Helpful information from Tri-County Health on Septic
Systems
Potable and Irrigation Meter Detail
Your home is served by an individual sewage disposal system, or on-site Wastewater System (OWS). The OWS treats the wastewater discharged from plumbing fixtures in the home. The Tri-County Health Department has permitted, inspected and approved the OWS that serves your home. If properly cared for, the OWS should function for a long time without problems.
How Does an OWS Work?
A typical OWS consists of a septic tank and an “absorption area”. Wastewater flows through plumbing fixtures in the home into the septic tank. In the septic tank, suspended solids separate from the wastewater. Bacteria and enzymes in the waste and in the septic tank digest some of these solids. Once the suspended solids are removed in the tank, the wastewater flows out of the tank through a pipe to the absorption area. A standard absorption area, which is sometimes called a “leachfield”, consists of piping and rock or plastic “chambers” buried below the ground outside the home. Once the wastewater reaches the absorption area, it is stored in the spaces between the rocks or the chambers, until it can be absorbed into the soil.
The absorption area treats the wastewater (effluent) from the septic tank by filtering the wastewater and putting bacteria and enzymes in the soil and wastewater. These bacteria and enzymes actually “eat” many of the pollutants in the wastewater, and by doing so, remove them and purify the wastewater. Once the effluent has percolated through the soils, most of the pollutants in the wastewater have been removed and the water can be returned harmlessly to the environment.
Some OWS are “engineered” due to difficult soil conditions. The most common “difficult soils” are clay soils, which percolate very slowly. If your home has an engineered OWS, it may have additional parts (extra tank, pumps, electrical controls, and valves) that make the system function.
How to Operate and Maintain Your OWS
Proper operation and maintenance of your OWS is extremely important. Failure to maintain the OWS may cause it to fail, which may result in sewage surfacing on the ground or backing up into the home. Repairing a failed OWS can cost several thousand dollars. Maintaining your OWS can prevent its failure.
Following is a brief list of what maintenance needs to be done for an OWS:
Control the amount of water used inside the home. Your system is designed to handle a specific amount of water. Larger volumes of water will overload the absorption area, and may cause it to fail. For example, a leaking toilet can place an additional 1,000 gallons per day into the system, quickly exceeding its capacity. It is necessary to repair leaking plumbing fixtures promptly.
Do not put certain items “down the drain”. Some waste products do not decompose in the septic tank, and may cause it to fill up too fast. If this happens, solids can flow out into the absorption area and cause damage. Products such as coffee grounds, facial tissues, feminine hygiene products, eggshells, grease and diapers should definitely not be put into toilets or down drains. The same is true for products such as paints, which may damage the absorption area
Have the septic tank(s) pumped regularly. Since all the solids in the septic tank do not “break down”, tanks fill up with solids over time. Most septic tanks require pumping at least every four years. Failure to pump the septic tank will cause solids from the tank to “carry over” into the absorption area, and may cause it to fail. Tri-County Health Department licenses “system cleaners” to pump septic tanks.
Keep the absorption field in good condition. Absorption areas are typically installed at shallow depths. To prevent damage to the system, it is important to keep vehicles and horses away from absorption areas, and to not construct driveways, irrigated landscaping, and buildings on or near the absorption area. Runoff water from downspouts must be diverted away from these areas. Finally, to prevent erosion of the absorption area, it is important to maintain a “non-irrigated” vegetative cover over it, and to keep the area mowed.
Special Requirements. Some standard OWS, and most engineered ones, have valves to divert wastewater from the septic tank to more than one absorption area or “zone”. These valves need to be periodically switched, to allow one area to “rest”. Many engineered OWS also have pumps and controls which need to be checked to verify that they are operating properly.
Tri-County Health Department Environmental Health staff are available to help answer any questions you may have about your OWS. Tri-County Health Department also has records on your OWS, and a free folder with valuable information called “Septic System Guidelines and Records”. Please call our Commerce City Office, at 303-288-6816, for an information folder or if you have any questions
Vegetation Over Absorption Area
Proper vegetation over the absorption area will reduce the amount of runoff from rain and snowmelt that infiltrates into the absorption area. Excessive infiltration of rain and snowmelt may overload or "flood" the absorption area.
Proper vegetation may prevent erosion damage
for engineered systems. Proper vegetation will also increase the evapotranspiration ("ET") of effluent. Engineered systems rely on "ET".
Trees, shrubs, bluegrass "turf" and other landscaping requiring irrigation are not recommended. Tree roots may damage the system and excessive irrigation may "flood" the absorption area.
To establish proper vegetation, it may be necessary to "seed" the absorption area with a seed mix such as a "Foothills, Pasture, or Prairie" seed mix available at seed stores. These mixes do not require irrigation.
No automatic sprinkler system should be installed over the field area.
Supply lines, distribution manifolds and laterals for engineered drip irrigation systems are typically installed 12" to 30" deep. Care shall be taken when seeding over these areas to avoid damaging the pipes.
You may also contact the following agencies for assistance:
National Resources Conservation Service
(303) 659-0525. ext. 101
Adams County Extension Service
(303) 637-8100 |
