Cesspools, Septic Tanks, Plumbers, and Plumbing History

You wake up one radiant Saturday morning, looking forward to doing some gardening around your magnificent new Pre-Revolutionary Colonial home in tony Westchester.

You throw open the bay windows, taking in the expanse of benevolent blue skies, your magnificent garden bursting with Daffodils and Tiger Lilies, the wild ducks luxuriating just beyond in the shimmering pond, beneath a ring of White Oaks and Sugar Maples.

You take in a deep breath of fresh air -

Then, you're rolling on your Persian rug, gagging uncontrollably...

The aroma of your splendid natural setting hits you with all the power and putrescence of a toxic waste dump.

What's the problem?

This is Westchester. Not some 4th-world village with shallow roadside trenches filled with human excreta.

Then, you remember, just before purchasing your dream house, a friend suggested to check the condition of the septic tank.

What Is It?

A typical septic tank has a volume of 750-1500 gallons, and may be made of concrete, steel, or fiberglass. They are watertight chambers that promote the growth of anaerobic bacteria for the biological decomposition of sewage, and the separation of grease and organic particles from the wastewater. Septic tanks are constructed with baffles or sanitary tees to prevent the flow-through of floating solids, and to minimize the possibility of the raw sewage from leaving the tank, and disturbing the settled sludge and floating scum.

A septic system combines a septic tank and a leaching system. The leaching system may include leach lines, leach beds, or seepage pits. Drywells are another term for seepage pits, with the distinction being that they typically handle no sewage and simply re-direct storm water into the ground. Sometimes the term "cesspool" is used, but it's actually archaic. There are a few cesspools manufactured, but they don't permit the flow-through of septic tanks, and are only used for temporary purposes.

In terms of modern plumbing, waste from your home enters and exits the top portion of the buried septic tank. In the interim, the bacteria in the tank's liquid environment do their work by breaking down solids into a liquid called effluent. Effluent exits the tank, next enters the leaching system, before finally seeping back into the ground.

When You Need a Plumber

If you begin detecting unwelcome odors, find yourself sinking into soggy and lushly green areas in your lawn, or suddenly discover a fetid backup in your sink, shower, or bathtub, the chances are your septic tank's leaching system has failed.

Septic tanks can suffer structural damage or deteriorate over time. Most problems are created by blockages in the plumbing or leaching systems, or the pipe running between your home and the tank. Minor obstructions can be solved with household plumbing equipment, but serious ones require a plumber.

Over time, tree roots can also enter the drainpipes choking off the refuse. Also, the soil surrounding the leaching system can become clogged, and when all the sludge and scum is not periodically removed from the tank, they're transported out into the absorption field.

Benefits

Aside from unclogging pipes, repairing leaching systems, or replacing severely damaged septic tanks, an experienced plumber will know how to find your tank if you don't even know where it is.

Your general contractor should have provided you with a plot plan, indicating the septic system's whereabouts. But if you've somehow lost or misplaced the records, and can't obtain them from your city or county's heath department, a savvy plumber will zone in on your septic tank by probing the ground with a metal rod to locate the pipeline. Or, he'll follow the pipeline from the house by listening to the noise a metal snake making final contact with the tank inlet. Water probes are another method he might utilize to locate a tank that's gone M.I.A.

Risks

Don't buy a septic tank that's too small for your house. Larger units have many advantages including longer detention times, permit better separation, and less carry-over of scum and sludge. These factors prolong the life of the subsurface leach lines, leach beds, and seepage pits. Yes, larger tanks are more expensive, but require less frequent cleaning, and allow for future home expansion.

Cess Pool History 101

The Romans were innovators in sewage control, most notably with the cloaca maxima, circa 800 BC. These open drains carried away storm water, but designed in such a way that the rains also flushed away piles of excrement and household rubbish thrown into the streets. These Roman sewer geniuses also developed the cesspool, the forerunner of a modern-day septic tank. Sewage flowed into a large stone vat, where heavy solids settled to the bottom, and lighter particles floated to the top. The partially cleaned liquid was drained into a river or the sea. The collected sludge was then used as fertilizer or buried.