By Dan Pool

 Every month an average of five residential septic tanks fail in Pickens County leaving the owner with sewage “backed up” in their homes or bubbling in the yard, according to inspection orders at the county’s Environmental Health Office.

 If your home uses a septic system rather than sewer and it hasn’t failed yet, just give it time.

 "Every regularly used septic system will fail eventually," said Environmental Health Officer Jan Stephens.

 Stephens’ log at the environmental health office (located at the Health Department on East Church Street) showed a  steady average of four or five homes requiring permits to replace failed septic systems every month of 2003.

 On average, the office with two employees, inspected 40 new septic tanks each month during 2003. The inspections of new systems have jumped to an average of 50  per month in 2004, while the failed system inspections appear to be holding steady at four or five each month.

 According to Stephens the number one measure homeowners can take to prolong their system’s life is pumping every couple of years depending on the number of people using it.

 County Agent Rick Jasperse also advises regular pumping as a way of prolonging the system’s life. It’s a matter of paying a little every few years or a lot at one time, he said.

 Some counties in Georgia have recently begun requiring homeowners to pump their tanks after a certain number of years and one county requires all homes with septic tanks to pump them before the homes can be sold.

 Pickens doesn’t require any pumping, but does follow state requirements for soil tests on each lot in new subdivisions, which eliminates many problems by preventing septic systems from being installed in poor soils.

 Pickens County does inspect all new septic tanks and requires permits and inspections for replacing or expanding a septic system.

 Stephens said the technology behind the tanks improves constantly, with there being a lot of advantages in tanks installed since 1998, which contain a separate, smaller chamber, and a filter before the field lines.

 Stephens said most of the failures are with homes built in Pickens County in the 1960s. "It's the real old ones that haven't been pumped," she said.

 "Many of the systems we see failing now, would never get approved if they were built today," she said.

 Jasperse said in general there is much more attention to health and environmental issues. “Twenty-five years ago, there was no one looking over your shoulder and people put in all kinds of things,” he said. But, there was a lot more room between houses and it wasn’t as big of an issue as it is today.

 Other than pumping, there is no way to determine why some tanks last more than ten years and others last only a year or two before filling up and requiring pumping.

 Stephens said, “Everyday I hear people say, ‘I don’t believe in pumping.’ I think to myself,  ‘just wait.’”

 She said often the difference in pumping is paying a fee of $200  to $400 every three to five years for the tank to get cleaned or paying $2,000 to 4,000 to redo a system once the field lines are clogged.    There is no magic formula for when to pump, but in general Stephens recommends a family of four should have their septic tanks pumped every four or five years. A couple might get by a few years longer.

 There are numerous exceptions and differences. “I really can’t explain why some fill up so quick and others last so long,” she said.

 In one instance she saw a couple with a septic tank that was full of solids in less than two years and there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the installation or lines. On the other hand, there are existing homes in the county which have been using a tank for years, never having been pumped.

 Jasperse said homeowners need to realize that there is no science inside a septic tank which makes everything disappear.

 “A septic tank isn’t a black hole,” he said. “When you put solids down there, there is a biological process going on for them to decompose, but eventually the amount of solids will fill up the tanks.”

 In very simple terms septic tanks work by having solids and liquids flow from the house into a large concrete (or less commonly plastic) tank, where the solids settle to the bottom and the liquids flow out into field lines. From there, the liquids will disburse into the soil.

 The worse case scenario for septic tank owners is having solids clog field lines, which require replacement lines to be installed. And even worse than that, is if replacement lines are needed and the home is on a lot too small to accommodate them.

 “If you have a one-acre lot and  your field lines get clogged and there’s not suitable soil for a replacement, you’re really in the hooky-pooky,” said Jasperse. “If you know you don’t have replacement areas, you really need to be pumping regularly.”

 Stephens, whose office  issues permits and

inspect the replacement work, said there have been a few cases where she has "red flagged" a rental property -- meaning the new renters could not move in until the situation is corrected.

 “For residential homes, we do everything we can to work something out,” she said. Thus far, she’s never had to force anyone to leave a home.

 Among the solutions for failed septic systems is putting in a whole separate system. Or if the lot is too small putting in a partial system, which can be used in conjunction with the original system. Pumping of the systems in this case becomes critical, sometimes being required as often as once a year.

 Usually she said a septic tank will “dry out” or correct itself in about six months.

 The soil around the houses plays a large role in determining its lifespan. Luckily in Pickens and surrounding areas most of the earth is conducive to good septic operations, but not always.

 "There are streaks of bad soil through the county," Stephens said. In one case an 18 acre parcel had only one 1.5 acre area without a high water table.

 In Pickens the most common problems involve flood plains or rock layers being near the soil surface.

 With the additional inspections prior to construction and during subdivision development Stephens said it would be highly unlikely anyone would be sold a lot in a recognized subdivision which wouldn’t support a septic system.

 However for older homes, this isn’t case and there are homes which are sitting on poor soils, which create continual septic problems.

 A big difference between today and twenty years ago, however, is the concern over septic problems.

 County Agent Jasperse said when he was growing up his family had a septic tank which regularly bubbled up into the yard and he would cut the grass right over it, with no more concern than the grass being thicker.

 Both Stephens and Jasperse said that discharge from sewage needs to be viewed as a problem but not a dire health emergency.

 “If you see water bubbling up from a septic tank site, it absolutely has got to be addressed, “ Jasperse said. “But it’s not a hazardous substance.”

 Stephens took a similar approach saying, “It may be gross to see kids walking through it, but from a health standpoint it’s probably no worse than what you find in a mud puddle in the woods following a rain with dog, bear and beaver droppings.”

 Stephens said anyone with septic concerns can call her office which has records of many of the initial inspections for Pickens County homes dating back to 1969. However, she said many of the earlier inspections and records are incomplete or missing.

 It’s possible she could tell anyone seeking information where on their lot the tank is located, the area and the design of the field lines and other pertinent information such as tank style and size.

 To Contact the Environmental Health Office call 706-253-0900 during office hours of 8 a.m.to 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. and have 911 address or subdivision lots number ready.

Septic Tank Tips

“A tank may fail because of bad soil, tree roots, putting too much grease down them or other reasons, but they will definitely fail if they aren’t pumped,” Stephens said.

 

 • During installation take photos of the tank and field lines before they are covered with landmarks such as the trees or the home  visible in the background for future reference on location.

 •Don’t plant trees over the tank or lines. Willows and Maples are particularly known for having water seeking roots which will clog field lines.

 • Don’t put a patio or any structure over the tank because sooner or later you will need to get to it.

 •Don’t regularly drive across the tank. Definitely don’t put a driveway over it as it will compress the soil and hamper operation.

 • Stephens said besides pumping, making sure there aren’t running toilets or other water leaks constantly sending water through the lines is the most important precaution you can take to prolong the life of a system. She suggested putting food coloring in the tank on the back of a toilet and seeing if the color showed up in the bowl as a sign of a leaky toilet.

 •Don’t pour paints or other strong chemicals down a sink. This may kill the bacteria stalling the biological processes which break down the solids.

 • Jasperse and Stephens both emphasized that there are no products that have been shown to  improve septic tanks and some may be detrimental by killing the good bacteria there. Stepens said there are no additives for septic tanks approved by the state of Georgia.

{For related information see a previous story from last week on home wells. It is available on www.pickensprogress.com.}