What’s really going on under the ground?
Many septic tank owners don’t really know what a septic tank does, or how important its functionality is to our environment. Knowing how it works, can help you to better take care of your system and get a longer life out of it.
A system consists of several parts. The main parts include the tank, the distribution box, and the drain field. Some systems are more complex and have extra parts such as an Alternative Treatment System, that ads an AX20-RT system to filter waste an extra time. More information on Alternative treatment is on our website under the Alternative Treatment tab. Other than some extra filtration or pumps, all systems function generally the same way.
The first part to a system is the tank. When you flush the toilet, do the laundry, or even wash your hands, all the used water and other waste goes from the pipes in your house, out into the tank. A normal tank holds 1000 gallons but they sometimes come in 1500 gals and up. All tanks have a ‘normal operating level’. This is the level at which the water usually sits, which is just at the outlet line. After having your tank pumped for any other reason, the tank will return to normal operating level (which to some will appear full) fairly quickly, often in a day or two.
The tank its self’s main job is to separate solid and liquid waste. As the solid waste builds up on the bottom of the tank, the liquid waste is free to travel out of
the outlet line at the top of the tank. All of that left behind solid waste gets digested by the healthy bacteria that grows in your tank. These bacteria are vital to the health and longevity of your tank and your system. It’s important to also have your tank pumped regularly for maintenance. It is suggested that a tank is pumped every three to five years. Whether you are near the three year end or the five year end is variable on how you take care of your tank (For more information on this, read our first blog titled “Most important things to know about owning a septic Tank Part 1”). Pumping removes all the buildup of solids that don’t get removed through the natural biological processes. Without maintenance pumping you could have backups or even cause damage to other parts of your system.
After liquid leaves the tank, it flows into a box. There are two different kinds of boxes we use. We use equal distribution boxes and serial distribution boxes. The type of box that is used is dependent on the site and system. While they both function a little differently, the general idea of these boxes is simple and the same; distribute liquid out into the drain field.
The drain field (sometimes referred to as a leach field) is generally a weird idea to a lot of people who don’t know about septic systems. This is because a drain field is basically a lot of perforated lines under the ground where your wastewater is incorporated back into the environment. It may seem counter intuitive, but this is actually an incredibly environmentally friendly way of disposing of liquid waste. There is a lot of science that goes into where to place a drain field. A drain field must have just the right soil conditions in order to filter out everything that isn’t pure H2O. It works like a natural Brita filter. Eventually that water will meet up with the water table and be as clean as drinking water. Because of this filtration system, a drain field must also be placed at a specific set back from wells or any sources of fresh water. This set back is to allow the water to go through full filtration before it is reintroduced to the water table.
At this point, waste water has fully run its course through your septic system.
If you are curious or would like to know more about your system specifically, feel free to contact Lil Stinky anytime at (503)-829-8458 or email us at info@lilstinky.com with questions, comments, or concerns.
