Operation and Maintenance of Your Sewage Treatment System

Septic Tank or Aertor

Location
Know the location of the septic tank or aerator along with the approximate size of the tank. Make sure no vehicles or heavy loads cross over/park on the tank.

Pumping/Servicing
All septic tanks and aerators need pumped out. The frequency of the pumping depends on a few factors including your use or abuse of water. The rule of thumb is to have a septic tank pumped out every 3 to 5 years and have an aerator motor serviced annually. During this service the tank can be evaluated to determine if pumping is needed.

Motor Operation
If you have an aerator, make sure the aerator motor is operating. If the motor is not operating, the wastewater is not being treated. This can cause a public health nuisance situation and lead to a costly repair or replacement.

Household discharges

Use of Bleach
Minimize the use of heavy doses of bleach in your house so the discharge does not significantly affect the bacterial colonies in your septic tank. Small doses of bleach are fine, but avoid large doses.

Trash and Garbage Disposals
DO NOT use a garbage disposal if you are connected to a sewage treatment system. Use of a garbage disposal will discharge a heavy and inconsistent amount of organic matter into the system that is difficult to treat properly. Always keep coffee grounds, cigarette butts, sanitary napkins, paper towels, excessive cooking grease, paints solvents, toxic substances, and other non-biodegradable items out of your system.

Discharges from drinking water treatment systems
Discharges from a water softener or other water treatment devices are not considered wastewater and should not flow into a septic system.

Plumbing Fixture Maintenance
All plumbing fixtures including toilet bowl fill valves and faucets, should be routinely inspected to ensure they are not leaking.

Additives
Minimize the use of toilet tablets, Drain-O, Rid-X, or other chemicals. These chemicals will kill the beneficial bacteria in the septic system. This office strongly recommends to never use any septic tank additives of any kind.

Leach Field

Loading/Compacting
Minimize heavy loads from vehicles, farm tractors, livestock, or other machinery on the leach field, especially during saturated soil conditions. Heavy loads can severely compact the soil and not allow the soil to take any additional water.

Vegetation
Avoid planting trees and shrubs in the leach field. There roots can potentially clog the leach lines and reduce the systems performance.

Diverter Valve/Distribution Box
If you have a diverter valve, the valve separates the leach field into two fields. The valve should be turned every three months to alternate the field and allow one field to rest while the other is absorbing the wastewater. If you have a distribution box, the wastewater is distributed to each leach line equally. Each pipe in the box has a turn dial cap with a hole in the cap to allow water to flow into the leach line. Half of the caps should be turned with the holes up stop water flow and half should be turned with the holes down to allow for flow. Every three months every cap should be turned 180 degrees to either allow flow or stop the flow. This will allow each line to rest while the others are absorbing wastewater.

Post-Installation Care
Establish vegetative/grass cover as soon as possible after installation to minimize erosion from bare soil. Excessive erosion after construction could potentially damage the leach field and allow too much surface water to enter the field. Make sure the entire disturbed areas are seeded and mulched immediately after installation. Perennial rye with a blend of other fescues is a good choice to cover the leach field because it is quick to grow.

Roof Gutters and Foundation Drains
All roof gutters, downspouts, and subsurface drains should be installed and draining completely away from the leach field. The additional water load from these drains will cause a leach field to fail if they drain onto are near the leach field.

Please do not hesitate to contact this office if you have any questions regarding the operation and maintenance of our septic system. This office would be more than happy to explain how your specific system operates and how you should take preventive maintenance to ensure you have a properly functioning sewage system.