Surface Water

• Septic systems require roof downspouts and footing drain water to be routed away from the system. These sources of fresh water have no purpose entering a septic system or municipal waste system. Many older homes use waste drains to remove this water from the landscape. This additional water greatly increases the amount of water entering the septic system. Sized to handle much lower flows, effluent pumps may not be able to pump fast enough to remove the additional volume or may fail when worked continuously.
  
  

Leaking Tanks

• Leaking septic tanks and pump chambers create short and long term concerns for the entire septic system. In the short term, rain water can over come the ability of effluent pumps to discharge waste water to the drain field. In the long term, septic tanks reduce waste strength by retaining solids, fats and oils in the tank. During high water events such as rain water leaking into the tank, this separated material can be washed from the tank and flow into the drain field, plugging lines and leading to drain field failure.
  
  

Pipe Breaks

• Pipe breaks act similarly to septic tank leakage when located up hill from the septic tank or pump chamber. Breaks in lines feeding the drain field may allow excess water into the pipe and bringing with it soil from around the break. Drain field designs allow for predetermined amounts of water to percolate through the soil and be effectively treated. Soil that gets too much water can saturate, reducing the amount of oxygen in the soil available for treatment. Soil washed into the line from a break may plug the distribution lines and holes reducing waste water out-flow from the system.
  
  

Flood Areas

• Drain fields improperly located in low areas or areas prone to flooding may be the source of septic overflows. In-ground drain fields saturate at the same rate as its surrounding soil. Water flows on its least restrictive path which may be back through the piping system and into a home. Any additional waste water added to a saturated drain field will not be effectively treated. Soil based treatment requires unsaturated soil based on redoximorphic features, or, soil that does not show signs of flooding or high water. Drain fields should be redesigned and relocated into areas unaffected by rain water.