When the amount of rain at your place has been higher than normal. The correct operation of Septic System can be affected.
Heavy rain can saturate the ground around your septic system’s drain field.
The drainfield is where your system normally disposes of the effluent left over from the waste processing that goes on inside your septic tank.
Normally, treated effluent flows from your septic tank, through the treated water outlet and out to the soil in your septic system’s drainfield.
Here, through natural processes effluent can be harmlessly put back into the environment and recycled.
When it rains heavily, the ground in your drainfield can become so wet that the effluent can no longer drain into the surrounding soil correctly.
This can have the knock on effect of making your septic tank fill to higher than normal levels because the effluent can no longer escape normally from the system.
This can lead to untreated waste flowing through your treated water outlet and into the drainfield. This unsightly, smelly and can possibly even create a health hazard for you and your family.
This untreated waste can also clog the pipes in your drainfield. So even when the rain eventually stops and the groundwater level returns to normal. Your system remains clogged and no longer works properly.
What can you do to stop it?
The easiest way to prevent you septic tank from becoming too full at times when the weather has been wet and miserable is by trying to reduce the load you are putting on it.
Easier said than done I know.
Try to flush your toilet as little as possible and use the half flush option of your cistern every time to reduce the amount of water reaching your septic tank. Even a small reduction in the amount of water reaching your septic tank can make a BIG difference.
In extreme cases though, you may need to have your tank pumped out earlier than you would normally.
This will immediately reduce the level in your septic tank and prevent permanent damage to your system’s drainfield in the way I described above.
One of the major design elements in my Septic Cleaning Truck was a compact size.
This is better for you if you have a narrow driveway, and especially when things are wetter than normal. A small lighter truck means less weight, and less impact to your property. In fact with my 90 metres of Pump-Out hose I may not even have to drive into your yard at all. So you can have your tank emptied without any hassles at all.
Letting your drainfield pipes become clogged with untreated sewage can be a very expensive problem to fix, so try to reduce the load where possible when the weather is bad.
And remember, if you have to have your tank pumped out due to heavy rain or even regular use. Do it sooner rather than later to prevent costly damage.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
If you are worried about your septic system, give me a call. I am happy to help in anyway I can.
