What About Septic Systems?

by Josh Platt

Often, while conducting camp road workshops and providing technical assistance to landowners, the topic of septic system maintenance or lack of maintenance comes up in conversation. Conservation districts (like us) often focus on soil erosion as the largest non-point source (NPS) polluter by volume to our lakes. Lake associations (you may be a member) become involved with the invasives issue, volunteer monitoring and other lake usage issues.

Septic tanks lie underground and are hidden from view. Unless they fail or begin to smell no one thinks about them until it may be too late. Failing septic systems can expose you, your family and your neighbors to sewage. Sewage contains pathogens and viruses that can cause disease. Sewage can also contaminate ground and surface water potentially polluting wells, rivers, streams or lakes.

There are several reasons why septic systems fail and a few ways to determine weather your system is actually failing. Reasons for failure include clogging pipes with solids, leaking or broken pipes or connections, tree root blockage or high groundwater and drain field saturation. If water has backed up into the shower, the toilets won't flush, and your drains won't function, these are good indications that you may have a problem. Wastewater has likely backed up from the tank through the main drains into the house. Other ways to determine potential problems are strong (or faint) septic odor or suspect wet areas around the outdoor portion of your system.

In an effort to protect health and water quality, some towns in Maine have passed zoning laws that require regular testing of septic systems. A simple dye test can be done to determine if surface water is in fact wastewater. Septic dye tests involve flushing a special florescent dye down a toilet or other drain. The dye itself is simply an indicator of a potential problem. The volume of water introduced into the system forms the actual "test" and indicates if wastewater is coming to the surface (an unsanitary condition indicating serious septic failure). If the septic system is failing, the fluorescent dye may show up in the surface water.

When suspect wet areas are observed, and the system has no maintenance history, or if other site conditions raise question about the condition of the system, it is recommend that an inspector perform a dye test. A septic dye test will by no means find every septic failure, but this methods finds many failures that otherwise might go unnoticed.

Required dye testing has become a reality in some Maine communities and would help to address one of the glaring water quality issues throughout our watersheds and waterfronts in Central Maine. If your community doesn't require dye testing (very few do) have one yourself and urge your neighbors to do the same. This area of Maine is home to many old and aging systems that could be causing more damage than we know about.

Josh Platt works for the Kennebec County Soil & Water Conservation District in Augusta. He can be reached at 622-7847 x3.

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What About Septic Systems?