| Click to Post a New Message!
Page [ 1 ] |
|
|
|
Clover over septic field. Good? Bad? Ugly?
I wonder if it's possible that the septic installer put back little or any to-soil on the leaching field? If nothing but weeds grow then maybe poor soil is the reason. Soil improvement may help grow something you want there. Another possible explanation is that the system isn't working that well and the field is too wet for most grass.
We have very sandy soil around here and the perc rates are high. You can't distinguish leaching fields from the rest of the lawn except during dry weather where there's enough additional moisture to keep it green. Most people around here treat leech fields no different than the rest of the lawn, but you don't drive anything real heavy across them.
I don't know if leech fields are covered with non-treated building paper before back-filling to keep soil out of the stone until it firms up (the paper eventually deteriorates) but there shouldn't be much worry about soil compacting below 2' from a CUT. The stone itself doesn't compact. If the field is wet, installing a gray water pit will help out the septic system.
Leaching fields aren't the only places where heavy vehicles shouldn't go. Our fire crew is doing a water survey. One person with waterfront property was very agreeable to allow our tanker access to the river. He thought it looked like the truck could squeeze passed his well OK (it's a dug well). Fortunately the guy who did the survey has heavy equipment experience and said: 'Oh no, you don't want a loaded single axle heavy truck anywhere near a dug well casing.' On his own, the property owner advised us that the tree that was blocking access isn't there any more. He was even more than very agreeable.
|
|
 Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Clover over septic field. Good? Bad? Ugly?
Yes Murf! I have heard that before and maybe it was from you then too. Funny how old notions keep cropping up. Guess how I'll keep it straight in my own mind is thinking that ground water has its own pressure and that pressure is going to go up as well as down and out. I guess that in general no compaction is best but whether use of a given CUT on the soil there creates a problem is another question.
Along the same lines, I'll make the distinction that we often think of a French drain as just a leaching pit. I believe it technically is a leaching in the middle of a large shallowly buried rock face. The idea to prevent effluent from entering the surface water table at least until it travels through gravel on top the rock face. Presumably some water would make it to the surface and such a drain would put less water into the water table as well.
I believe I can see where Doc's coming from but I think weeping willows may even be better. They'll even grow roots through foundation walls. They'd make a lot of shade in no time at all and avoid the need to drive over the field for at least the short time the field would be in use.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Clover over septic field. Good? Bad? Ugly?
It's good to think about alternative approaches. I started out with the conventional wisdom that a leaching field should never be anywhere a tree. It's always good to question convention, and you never know what you'll find.
Mind you, I don't think I'd go out and plant trees on top my field unless I knew how much life to expect from it or if there are any tricks to keep roots out of the lines. Tree sure would sop up water but I don't think I'd want to count on them curing a wet field problem during the winters around here.
All sort of alternatives such as whole water systems that use ponds and plants are around, but few alternatives would get past health inspectors.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Clover over septic field. Good? Bad? Ugly?
Remembering Murf's comment that exapourating water is good rather than having it go into the water table, I'd guess that trees may be a benefit to a deep leach field. Even if the roots stayed above the field, they'd dry out the area and more water would be drawn closer to the surface. Of course the trick would be knowing what could be done without having roots clog the lines. I imagine that our new codes would prevent codes from being very deep now and I guess it's the evapouration thing. I finally have the idea in mind now.
Our camp has a water table that's about 5' during the summer. We decommissioned the septic system there (rumored to be an old buried car). Instead of a new very expensive system for a recreational property, we went with a gray-water leaching pit and a composting toilet. I built the gray water system and it had to be raised. Grass would work on the mound but we just left it alone and daisies and brown-eyed susans come up most years so it looks pretty good without having to do anything.
The link below shows the feed-line to the pit and our raised wash-shed behind at our camp (The shed is on stilts so it has a drainage angle to the raised pit). The 3' high pit itself is off to the right and looks mostly like the top of the feed-line. Just goes to show how much can be accomplished by doing nothing, but there aren't any lines for roots to clog.
Link:
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Page [ 1 ] | Thread 62185 Filter by Poster:
2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
|
()
Unanswered Questions
Active Subjects
Hot Topics
Featured Suppliers
|
Gas Generator Weather Protecti
06-29-2017, 07:21 
Digg It 
Del.icio.us