Most septic system problems are a result of poor initial design, misuse, or physical damage, such as driving heavy vehicles over the leach field. Common conditions that can cause a septic system to perform poorly include:
House plumbing. clogged or inadequate plumbing vents, blockage between the house and septic tank, or inadequate pitch in sewer pipe from house
Septic tank to leach field. Blockage between the septic tank and leach field caused by a plugged or broken tank outlet, or a plugged line to the leach field cause by tree roots, or by solids that overflowed from the tank
Leach field piping. Driving or parking heavy vehicles over the leach field can break the perforated leach pipe, especially if it is not uniformly supported by the gravel bed. Usually tree roots do not penetrate through the gravel bed into the perforated piping.
Leach field sizing: Drain field may be too small for current flow levels out of the home. Reducing flows though use of flow restricters, and low-flow faucets and fixtures might help.
High water table. A seasonal high water table can saturate the soil around the trenches impairing the soil’s ability to absorb wastewater. This is sometimes an issue on relatively flat building sites with poor surface drainage. This can often be fixed by installing subsurface drains or curtain drains to intercept the water flow toward the leach field area and to lower the water table locally.
For more information, contact Morse Engineering and Construction
Source: buildingadvisor.com
