Septic Field Options far away from building.

[600SL]

Hello everyone.

I just purchased a piece of property to build my new House/Man cave on. The property is 2.5 acres of which about 1.5 acres is usable. I would like to put the septic field in a area not useful for anything else. So I am thinking the bottom left corner of the property. That is a wooded area that would need to be cleared and perk tested. It would also require about 400-500 ft of pipe just to get to the septic field or tank. As shown by the picture below that left lower section is over 200ft long. Could the septic field be one 200' length of pipe or possibly double back a bit to get up to 400'. Putting a septic field in this area a feasible concept.

 

[600SL]

Also that area is uphill of the house.

 

[reader2580]

Locally, it seems they want an undisturbed area to put the septic drain field in. The drain field area is typically blocked off so no equipment can disturb the soil. I am not sure how this would work if you have to bring in equipment to clear the trees out.

 

[cvairwerks]

Put in an aerobic system and the distance to the spray heads is only limited by the pump.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Septic requirements can vary widely even in a single county, let alone nationally. The design will likely need to be done by a licensed professional, and approved by a local government agency (An old girlfriend of mine did this for a living, it can get pretty complicated.) If you want to locate it in an area that's uphill from your building site that makes things even more complicated, since some sort of pumping system will be required.

Check your local county/township/etc. website, they may have some guidance on the requirements and how to find contractors.

 

[tarmy]

I have a septic tank and lift pump for my setup. I lift mine about 30’ ish and about 500’ over to the discharge field to an area that is out of the way. Works great.

edit to add…as noted, I was required to have a back up area that a field could be located in if the first failed for whatever reason.

 

[billconner]

If you are required to have this designed by a registered design professional, I think you'd be better off getting them involved in this preliminary planning as early as possible

 

[Higgins]

Hello everyone.

I just purchased a piece of property to build my new House/Man cave on. The property is 2.5 acres of which about 1.5 acres is usable. I would like to put the septic field in a area not useful for anything else. So I am thinking the bottom left corner of the property. That is a wooded area that would need to be cleared and perk tested. It would also require about 400-500 ft of pipe just to get to the septic field or tank. As shown by the picture below that left lower section is over 200ft long. Could the septic field be one 200' length of pipe or possibly double back a bit to get up to 400'. Putting a septic field in this area a feasible concept.

Before you get your hopes up too high. you have to have the local powers to be review your plot, and they will physically review the property and determine where the field will go!

Here in TN they are god and will impact everything you do on your property. So threat them well !!

AL

 

[CraigStu]

We bought a wooded 5 acre lot 3 yrs ago. The septic people checked it as part of our buying conditions and said we could do a standard 3 bedroom septic system. All of the area for the house, yard, and septic field had to be cleared. Sure that cost extra, but there were no comments or questions from the builder, septic company, or county about the clearing operation having an effect on our septic system. Your question about could it be a 200ft length of pipe will be answered by the septic system people. In every place I have lived it has been as Higgins describes-the county has the final word and will tell you what is OK. But in reality, a reputable septic company who does the perc test will understand the county requirements and be able to explain your options. Usually the septic company gives you options, if there are any, you make your choice, and they handle the install and the permitting and inspections.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Many areas have a requirement to allow for 2 fields (too allow for one to eventually replace the oringinal). BTW: the area of a septic field is still usable as yard. Just don't build (including driveway/patios) on it.

 

[mx500]

my septic field is 200' away from my septic tank. shoot, i think i have 3 tanks. there is a pump in the 3rd tank that pumps out to the area 200' away. Not sure why they did this but it may be due to a nearby seasonal creek. my pipe goes past this 100' up a hill. (2 acre property) only had one year out of 10 where it froze. i snowblowed a path for my kid to ride minibike on during winter..doh!

 

[600SL]

I have a septic tank and lift pump for my setup. I lift mine about 30’ ish and about 500’ over to the discharge field to an area that is out of the way. Works great.

edit to add…as noted, I was required to have a back up area that a field could be located in if the first failed for whatever reason.

That's what I'm thinking and I do believe I have room for a backup area.

 

[600SL]

If you are required to have this designed by a registered design professional, I think you'd be better off getting them involved in this preliminary planning as early as possible

It will be about the first thing I will be doing.

 

[600SL]

Many areas have a requirement to allow for 2 fields (too allow for one to eventually replace the oringinal). BTW: the area of a septic field is still usable as yard. Just don't build (including driveway/patios) on it.

What about passing 1 pipe to it under a drive way. maybe before the tank.

 

[600SL]

Many areas have a requirement to allow for 2 fields (too allow for one to eventually replace the oringinal). BTW: the area of a septic field is still usable as yard. Just don't build (including driveway/patios) on it.

I believe this area will also require a backup field. Can the back up field be right next to the working field?

 

[billconner]

It might be better to interview and check out the designers than to think about it here.

 

[Firebrick43]

The old drain tile in stone is rarely approved anymore around here. They want chambers, mound systems, or sand lines.

Also they wont allow just one long finger, especially one doubled back for 400'. They want even distribution which limits length to 100' or less. They want a distribution box that equally splits the effluent. So if you want long narrow field they will run multiple pipes off the distribution box and break up the length into sections. This is with gravity systems.

You can do more things with dosing systems. They have a dosing tank in place of a distribution box and the effluent is pumped out to a mound or a drilled pipe hung from the peak of the chambers. They allow 55' runs fingers with this system but you can run a solid pipe right past it and have another 55' past it and so on. Sounds like your case it will require a lift pump and a dosing pump. I will do anything to keep from using **** pumps.

 

[600SL]

Put in an aerobic system and the distance to the spray heads is only limited by the pump.

Had to read up on this one but it sounds like an option

What is an Aerobic Septic System? | How Does an Aerobic Treatment System Work?

An aerobic septic system also called an aerobic treatment system (ATS), is a small wastewater treatment technique that uses an aerobic method to digest sewages.

mechanicalboost.com

 

[turbowoodworker]

You are in NC. Each county varies, but they have very strict rules concerning perc rates. Your county may not be as strict as mine (Chatham), but here they tell you exactly where, exactly how, and exactly how big a field. And they don’t negotiate. Maybe you will luck out but don’t spend any money until you are sure. Check with your county.

 

[p00p]

see how far down you're allowed to bury the tank. Even if the tank is in the elevated part of the property, as long as it's low enough for a traditional gravity system, it should work fine. The stip is the depth. IDK if theirs a max depth (for the service ports) that'd hinder how far down it can go. Also, if the elevated area has a lot of clay & large rocks, it might be too costly to prep the area for field use.

 

[brownbagg]

have you built the house yet, consider seperation your grey water from the septic, grey water can be dump on the ground or used to water the grass. it be less volume in your septic tank. most people put the field in the front yard so they have green grass and nobody drives on the front grass, well suppose to

 

[Firebrick43]

have you built the house yet, consider seperation your grey water from the septic, grey water can be dump on the ground or used to water the grass. it be less volume in your septic tank. most people put the field in the front yard so they have green grass and nobody drives on the front grass, well suppose to

grey water needs to be run through a treatment system as well by law. It can be a separate system and used for irrigation.

Grey water systems are for arid areas however. There is only cost to a grey water system in an area that you are not watering the lawn. I don't think that is an issue where the OP lives

 

[billconner]

have you built the house yet, consider seperation your grey water from the septic, grey water can be dump on the ground or used to water the grass. it be less volume in your septic tank. most people put the field in the front yard so they have green grass and nobody drives on the front grass, well suppose to

and at least in NYS grey water requires a complete septic system.

 

[cvairwerks]

The aerobic system we had, consisted of 3 tanks, an air pump and a spray pump. There were a couple of float valves and a manual chlorinator and two pop up sprinkler heads. The tank set was within a few feet of the house and the sprinklers were about 80' out. It was sized for our home, and no matter how much water we used, we were never able to over run the system. Yes, they are a bit more expensive than a strictly gravity one, and do require regular maintenance, but they can be used where perk tests show problems with normal leach fields.

 

[STANG302]

The only way to get a feel for where it will go is to have an installer come out and start digging test holes (perk test). The site you want may wind up not being feasible. Only way to know is to start digging and find some sandy ground.

 

[dcg9381]

Put in an aerobic system and the distance to the spray heads is only limited by the pump.

IMHO, I'd rather have traditional septic and just deal with one "lift pump". Around here we use "grinder pumps" for this purpose. IF you look those up, you'll find specs on how far out and up they can pump. We have a piece of property where our septic was designed for use with a lift pump at the shop, which is about 300' away and is downhill from the septic field.

The traditional systems require less maintenance and have no moving parts... We did a lot of work to make sure that we could get one over an aerobic sprayer system.

Septic design here is complicated. We have to dig "test holes" and have them inspected prior to having a system engineered. Sometimes the test holes don't turn out the way you want them to - which alters septic design. It may be different elsewhere if the soil is more uniform.

 

[SteveCh]

So put the house up on the higher-elevation area and the field down in the lower. Never a pump worry.

I know, I just had to suggest it.

 

[stingry]

Will you be drilling a well? If so, separation of the well and the septic will also be a factor.

 

[cvairwerks]

The traditional systems require less maintenance and have no moving parts... We did a lot of work to make sure that we could get one over an aerobic sprayer system.

Septic design here is complicated. We have to dig "test holes" and have them inspected prior to having a system engineered. Sometimes the test holes don't turn out the way you want them to - which alters septic design. It may be different elsewhere if the soil is more uniform.

The county we were in outlawed gravity systems and leach fields a couple of years before we bought that place, so traditional systems were not an option. The maintenance was check the chlorinator every few months, a 5 minute task, and do the quarterly chemical test and float check and file the paperwork....about 10 minutes. If I had wanted to, I could have taken the 8 hour class, obtained my Class D wastewater operator certification and done it myself, but for the 125$ a year to have it done, it was worth it to me.

We have one place that we installed a new traditional system when the old failed. The perk test was so fast that after 6 attempts to time it, they had to resort to using a video camera to capture it so it could be timed... House sits on more than 84" of red sand, so it drains quick.

 

[brownbagg]

grey water needs to be run through a treatment system as well by law. It can be a separate system and used for irrigation.

Grey water systems are for arid areas however. There is only cost to a grey water system in an area that you are not watering the lawn. I don't think that is an issue where the OP lives

here we can come out of house with pvc, grey water and just dump on ground. neigbor run her washing machie into the ditch behind the house, no issue, the soap kills the mosutios

 

[Showkey]

here we can come out of house with pvc, grey water and just dump on ground. neigbor run her washing machie into the ditch behind the house, no issue, the soap kills the mosutios

Where is here ?

No issue ? :
Well water contamination from uncontrolled surface runoff is a real issue………
Most communities choose to stop direct run off to lakes and rivers. Even to the point of Camp grounds often require gray water control.

 

[dcg9381]

Here, they do allow "gray water" systems, but they require some specific things - like no open overflow. They allow uses like providing water around a foundation... As I read it, it's relatively easy to do a gray water system and requires no permitting.

Will not handle sewer... Or a washing machine.... Soap + water discharge into lakes is bad.

 

[Eric S.]

I learned the hard way when building my house. Cleared the trees and pulled the stumps for the area we wanted to place the sepic field. Then later got the engineer in to design it (a requirement here) and was quickly told that the area was unusable since the soil was disturbed. Get someone in to design the system before you get too far into the planning or build.

 

[rburke65]

Well my first thought is getting the septic to flow uphill will be a problem…..

 

[dcg9381]

Well my first thought is getting the septic to flow uphill will be a problem…..

It's not. You can use a grinder/lift pump.

 

[Bretny]

It's not. You can use a grinder/lift pump.

**** flows best down hill and close to its source.

If your getting a well put in do that first as it needs to be put a specific distance away from the septic.

 

[dcg9381]

**** flows best down hill and close to its source.

It does. And there are specific slope requirements for traditional gravity fed septic. But you can pump "up" to the septic tank if your shop happens to be down hill from the septic tank. You're basically pumping the **** "up" to allow it to flow down hill in the septic field.