Septic Tank filling with rain water

While I was taking a shower and my wife was doin laundry and it was raining, my lines backed up and came out of the laundry discharge pipe in my basement.. I called a Pumper truck out and pumped out my septic tank.. only to have it start filling with rain water..

I have come to the realization that my field bed is full..

Do I need to completely redo my field bed or are there any other options?

Thanks in advance!

Drain fields can sometimes become saturated with water during heavy rain over a period of time especially if you are in a low-lying area.

I understand this.. I'm on top of hill in an above lying neighborhood..

I guess what I'm wondering is...

Would it be worth the trouble of digging up my field bed and re-doin it?

Or just let it be and deal with it?

Will this hurt my resale value?

Thoughts?

Have the drainfield inspected first before digging it up.

Does this happens everytime it rains ? Yes, it can pose a problem during resale.

How will someone "inspect" it?

uplumb, you can either ask someone from your local Department of Health to inspect it or ask them for a list of licensed people in your area who are able to inspect it and repair or replace it if necessary.

The field will probably have to be dug up at least partially to assess if it is at the proper incline and such.

It is likely that you will have to do a percolation test in your field to see how sufficiently it drains water. The exact requirements of the test depend on your location. When I had mine done, I had to dig four holes at least 8" wide and 24" deep and dump 5 gallon buckets of water in the day before the inspector (from health department) came out. He checked to see the water level and had me keep full 5 gallon buckets next to each hole so that he could dump the water in and then check the levels an hour later.

My drainfield was not done properly in the first place and had to be replaced (as did my septic tank since it was designed for a one bedroom house and we have a 3 bedroom house). We had old pipes with holes in them that were supposed to be over some sort of gravel but there was no gravel. The slope was too steep and the pipe (since there was only one of them) was too long. It was over 200' and its not supposed to be more than 100' per line.

Any work you have done on the field line is supposed to be inspected by someone from the Health Department. I believe you need a permit from the Department of Health as well. In my area the permit was free, but we could not get anything done until we had it. So basically you have to have the person doing the work talk to health department and they are supposed to supply a detailed sketch of what they plan to do for approval. Once approved the health inspector will issue the permit and allow the work to go on. Before it can all be buried, the inspector has to come out and look at the hookups and the depth of the lines and make sure that everything is right. It has to be the right incline and such.

Note: Your local dept of health might go by a different name. It might be Dept. of Sanitation, Board of Health, etc...

Thanks for your input! I do know how to intatall a field bed.. I was just curious how someone inspects a field bed after several years of service??

Do they put a camera down the lines, pour dye down the main??

I'm not trying to be difficult, as I'm sure this is how it looks.. I'm just looking for some ideas from another viewpoint..

Zanne gave you good advice. Depending on what type of drainfield system you have as to wether you can put a camera down it. There are signs for drainfield failure as well (spotted grass died or super green, standing or pooling water, etc.) Drainfield inspection/repairs/replacement has to be done by proper licensed persons with all permits pulled and all inspection/repairs/replacement filed with the proper authorities.

Your dispersal system has already failed the easiest test.

Which was while you were pumping the tank water ran back into the tank from the outlet pipe.

Your dispersal system has not totally failed due to the fact it was under a lot of stress when it caused a back up.

In most areas you need to contact your health dept. for their guidance on how to replace your dispersal system.

You can go ahead & replace it yourself, but have fun trying sell to that property after you do that.

Thanks to all who replied..

No problem. I know what a mess it can be when the septic system backs up. I was very dismayed when we found out that our field bed was completely dead/saturated and we had to have new stuff put in. It was very expensive, but it was better than the cleanup and health risks involved in the sewage backup.

Depending on your local code, if you get Infiltrator Systems, you might be able to install it yourself and have the inspector come look at it and still have it approved-- if you make sure its done properly. Some areas might not allow that though. I think that an actual licensed professional would have to be the one to hook it to the septic tank though. Not sure.

So I guess the general consensus is to contact your local Dept. of Health and find out what your options are.

I wish you luck, and have happy holidays.

Let's hope it doesn't back up again during the holidays. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.