taking care of septics · 2015-12-15 · make your septic the good, the bad, or the downright ugly...
TRANSCRIPT
where your tank is?how big it is?
when it was last pumped?where your drainfield is?
do you know... Aftersludgesettlesdown,liquideffluent(yourwastewater)flowsouttothedrainfieldandseepsthroughdrainpipeholesintothesoil“filter”whereit’spurifiedbymicrobialcrittersinsoilpores.Percolatingdowntorechargegroundwater,yourtreatedwastewaterfeedsyourwell,yourneighbors’wells—plusgardens,irrigation,andourlakes&streams!Youwantittobegoodsoil,andcleanwater. Bacteriainthetankworktobreakdownthesludgelayer,buteventually...ALLTANKSNEEDTOBEPUMPED!Alltanks.All.
HEy—Community Systems & Townies! Even if you’re on a community system or live in town, these guidelines make smart sense too.It all goes somewhere, and our water’s all connected!
EffluEnT fIlTEr:Installorretrofitintank’soutletpipetokeepsolidsfromescapingtodrainfield.Darncheapinsurance!
Taking Care of Septics Keeps Your Water Well!
Onceyoufindit,mapit!
Septics Anatomy:
rISErSbringaccessuptogroundlevel—likeplasticculvertsonend,risingtothesurfaceastallasthetankisdeep(1-2ft)&cappedatgradewithmanholecovers.Butdon’tburythelids! Instead,Think:decorative lawn ornaments.
how they work & why they fail
Mostcountiesnowkeeprecordsofnewsystemswithanas-built, adrawingofthehousefootprint&propertylinesinrelationtothesepticandwell—asitwasbuilt! Askthecountyforyours,ordrawoneyourself!
as-built
what’s buried out in your backyard?
(TreasureMap)
Doesn’tmatterwhereyoulive,inwhatkindofhouse,howbigitis—orifyourgranddaddyhomesteadedtheplaceoryou’reashinynewcityslicker.What’llmakeyourseptictheGood,thebad, or the DownrightuGly is all about:
Howyoutakecareofit,&Howyoulivewithit.
FollowusinthePoreofDiscoverytoexplorehowtoprotectyourwell&septic—&howtodiscoversignsoftrouble!
X
100ft
When Things AreIT’S a SmoooTH opEraTIon!
note:bothtankcompart-
mentsgetpumpedthrough
separateaccessmanholes,
sogetasetofrisers.
GOOD,
The GOOD . . .
Here in the Heart of the West!The GOOD . . .
InspectRegularly& Pump as Needed
the bad ...like it’s been Rode hard
& put away wet
... and the downright UGLY!! Bite the Bullet, It’s Dead (R.I.P.)
... and the downright UGLY!! (R.I.P.)
¤***•
Wh
en G
oo
d S
yste
ms
Go
a f
aIl
urE
waIT
Ing T
o H
app
En
Atan
kfu
llof
solidsleaves
lessroo
mforliqu
idsoitsho
rten
sse
ttlin
gtime,flow
ingou
ttodrainfie
ldwithsolid
smixed
in.
Redu
cedwa
stew
ater
-tre
atmen
tca
pacitym
eansyou
ref
fluen
t’snotalway
sco
mpletelyclea
nbe
fore
rea
chinggrou
ndwa
ter—
andyo
urwell!
B AD
...
monTa
na m
CmanSI
on
SEn
d I
n T
HE
rESEr
vES
!
UGL
Y!
th
ere’
s n
o f
ixin
G a
fa
iled
dra
infi
eld
. W
ithsoilpo
resco
mpa
cted
orclog
gedwith
solid
s,noam
ountofairorwater
pum
pedin
willflu
sh‘e
moutorplum
p‘emupag
ain.
You’llha
vetopu
tinanew
drainfie
ld,
inadiffe
rentare
ade
sign
ated
and
protec
tedfo
rare
plac
emen
tor
“res
erve
.”Find
you
rs!W
itho
ut
suitab
lesoilsin
res
erve
,folks
might
ha
vetopu
mpef
fluen
tof
f-site—or
even
buy
moreprop
erty!
Wells&sep
ticsystem
smay
betooclose
insom
eof
ourolder
co
mmun
ities,whe
rea
well’s10
0’setba
ckSafety
Circlecou
ldove
rlap
with
neighb
oringse
ptics.
SEp
TIC
SyST
EmS
& w
Ell
SEp
ara
TIo
n
yup,
IT’S
dEa
d, a
lrIg
HT
... or
tur
n Do
wnrig
ht
You
betitis.S
epticad
ditive
sco
uld
harm
—an
dpretty
muc
hdo
n’the
lp.L
ookatit
thiswa
y:Cau
stic
chem
icalso
rbiologica
lage
ntsd
esigne
dto
brea
k dow
n s
oli
dsca
nbr
eak
soli
ds
dow
ntoflo
atoutthe
tank&
clogthe
dr
ainfi
eld.Becarefulw
hatyouwish
for!
Down
right
to a
dd
, o
r n
ot
to a
dd,
IS t
hat
th
e q
ues
tio
n?
addIT
IvES
:
UGL
Y!Ta
nkplugg
edfullo
fso
lidsov
erflo
wstoclog
pipes
,soilp
ores
—&plum
bing
!Clogg
ed,s
lugg
ish,&bac
ked-
up,t
hisisyou
rse
wage
com
ingba
cktoha
untyo
u.
Y
ouwillbevisite
dby
see
page
,lea
kage
,&FAIL
URE
—co
ntam
inatinggr
ound
wate
r,wellw
ater
—an
d yo
ur d
rink
ing
wate
r!
are
yo
udrink
ing
from
nea
rby
septicfailure
s?
Give
sawh
ole
newmea
ning
to
yourN
eigh
bor-
hood
Circle.
s RetrofitRisers&EffluentFilters
s ThinkCompost&Trashvs. GarbageDisposal
s UseLeastAmountofToxicChemicals &Cleaners(use recommended dose, handle & store carefully)
s LandscapeDrainfieldwithShallow-RootedPlants,NotDeep
s KeepSprinklers,Runoff,&ContaminantsAwayfromDrainfield
s TestWaterAnnually (nitrates, bacteria)
s WatchWaterUse&“Shock”Loads
s KeepGoodRecords—septic/well loG (find it, start it, keep it)
s CheckGraywaterPotential forYourCounty!
wanted:
septic killeRs!
Candy garrison raabRanchHand&BrilliantIllustrator
Jana m. SuchyWrangler/Writer/Producerway out west creative
P.O.Box200901Helena,Montana59620-0901406.444.6697www.deq.mt.gov/wqinfo/swp
Joe meek Crew bossdeQ source water protection
aRmed &extRemely dangeRous
RewaRd: clean wateR!
+ pRotected pRopeRty/investment/health
5,500copiesofthispublicdocumentwerepublishedatanestimatedcostof33¢percopy,foratotalcostof$1,822,whichincludes$1,822forprinting.
alias
& Credits:
starrinG:biG sky slim &elly the horse
pete the prairie doG& his lady, nellie
The Wild Bunch
Contacts
Ride Herd on Your Septic!
wanted:
septic killeRs!
loCaTE (findit!)
InSpECT regularly
pump asneeded
& proTECT!
tank needs pumping
high water use
flushing trash
laCk of maintenanCe
too muCh garbage disposal
overloaded with solids
KITCHENGREASE&TOxICCHEMICALS
(+water-softenersalts
)
driving over drainfield
tree roots; poor drainage
poor installation, design, siting
(unfitsoils,steepslope
s,smalllot)
DON’TKNOWWHERESEPTICIS
DON’TKNOWTHEREisASEPTIC!
s RetrofitRisers&EffluentFilters
s ThinkCompost&Trashvs. GarbageDisposal
s UseLeastAmountofToxicChemicals &Cleaners(use recommended dose, handle & store carefully)
s LandscapeDrainfieldwithShallow-RootedPlants,NotDeep
s KeepSprinklers,Runoff,&ContaminantsAwayfromDrainfield
s ProtectWell—3bestways: monitor water Quality (nitrates, bacteria), septic maintenance, & curb runoff pollution
s WatchWaterUse&“Shock”Loads
s KeepGoodRecords—septic/well loG (find it, start it, keep it)
s CheckGraywaterPotentialforYourCounty!
s AndRemember,NoMatterHowFancyor Expensive—all tanks need to be pumped!
Artwork© 2011