Water comes up in yard

[Reef]

Hello, I have some troubles with our septic tanks, I have not much experience with it so hope somebody can advise me.

I live in this house for 3 years, we always had a wet spot in the yard but that did not bother me or caused any problems.

A few months ago I've drilled some wooden posts into the ground to make a dog fence, now around the pole, water is being pushed up.

Today I removed the pole, and dug down to see if I could locate the source, I've dug down till I hit a layer of gravel, the smell gives away it is sewer water, the water looks clean though, the water is pushed out of the gravel layer.

Now I'm wondering though, this is what a drain is supposed to do, release the water to the ground, so would there be a problem with my line, or is the water just taking the route of the least resistance and that's why it shows up ?

If it just the route of least resistance, I thought of sealing the gravel off with a few bags of concrete to try to hold it down, but I'm kind off afraid it might be a sign of a larger problem.

Our septic tank is not cleaned in at least 10 years, so this is something I will get done anyway, is there any way they could test the drain pipes while they are at it ?

(system is ±30 years old, have no drawings of the lines)

Thanks in advance....

Mark

 

[johnjh2o]

What happens if a septic tank is not pumped on a regular bases. In most cases depending on the use that should be between every 3-5 years. If not done the tank becomes filled with solids. When that happens they go from the tank into your drain fields plugging the gravel. Once this happens the system can no longer function. In most cases the only solution is to replace the drain fields. Pumping the tank at this point won't solve your problem. At this point I would call a good septic company and have them take a look at your problem.

John

 

[kylpitts]

For a drainfed to function properly it must be able to breath, concrete would suffocate it. An issue for many drainfields is high ground water, do you live in a valley? I would recommend that you have your tank pumPed and your drainfields lines jetted to remove any of the top solids that may have flowed out of the tank.