How a Septic Tank Works

1. All water runs out of your house from one main drainage pipe into a septic tank.
2. The septic tank is a buried, water-tight container. Its job is to hold the wastewater long enough to allow solids to settle down to the bottom forming sludge, while the oil and grease floats to the top as scum.
3. Compartments and a T-shaped outlet prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and traveling into the drain-field area.
4. The liquid wastewater (effluent) then exits the tank into the drain-field.
5. The drain-field is a shallow, covered, excavation made in unsaturated soil. Pre-treated wastewater is discharged through piping onto porous surfaces that allow wastewater to filter though the soil. The soil accepts, treats, and disperses wastewater as it percolates through the soil, ultimately discharging to groundwater.
6. If the drain-field is overloaded with too much liquid, it can flood, causing sewage to flow to the ground surface or create backups in toilets and sinks.
7. Finally, the wastewater percolates into the soil, naturally removing harmful coliform bacteria, viruses and nutrients. Coliform bacteria is a group of bacteria predominantly inhabiting the intestines of humans or other warm-blooded animals. It is an indicator of human fecal contamination.

Septic Installation

We start where the plumbing does or will eventually come out of the house and connect it to a new septic tank. Both the inlet and outlet pipes of the tank will have tees with the outlet pipe having a filter to stop additional trash from going to the field lines. Field lines are installed in the area and at the depth specified by the health inspector.

Septic Tank Repairs

Repairs consist of either installing a new tank or replacing the outlet pipe along with a new tee or fitter and installing new field lines. When possible, a diverter valve is installed to divert water to the new field lines in order to allow the old felines to dry out become useful again.