Septic tank problems

Myles45

Hi All & happy Xmas,

Been having some probs recently with our septic tank. Over the last month or so have noticed on a few occasions the downstairs toilet was filling up when flushing then slowly draining (about 30secs) & the level would drop right down till it gurgled. After flushing several times in a row or leaving for a short while & flushing, the problem seemed to resolve for maybe a couple of weeks & then happen again. I initially put it down to random blockage & possibly buying 3 ply paper!! But it seemed to increase in regularity more recently so eventually last Monday 21st Dec I decided I'd just lift the manhole just outside which leads directly to the tank to find that it was pretty full & only very slowly draining.
I then lifted the inspection lids on the tank & the first chamber looked pretty solid.
We built in 2003 & have never had the figure of 8 concrete tank drained. I used to add Cesclean once a month for about 6 years & then gave up.
In a bit of a panic with the parents about to arrive for Xmas I decided to call someone to get the tank drained. They came last Tuesday evening & I assisted in breaking the very thick crust in the first tank (probably 18 - 24") to enable the hose to get to the water & sludge below which then got sucked up. He then back-flushed to break up the crust & then sucked again but left a reasonable amount in the bottom so as not to remove all the bacteria & keep the tank in working order. He then sucked the second tank which was mainly liquid with a slight crust & sludge.
Having finished it was possible to hear water trickling back into the tank quite gently. So put the lids back on & went to bed thinking the issue resolved as toilet flushing well again.

Next morning after showers & washing etc toilet was filling again so checked manhole & sure enough full again. Obviously this had to be a blockage on the inlet to the tank so I borrowed neighbours rods & 5 mins later the drains were flowing perfectly. The block seemed to be right at the T inlet. Checked both tanks & they had filled about halfway which I thought nothing of & again went to bed happy that the issue was now resolved.

Today it seems the problem is back!!! & on lifting the manhole the drain pipe is full of water & both tanks are also full of water. I had initially thought that perhaps the exit pipe from the second chamber to the percolation area may be blocked but I don't think that can be the case. It would make more sense that due to the ridiculous amount of rain over the last year has just raised the water table so much that it's draining back into the tank via the exit. This would account for the sound of water dripping back in after emptying & also the rapid refilling to full within less than a week (I'm pretty sure we don't use enough water to fill the tank that quickly ourselves!!??)

Does anyone know of a way to check if this is the case & if so what options do we have?

There are a couple of issues which may complicate matters. Firstly the top of our tank is about 8 ft down & likewise is the percolation area so access to the exit pipe or distribution chamber to check for blockage is virtually impossible without major surgery on our garden. Secondly I know that the yellow corrugated land drainage pipes were used in the percolation area, which having Googled it seems are the incorrect things to use. Also, something which I am not sure whether is an issue or not, the pipes when laid were bent up to the surface & left protruding for year or so till we got the garden & lawn flattened seeded at which time I cut the pipes level to the ground, plugged the ends with a large stone & buried them just under the surface. I've read in a couple of articles that they should be left open or vented but others say it doesn't matter. I can't see it being the cause of our problem but wonder if it may help drainage a small bit if they were uncovered & opened back up?

It also occurred to me that it may be possible if they were opened up to perhaps somehow pressure flush the percolation area back towards the tank in the event that it turned out there was a blockage in the exit on the tank??

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance Myles

jigsey

Hi Myles...

Ive a thread on here, with the exact same problem..... Its due to the excess rain we are having.... Get a sump pump (argos have on for about 80 euro) and 25m 25mm hose from the Co-op and pump the water in the inspection chamber as far away from the percolation area...

Im doing this every other day now....

Jigsey

Myles45

Thanks Jigsey, that seems like a reasonable plan. It's definitely the increase in the water table as it seems to be an intermittent problem. With Xmas over now & the parents gone home it has reduced the load on the tank & I've temporarily re routed some of the sinks & shower/bath water away from the tank which seems to have also helped. I'll just keep an eye on it regularly now I think & grab a pump if required.

jigsey

First afternoon of no rain in 5 weeks.... i can leave the pump off ;-)

Myles45

Hi all,

Our septic tank blockage seems to have raised it's ugly head again. After our Xmas issue I bought a pump with a float, set it at a reasonable level & left it go for a few weeks so it would pump occasionally as it filled. After a few months it seemed to have settled down as the dry weather persisted so I only recently removed the pump, put the lids back on the tanks & rubbed my hands with glee thinking problem solved!!

Unfortunately I have just flushed the downstairs loo to find it glugging again, so quickly ran out & checked the drain pipes & tanks & sure enough they are full !!:mad:

We have had a bit of rain again lately but I'm sure it's not enough to fill the tanks like this. So I can only presume that the problem is with the percolation side either being blocked at the exit or right through.

Can anyone suggest a reliable company who we can call who can inspect & investigate further?

realdanbreen

Myles45 wrote: »

Hi all,

Our septic tank blockage seems to have raised it's ugly head again. After our Xmas issue I bought a pump with a float, set it at a reasonable level & left it go for a few weeks so it would pump occasionally as it filled. After a few months it seemed to have settled down as the dry weather persisted so I only recently removed the pump, put the lids back on the tanks & rubbed my hands with glee thinking problem solved!!

Unfortunately I have just flushed the downstairs loo to find it glugging again, so quickly ran out & checked the drain pipes & tanks & sure enough they are full !!:mad:

We have had a bit of rain again lately but I'm sure it's not enough to fill the tanks like this. So I can only presume that the problem is with the percolation side either being blocked at the exit or right through.

Can anyone suggest a reliable company who we can call who can inspect & investigate further?

Not sure what sort of system you have or what part of the country you are in. Your local council should have a list of wastewater management assessors that you could talk to. There is a grant available for upgrading your system but it would have to be inspected and failed first by your local authority. Anything beats being up all night in the winter checking rainfall and checking pumps.

Myles45

Hi Realdanbreen, You wouldn't be associated with McBreen Environmental by any chance?

It's a concrete double tank put in when we built in 2003, the tank has a pipe which goes into a small concrete box which then branches out to the percolation area with 4 lengths of that crappy yellow drainage pipe which I now know is not really suitable for percolation, which may or may not be part of the problem.

I'd rather get someone who comes via recommendation than just calling the council.

hatchman

That crappy yellow drainage pipe is for draining land so by design it takes in water not let it out into the ground like you need to happen. Get some one in that does ground works to dig up percolation area and replace with correct pipe. I would suggest not to contact the council.

Myles45

hatchman wrote: »

That crappy yellow drainage pipe is for draining land so by design it takes in water not let it out into the ground like you need to happen. Get some one in that does ground works to dig up percolation area and replace with correct pipe. I would suggest not to contact the council.

Hatchman, Unfortunately it was someone who did ground works that very nicely put that in for us when we built, as well as putting the drain pipes around the house about 4ft away from the house so all the manholes aren't within the path area!!

Our biggest problem is that the top of the septic tank & therefore the percolation area also, is about 8-10ft underground, so it's not a simple case of just digging it up, or if we do it will be an almighty hole!!!

realdanbreen

Myles45 wrote: »

Hi Realdanbreen, You wouldn't be associated with McBreen Environmental by any chance?

It's a concrete double tank put in when we built in 2003, the tank has a pipe which goes into a small concrete box which then branches out to the percolation area with 4 lengths of that crappy yellow drainage pipe which I now know is not really suitable for percolation, which may or may not be part of the problem.

I'd rather get someone who comes via recommendation than just calling the council.

No never heard of McBreen. Well my suggestion is get talking to someone in the council and they will reccommend someone who knows what they are doing. There are far too many'ground works' and 'drainage experts' out there who haven't a clue about anything except how to charge. Besides if you want to avail of a grant you need to go through the council.

Myles45

realdanbreen wrote: »

No never heard of McBreen. Well my suggestion is get talking to someone in the council and they will reccommend someone who knows what they are doing. There are far too many'ground works' and 'drainage experts' out there who haven't a clue about anything except how to charge. Besides if you want to avail of a grant you need to go through the council.

If the work that the council do on the roads round here is anything to go by, unfortunately their standards are nothing to shout about, so their recommendations would be no better I doubt. But you're dead right that there are too many "experts" of every sort out there, all willing to fleece those who just call a tradesman & let them get on with it. That's why I was hoping for personal recommendations.

I think the grant option though may force us to go that route.:(

hatchman

Is the council grant means tested and how much of the cost would it cover ?

realdanbreen

hatchman wrote: »

Is the council grant means tested and how much of the cost would it cover ?

I guess it is. It covers up to a max of 4K.

Wearb

It used to be a condition of the grant that the system had to be registered before the cut off date some years ago.
I don't know it that still applies.

realdanbreen

Yes, the system has to have been registered a few years ago(when they were advising people to do so!)