Lateral septic tank solution needed

[JohnJohns]

G'day all,

I have a particulary dodgy septic system that needs repair as the council has blamed all the septics for killing the nearby river and is now on a blitz.

The septic itself is pretty small about 1.4m diameter probably 2m deep I guess. It was put in before the regulations came in so the original owners got away with it. It discharges down a 90mm PVC pipe down my backyard into nothing. No trench, no hole, no nothing, just spills from the pipe down the surface of the hill. Very illegal and can get rather stinky when the wind blows from the west.

Previous owners obviously saw the issue and cut a corner and diverted greywater away from the system to ease its load. This also discharges down the hill through another pipe. I am not too concern about that - its actually handy if I ever get a greywater irrigation system going.

The neighbours house has been built very close to the boundary so access to the tank is extremely limited and I live on a steep sloping block so everyone says trenches or subsoil irrigation wont work (50% drop). However the soil is good and I back onto forest so there is no unlucky sod behind me getting my sewage in his laundry.

The council came and looked and said "Holy #@!*, you better fix that". They say I should somehow install a small pumpout tank downhill from the septic tank then pump it back uphill to my front yard where I have to install a massive holding tank which will get emptied by the council fortnightly. The only spot for it in my small front yard is on the nature strip, full of trees, the water main and a powerpole.

So can anybody think of some out-of-the-box solutions or am I truly buggered!

[dazzler]

Jingo,

sound like your up the creek

Time for the experts I reckon. Could you do one of those composting style of septic .

[journeyman Mick]

Trenches will work on steep slopes, as long as you can get a level run across the slope and provided that the soil passes an absorption test. I'd reccomend talking to a local plumber who's conversant with septic systems. You'll still need to be able to get an excavator in tghere, but you can get ones nowadays that fit through a standard doorway.

Mick

[ozwinner]

I think your council need to get with the times.

Al

[flynnsart]

When I was looking at details and pricing for a sewerage treatment plant (the new sort aerobic type that you can reuse blackwater and greywater to water garden etc) I remember seeing one or two of them that could be retro fitted to an existing septic system. Unfortunately I cant remember which one. This could be a solution for you, initial cost is not cheap, but if was acceptable by council, probably would work out much better in the long run. You could have your greywater connected up to it as well. Here is a page with the approved ones listed. http://www.lgp.qld.gov.au/?id=3925

Hope this helps.

Donna

[Brown Dog]

I think your council need to get with the times.

Al

thanks for the site Al
Wish we had seen that before we put our stoopid recycling septic in.....the Poo cam was most interesting

cheers
BD

[Qldp]

I assume you can't just put trenches in downstream of the tank.

I would give Ray from Suncoast Sandfilters a call. He will be able to help you out. ph 5491 4606

Pumping out your tank every 2 weeks is not right. There are a couple of systems on the market that can be retrofitted. A sandfilter would be the way to go. You will end up with recycled water you can use.

Have a look at this site http://www.watertech-systems.com/

As with everything do your research and ask around about differant systems.

[kkperth]

As I do not have deep sewerage and will live off a water tank in the hills of Perth I have purchased a Biolytix water recycle system (Queesland comapny). I have not had it installed yet but this uses one tank and sub surface irrigation for your lawn / fruit trees.

A bit pricey to purchase but an elegant environmental solution / can be retrofitted to a exsiting septic tank and provide free water for your garden 12 months a year - so no water restictions for you.

www.biolytix.com

[JohnJohns]

Thanks everyone,

I have looked into the Biolytix system (it would be bloody great) and some other alternatives but my septic tank is too small to be retrofitted and they cannot get an excavator behind my house to dig a hole for a new system. Also there seems to be an issue with runoff down the slope when using irrigation systems.

I will try the sand filter mob but I have a feeling they will have the same problem.

I will contact a god plumber as well and see what he can do for me in regards to trenches on the slope.

[ozwinner]

T

I will contact a god plumber as well and see what he can do for me in regards to trenches on the slope.

He should be able to do miracles for you.

Al

[Bleedin Thumb]

I acn't see why you cant fix this yourself (except for councils bloodymindedness) Do a search of underground wetlands. basically underground gravel beds where the sewage enters one end - gets treated by the micro-organisms attached to the gravel and comes out the other end clean. On top of the gravel bed you grow a crop of say reeds that take the nutrients produced by the micro-organisms out of the system. You harvest the crop for mulching the garden or stock feed once a year and re-sow.

It takes a suprisingly small pit to process the sewage of one house.

[journeyman Mick]

Are you sure you can't get an excavator back there? There's models now that you can drive through a standard doorway. It would be pretty slow digging but still faster than digging by hand (like it used to be done). I'm sure there's a way of doing this.

Mick

[Bleedin Thumb]

Yep there is a 900mm mini excavator and maybe an 850, I dont know what dingo's go down to.

[SilentButDeadly]

JohnJohns,
Without a diagram of the layout it is a bit tricky to give you a definitive answer but........I suspect you'll need a new septic and it sounds like it'll need to be installed into the slope below the house - I know you said you couldn't get an excavator in behind the house but as the boys said there's some bloody small mechanical diggers out there these days and when it all comes down to it, neither the pick nor the shovel have become obselete.

Have a hunt for an acredited Green Plumber (acreditation is thru the Master Plumbers Association) who might be able to come up with a solution for you.........failing that try one of the on site sewerage systems dealer reps and see what solution is aavilable to suit your site.

Regrettably, this is not going to be a cheap and simple fix. There's no shortcut.

[JohnJohns]

Update!

You guys are right about the excavators. I got two blokes to come out and one said he should be able to get down the slope backwards using his bucket as a anchor and climb out the same way. The other bloke said he will use his big excavator to lower a smaller excavator down the hill. Tricky buggers!

This info opens up some doors!

Thanks guys.