OT: septic issues....

[Casey in Ky]

I found a house for sell just a few minutes from the farm. It"s a forclosure that I can buy cheap. Only problem is the house has no septic system. Now I"ve not had the health department out yet(hopefully next week) but I"ve been told that it"s been turned down before, as it won"t pass the perc test.

Normally that wouldn"t be any big deal as in Kentucky, you"d then just go to the state and get a permit for an aerator system. Well, the state tells me that they won"t permit an aerator system as they are already to many aerator systems in the area. So now what? It burns me up that they say I can"t do anything, even though I"m trying to do it right, while everyone else in the neighborhood already has an "illegal" or no system at all.

Any suggestions on what to do?? Thanks for any input and Merry Christmas!!!!

 

[Bill(Wis)]

Will they permit a mound system?

 

[Casey in Ky]

I Don't think so, but I'm not familar with this type system. In fact, I don't have any idea what it is. The guys I talked to at the Kentucky Division of water never mentioned it. Guess I'll research it a little.

 

[John T]

Where I live if the soil doesnt pass the percolation test they do allow the mound system (costs a lot more) where sand n soil is heaped up in an above grade "mound". Unfortunately youre at the mercy of those local pompous Health Inspectors now so youre kinda screwed n gotta do as they say.

John T

 

[john in la]

What about a treatment plant. Hoot is one brand.

Our area had so much run off from dairy farms they made us go to a residential treatment system. My tank has a exit pipe but no drain field. Everything is treated right in the tank.

 

[Gun guru]

Have an evaporated bed system quoted, these septic leach fields are used alot in heavy clay areas. I have one, it cost me $15k 10 years ago.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

A few minutes ago, I did a search for "septic mound systems". Quite a bit of info came up. I looked at the stuff from Ohio State University. Their diagrams showed basically the same system that is required in Wis when perc tests are bad. Basically a mound of specially selected sand large enough to accommodate septic effluent. Usually requires a pump but not always. Good luck.

 

[paul]

Almost nothing but mound systems here in MN too.

--->Paul

 

[noncompos]

What kind of system did the place have when it was built? Assuming it"s one of the subprime foreclosures, it can"t be too old...have you checked to see whatever it had orignally isn"t "grandfathered" in?? Oops: I assume they"re saying the vacancy allows them to require upgrading of some kind before re-occupying--may be one of the reasons it"s cheap...

 

[Casey in Ky]

Thanks for all the input so quickly. To answer some of the questions, the house was built around 1980 and as near as anybody can tell, all its ever had was a "straight pipe"(disgusting, I know, but also pretty common here in east Ky).

The lot size is one big limiting factor. The yard is L shaped and that is the only area that is usable, and it's approximatly 55 by 65, all of it is 15ft wide(55 ft is the length of the short side of the L, 65 is the long side, and both sides are 15ft wide, if that makes any sense).

If I have the space for it, and the health separtment will approve it, it looks like a mound system might work. But I'm betting that they won't approve it as I've never seen one in Kentucky. Again, thanks for all the suggestions...

 

[Jeff in Oh]

I've had to deal with a few of these here in central Ohio.Im a construction manager for a home builder and every once in a while we build on a country lot and have to do septic. We used to be able to do convential systems up to around 3 years ago. The State of Ohio now says now there are no good soils in the state , so all systems have to be a mound type system. We've used a limmited drip system 3 or 4 times and Have had very good luck . They are pricey , but they solve the problem , and have always been approved. The company that designs these is based in Cincinnati , I think. The name is Stream Key ,and they work through a local installer. Hope this is helpful.

 

[buickanddeere]

A little bribery of the local state officials works wonders.

 

[TomH in PA]

Might be a long shot, but see if there's a licensed civil engineer who will give an opinion. They can usually come up with numbers to show the system will meet code even if the local inspector turned it down.

 

[rodgernbama]

A mound system has fill dirt brought up with the effulent lines in the mound. You have to have a pump to move the effulent to the drain field because it is higher than the outfall of the septic tank. They are more expensive because you have to have dirt brought in plus the pumping system. These are done where you have limiting factor such as rock close to the surface or unsatisfactory soil conditions. I"d check with a local installer or civil engineer to get there opinion. I have been told that a system can be designed that will work depending on how much you want to spend.

 

[Larry59]

Well there is always the good ole Out House. One holer are two. Want to get fancy.. you make it of brick with electric light in it!
Inspector comes bye. You tell them it's a little building for lawnmower repair. lol

 

[jim in N M]

Here in New Mexico in certain places the state will require you to put in a "Evapo -Transformation" system . I had to use one when I was to close to the lake. It works good and you don't have those ugly mounds sticking up growing a ton of weeds that look bad. Jim in N M

 

[El Toro]

Here in MD in my county is very strict on those perc tests. If the ground won't perc you cannot build unless the county's public sewer system is nearby and you can connect to that. One other thing if you have your own septic system and it's failing you can not sell the property unless you sell the propery as is. If you know its failing and don't tell the new owners they can void the sale. I never heard the mound term here in MD.

My late mom ran into this problem about 28 years ago. She had new drain fields put in and in a few years they started to fail and then she had started to feel a burning sensation when bathing on her skin. The water was tested and some benzene was found and after testing all the homes in that area they all had benzene in their well water. We went to the town officals to see if the town water & sewage was available for that area. They did connect them to the town water and sewage. It cost her about $10,000.00 to connect, but it added a lot more to the value of the property with public water and sewage if my sister ever wanted to sell. Hal

 

[Mark-Mi]

They must work with you at a existing house.Whole diffrent story then trying to get permits to build a house from scratch.Thats been my experience.Mark