If you are a property owner or prospective buyer with a desire to develop and build a home whether on spec for investment purposes, to settle down and raise a family, to plot your dream seasonal getaway, or even planning your retirement destination, there are factors involved with developing the land to be explored before one should even consider buying. The first and most obvious is of course, water. Does the land have an existing well? If not, do the neighbors have adequate water supply and/ or sources? It does not hurt to ask around the neighborhood to inquire as to the quality and amount of immediate area well water. If the neighbors’ wells produce good, clean water in abundance then you are likely in good shape. This type of inquiry with local, long term neighbors can be a good source of information as older residents are sometimes well furnished with the exact information you are seeking. For example, the knowledgeable neighbor may be able to tell you that a good water source runs below ground here at such and such depth across such and such like so as all the neighbors have their wells drilled on the vein and so it can be followed straight through your prospect property, a good case scenario to say the least. Now it may not go exactly like this and maybe you will not find out anything so significant but without asking, who is to say.
Septic System Designs
Another important aspect to look into carefully before completely obligating yourself to a purchase is percolation ability, or a perc test. On-site sewage disposal, or “septic systems” are my area of expertise, not well drilling, so I’ll talk some more about what I know. The percolation test is performed in order to determine the degree of absorption vs. holding in the native soil. This testing is mandatory for a proper septic system design and will reveal the type of septic system required for the property in question, per local health department codes and ordinances. If you are lucky enough to find a soil in the test holes on the property with adequate drainage for a standard gravity fed septic system, the cost will be minimal for the system itself.
A standard gravity system is simple and fairly straight forward. All waste enters the septic tank though a solid pipe leading from the house or structure. At this point, all solids separate and while heavier waste sinks to the bottom, other lighter solid waste floats to the surface. After separation occurs, once full to the level of a separation baffle, liquid waste will begin to flow at a rate of gravity combined with water usage, to the septic system’s drainfield, where it is dispersed throughout sometimes several hundred feet of in-ground drainage apparatus, often a 4 inch perforated PVC pipe covered by drainage gravel to local spec. There are also proprietary alternatives such as “infiltrator”, a product that in certain cases can reduce drainfield size considerably while also eliminating the need for perforated drain pipe or washed drain gravel. However if the soil happens to drain too quickly, such as coarse gravel or sand, or even too slowly, as with clay or other dense material, the statute will likely require a more costly pressure distribution septic system.
A pressure distribution system is comprised of a tank or sometimes multiple tanks, for holding, separation, and pumping. The first holding tank operates not unlike the tank in a standard gravity fed septic system, collecting and holding solid waste as it is naturally separated from the liquid. Multiple holding tanks may be utilized for commercial applications or larger systems with more usage requiring greater volume. Once the level rises to the filtration baffle, the liquid waste, or effluent, drains by means of gravity into the next tank or chamber. This next chamber, or often separate tank, is referred to as a pump chamber. The pump chamber is where the effluent is pumped out into the drainfield, often by means of smaller, sometimes 1” PVC pipe with orifices drilled at a specific diameter, on specified centers depending upon the engineered system requirements. Unlike a standard gravity system, the pressure distribution system utilizes a pump, operated automatically by a sophisticated control panel. The control panel may operate the pump based on pressure produced by rising effluent levels, or by means of electronic float switches, also controlled by rising and/ or falling effluent levels. A float switch for example may tell the pump to activate when floated enough to point up, if “up” is designated as the “on” position. Once in the “on” position, the pump will operate to the programmed amount of time specified by the control panel. This operating time is referred to as a dose. Dosed timing is common to pressure distribution septic systems as each dose is engineered to dissipate into the soil as efficiently and completely as possible before allowing the following dose, sometimes several hours as the soil may be too dense to absorb, or so loose as to contaminate groundwater if let run too freely. As you can imagine with extra moving parts, floats or tubes, pumps, panels, and increased engineering, the cost for a system such as this increases sometimes astronomically. All good reasons to discuss contingencies such as a certain perc result when shopping for or placing a down payment on that property you have got your eye on.
A reasonable and sometimes viable exception to the rule is “pump to gravity”. When the soil at the building site is too dense to drain efficiently and effectively or too loose to hold and then drains much too quickly, a remote drain field may have better potential in a different location on the property. Pump to gravity operates not unlike a standard gravity system. It does require a pump, float tree or similar apparatus, and a control panel. If there is extra space away from your desired building site, or perhaps another level or “shelves” on the property, it is possible to find acceptable soil in other areas to disperse the effluent more freely by means of a standard gravity type drain field. Once the float or pressure switch reaches the “on” position, the effluent is then pumped to the remote standard gravity drain field where better drainage is available.
Adding to the topic of on-site septic systems I feel it is important as well s necessary for everyone to know proper maintenance for the longevity of their septic system. For example; regularly pumping the solids holding tank, though more costly, is a good idea, vs. the use of septic system additives and/ or enzymes, which will save you money short term, is a bad idea. The reasons are as follows. The septic system operates naturally, regardless of system or soil type, the solids are separated from the liquid effluent. The design of the system is to operate by storing the solids in the tank and dispersing the effluent only, by means of the drain field. Once the tank is full it is absolutely necessary to have a septic pumping service pump your tank so the process can begin again and the system can continue to operate properly. It is recommended to have a septic tank pumped regularly,
every five years or so although with moderate use home owners often and typically do go ten years between pumping. Companies claim reduced septic pumping and decreased maintenance by using their “flushable” septic system care products. However there is a very significant downside and therefor a detrimental side effect to this type of treatment. Unfortunately for anyone not properly educated, the products do just exactly what the companies claim that they do. This in my opinion is perhaps the only reason these products are still allowed to be sold. Let me tell you what is actually happening to give the results that these products claim to and do deliver. When an additive or enzyme product is flushed or added, the metabolic process of the enzyme and/ or additive goes to work dissolving solids and therefore eliminates the need for the septic tank to be pumped. So as these solids dissolve, they are flushed out into the drain field along with the normal effluent. Works just exactly as advertised. While this does eliminate the need for the septic pumping service and the associated expense, the liquefied solids are now in your drain field. The drain field dispersal surfaces, which are engineered to eliminate liquid effluent only, rather than these liquefied solids, will become caked, matted, and otherwise plug up with the liquefied solids resulting in premature failure of the entire system. I know it seems a hefty expense to have your septic tank pumped and it may be tempting to eliminate this expense with a widely advertised “safe and environmentally conscious” product as the commercial ads suggest. However please be warned it can end up costing you thousands more when the drain field no longer takes any liquid effluent after filling up with sludge and becoming saturated. The result could be a septic drain field which must be replaced in its entirety. A common suggestion and alternative to using a product such as this to wait until the funds are available and then perhaps to budget the pumping for a time in the near future. Of course the septic system runs on microbial processes. It is very much and must remain alive to work properly. The excessive use of bleach can kill the bacteria in your septic system and is discouraged. Also, antibiotics will kill the system bacterium which is why expired or left over prescription medications should never be flushed but disposed of properly instead.
I hope that these little but relevant bits of my knowledge can help you out while shopping or purchasing your property.
