# Groundwater in septic tank



## siletz (Oct 5, 2010)

We recently moved to our homestead, and the septic system was working great until the rains came. The system now seems to be getting overloaded by incoming groundwater, with the high level alarm on even when we are using no water. Has anyone else had this problem? Are there any fixes that you have heard of? The tank is a made of cement and is about 15 years old.

Thanks!


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

is your field in a low spot? if so, shame on the building inspector but yes, here in the clay belt sometimes the only way heavy rains can go in in to the field-tank.

you have a high level alarm in your tank?


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

In this neighborhood several aerator systems were set up (county required this idiotic set-up) so that storm water would run into them. The owners simply pulled the plug on the aerators. 

Do you know where your clean out top is located? The water could be coming in around that if it's buried. Otherwise you most likely have a crack in your tank. Big $$$ repair.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

siletz

Put some food coloring in the water closet on the toilet and observe the water in the bowl does not change color to verify the water is not coming from the house.


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Do you know where your clean out top is located? The water could be coming in around that if it's buried. Otherwise you most likely have a crack in your tank. Big $$$ repair.[/QUOTE]



If you are getting water in then you do have a leak here is what I would do. other than the cover leaking. 

Can you run a backhoe? If so then rent or borrow one. If not hire one this wont take to long and a 4 hour rental should be sufficient.

Find the tank and very very carefully dig around the tank (lots of hand work) and find were the pip comes in from the house. I would suggest you make sure you can get a piece of pipe and a few collars and some primer and glue.

When you expose the pipe you will know right away if there is a leak at the inlet. It will stink. If it seems to leak but it isnât damaged just a loose fit use hydraulic cement and pack it around the inlet pipe were it goes into the tank.

If that end is ok expose the out let end very very carefully (lots of hand work) and make sure the tank is sealed well on both ends. 

This will insure the tank is ok. If it is cracked it needs to be replaced.

If it is still filling up then you may have a leak in the pipe from the house or the distribution box may be backing up.

This may help you to figure out were the problems are.

It shouldnât cost too much to hire a small back hoe for 4 hours. 

Hope this helps

Dave


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

No idea where you are but in many states septic systems are very marginal and probably shouldn't have even been approved as the ground doesn't perk well enough. I had the same problem in my last house in NC, solved problem by selling house. I have friends here in TN with the same problem and relatives in other states with same. Chances are field line is letting water flow back into the tank.


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## siletz (Oct 5, 2010)

Thank you for the great info! When we open the cover on the tank itself, we can hear water trickling into the septic tank itself. In our system, after the water leaves the tank, it goes into a sand filter before getting pumped to the drain field. The sand filter and drain field seem to be working fine. It just seems like water is getting into the septic tank itself, making more water for the whole system to deal with. We started digging around it yesterday and put a sump pump outside to try to temporarily divert some of the groundwater so we could get down far enough to check anything.


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## siletz (Oct 5, 2010)

Thanks so much DaveL745 for the great info! We dug around the tank just as you suggested and when we got to the inlet pipe from the house, we could actually see the water flowing into the tank where it enters the tank. We are now in process of fixing the leak. Thanks!


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Your welcome and good luck. 

Glad I was able to help. 

And glad I didn&#8217;t have to dig.

Best regards,

Dave


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Would you update us as to how the septic problem came out?

How did you seal it up?

Just curious.

Best regards,

Dave.


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

I used to put in those type of systems, and my uncle still does, they are only good for about 15-20 years in certain types of ground and with the added water coming in your drain-field *MAY BE* at risk for needing replaced. If it is saturated you may experience problems this winter until the spring thaw allows the surrounding ground to dry up some. start saving now for a new drain-field to be installed, the tank should last another couple applications before it needs replaced as long as nothing breaks it from above [ive heard of folks dropping a tractor tire through but never got to see the damage first hand] 

Plus when drainfields are set, ive not seen a straight pipe yet, and there may be parts of it never used in 15 years, even if it was properly installed and inspected, i remember finding some repairs that old and only the first 30 feet had been working at all out of the 200 feet linear underground! some ground is definitely better than others. I understand this was not your problem, but to save for the future now is a good idea cause that in my former professional opinion is what you may indeed be facing..... it is something that real estate sales folks wont tell you if you are buying a "used house" mostly cause they dont know really but also they dont want to lose a sale over a couple grand. It is what a reputable installer will tell you about a new system, and of course they want to make a buck too so waft a wary eye towards that as well. that too should be about 4-6 hours of backhoe digging plus materials..... depending upon the type of ground it is going into!

Yes i can be a bundle of joyful news and such, you have the current problem solved, but others may experience similar problems that need to go farther!

William
Idaho


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## tiogacounty (Oct 27, 2005)

You have a pretty simple issue and it costs a few bucks to fix. Have a septic service pump both tanks out. Now lower a small ladder into the pump tank and see where the water is infiltrating. Clean any questionable areas with a wire brush and patch with hydrolic cement. I had this happen on several tanks over the years and typically you will see that either the inlet or outlet pipe is no longer properly sealed. The pipes are often cemented in place with plain mortar. Once the ground settles and stresses the pipe the mortar cracks and leaks. Newer tanks in our area now come with cast in place rubber sleeves to connect the pipes with. You yank them out of the side of the tank. They look like a rubber turtle neck. After you slide the pipe in you seal it with a stainless steel hose clamp. They address the problem of poorly sealed mortared in place piping. Good luck, it's a common problem, and if you didn't have the alarm float, you would never know about it. Last summer I repaired an old in-ground system that was so bad, ALL the black water that was supposed to be piped to the leach field was just leaking down the outside of the tank. It only took a few minutes with a backhoe and a few bucks worth of hydro-cement and it was tighter than new.


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