QUESTION: My drainfield is shot. Do I also need to replace my septic tank?

ANSWER: This is a question homeowners often ask either before or after the fact. Like anyone would be, these homeowners are concerned about costs, and replacement of a septic system was probably not on either their wish or bucket lists. So when the homeowner hears that the consistent smelly puddle in their backyard means their drainfield needs to be replaced, there is bound to be some amount of panic or consternation.

What is your answer from the service provider’s point of view? How you answer this question and the actions that go with it may have an impact on determining whether they remain your customer and whether they are satisfied and happy with the end result.

The service provider should walk homeowners through necessary steps needed to determine what the replacement to the drainfield needs to be and also whether or not the septic tank or other sewage tanks need to be replaced.

SITE EVALUATION

In terms of replacing the drainfield, they should be informed that a site evaluation will be necessary during which the soil is analyzed for the presence of any limiting soil conditions such as indicators of periodic soil saturation, slowly permeable layers or high bedrock, all of which could have contributed to the drainfield failure. If the system is more than 10-20 years old, which is likely the case, they should be informed that the rules today are probably different from when the current system was installed. This means they may end up with a different type of soil treatment and dispersal area than they currently have.

Highlight that the tank or tanks should be opened, pumped and inspected to see that all appropriate baffles are in place and operating, and that all parts of the tank are structurally sound and watertight. Discuss with them that – depending on the evaluation – the tank could be deemed acceptable as is, require some level of repair or addition to bring it up to current code (such as bringing risers to the surface), or abandoned and replaced.

While the conversation is taking place, the homeowner is visualizing dollars disappearing. So if you are the person or the company making those assessments, give the customer a general cost estimate and then come back later with an itemized estimate. If you do not do all of the evaluation work, let them know who does.

A good policy, if you are going to do the inspection, site evaluation and evaluation of the system, is to tell the customer ahead of time how you will report the results. Explain that when the evaluation is completed, you will take them through each system component and detail what led to your recommendation.

All of this makes good common sense to most of us, but here is something I was consulted about by a homeowner recently:

STRUGGLING SYSTEM

The homeowner indicated their drainfield was surfacing and there was a limiting soil condition that specified that the soil dispersal part of the system be a drip irrigation system. Ahead of the drip system, they needed to install an aerobic treatment unit to clean the septic tank effluent for delivery to the drip system. The original septic tank was never inspected but the “new” system was hooked up directly to the piping from the septic tank.

After a few months, the ATU was struggling and the filters in the drip system were consistently plugging, causing problems. When the tank was opened, it was full of solids and the outlet baffle had fallen off. In addition, the lid of the tank and the area around the outlet baffle were highly corroded and not sound; the tank needed to be replaced! This had gone on long enough that the ATU was also damaged and needed replacement. Making matters worse, the warranty was voided because the tank had not been inspected and taken care of.

Now I don’t know why the tank wasn’t inspected as the rest of the system was worked on, but I would bet it was at least in part the result of the homeowner wanting to reduce costs and talking the service provider into just replacing the other parts of the system. Now the homeowner was ending up paying more. The bottom line is that there are procedures to follow when evaluating systems to answer what the homeowner feels is a simple question, and that when all steps are not followed there is the potential for disastrous consequences.