through a conduit creates a magentic field. Think about how an electromagnet works. Well the magnetic field is aligned with the pipe. Flowing water is pretty much a big electromagnet and the witching rods can react. Many respected folks use the rods.

 

[erich]

Highbeam,

I thought it was magnetism at first too but how do explain the brass rods reacting to it? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Like I said, I have a pretty good science background as an engineer.

Being in the construction business and working mostly on existing structures I would be a little cautious of depending on design drawings. Unless they can be verified as "as builts", drawings only show the intent of the designer. Unforeseen site conditions can cause field changes that often are not documented. I ran into a major problem on the campus last week with incorrect drawings. Thats where locating equipment comes in. In this case we used electronic gear to find the water lines by hooking a transmitter to a fire hydrant and tracing the line with the receiver. There is no doubt that I would try the bent rods on a septic system if I had no access to more sophisticated locating equipment.

 

[Highbeam]

It's got to be the flux or magnetism. I can only guess that the brass rods were an alloy of some sort with a magnetic material. I wouldn't guess it would work with wood either.

We use the locating system you speak of regularly. Hook onto a hydrant or trace wire. Sometimes we have asbestos water mains and we just have to pothole for it. The huge vac trucks can suck a hole right down to the pipe with the help of a little water.

I agree that it is the norm to construct a project different than the plans. As-builts, especially those of a septic system, are very approximate.

 

[turnkey4099]

Erich: re: witching.

It works for me but I am still skeptical. I have found some things (old water lines, neighbors leach field, water) and have also had failures. Mosst of the things I did find and proved out where in the logical place, i.e., leach field. It was in the only spot available. Water - in this country you will hit water anywhere you drill so my 2 shots at it didn't prove anything.
Water line - had a break in a 1/4 mile line. Traced it out all the way to the well head and terminus in an abandonded school house. Great. Only problem was when I tore down the school house the water line actually entered the school 90 degrees away from where the rods said. Did dig in one indicated spot to try to find the pipe - no luck.

As to material. Any metal works for me. I have even used hunks of barb wire taken off a fence. Mostly use the welding rods.

Depth. When my well was dug the witcher gave me a quick lesson. May not do it for you. As I walk along the rods cross, I mark the spot, continue in same line. Rods cross again somewhere out there, mark spot. Count paces back to original mark, multiply by 5 gives depth in feet. That was checked against another witcher. Without either watching the other we both came up with the same figure and yes that is where they struck.

Bottom line. It is fun to play with but I don't trust it.

Harry K

 

[seapea]

Well, it seems my initial request to leave out dowsing/diving has been ignored. I've been holding off my urge to reply/debunk, hoping the responses would just stop if I kept quite. I know many of you believe, but I don't, which is why I was hoping to focus answers to ones I would find useful.

In any case, if you know someone who can dowse, there's $1,000,000 reward waiting to be claimed by this person. Related to this reward, you may also want to read </font> Randi on dowsing. You might also be interested in the following excerpt from skeptic FAQ

<font color="red"> Unfortunately careful tests of dowsers have revealed absolutely no ability to find water or anything else by extra-sensory perception. Dowsing success stories can be explained by noting that wherever you dig you will find water. You just have to dig deep enough. It has also been suggested that dowsers may unconsciously use clues in the environment.</font>

You can respond with your numerous reports of successes and with stories of "studies" done to prove dousing works. I will just let them be. I suggest you don't let anecdotal evidence sway you. I also will suggest that you don't be swayed by studies that are not truly scientific and have been reproduced by at least an one disinterested group (there have been none).

 

[slowrev]

One drastic method that will work, pour about 5 gallons of brushkiller down the toilet and see where stuff dies /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Disclaimer: Don't try this at home.

 

[NevadaSmith]

ok...leaving the paranormal out of this....

I have an engineering background and am not a scientist...but in regards to dowsing, I would believe it to work (and have seen it) using brass rods. Why? well.... borrowing on my experience in the Navy, and learning about "degaussing' I learned some things that I thought would be science fiction. First...the earth consists of a magnetic field. Second...items passing thru this field distort and bend it, and become magnetised themselves. These principals are used in maritime warfare in many areas....finding submarines and activating mines. Finding submarines are as easy as finding shifts in the fields using a "dowser" ... yup...a dowser (albeit really sophisticated). Knowing this, submarines us a "degaussing coil" to realign the field and throw off the 'dowsers'. Second, ships eventially become "magnetized" as they pass through the magnetic field and develop a unique fingerprint. Every so often, they will wrap ships up in big coils and shoot electricity thru them. Why? because advanced 'dowsers" have been developed to detect the magnetism and activate weapons, and even to identify certain ships. So....ships must be "demagnitzed" every so often.

Now why do I believe dowsing can work? By the same principals as applied above. You hold two brass rods (good conductors) parallel to each other and the earth natural magnetic field will tend to hold them parallel (and induce a very small current when you hold them). When the field is disrupted by items under ground, the rods register the anomolly in the magnetic field by deflecting.

I mgiht be on crack....but it sounds better to me than Uri Gellar and bending spoons. Your links only explain "paranormal" dowsing using sticks, intuition etc.... I'll ignore that and opt for the scientific explanation, which I believe exists. Matter of fact, I do believe underground locating services not only use RF detectors, but magnetic ones as well (again...advanced dowsers).

My two drachmas...so can I have my $1000 now? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[slowrev]

I have also seen dowsing work. You can't convince me otherwise.

I can't make it work, but others can.

Just because it cannot be fully explained does not make it untrue, take gravity for instance......

Ben