Its been a month or more since I've left a blog for anyone who discovers this site to read. Due to the economic down turn changes in my schedule have taken up most if not all of my time. But as Jack Nicholson is famous for saying, "He's back!!!!!!"
Here is a subject that may be common knowledge (or not?). The subject is frequently asked in two questions: Is it a good idea to put in additives into my septic tank on a monthly basis? When my septic system is nearing failure, should I start putting additives into my septic tank? Here's how I answer these questions.
No one can say with absolute certainty when a disposal field will fail. The only judgments anyone can make are based on the averages that have consistently been observed over the years for disposal field life expectancy. 20 to 25 years is the most common time frame.
When a disposal field is nearing failure due to age, or there are early indications that failure is imminent, putting bacteria, enzymes and chemical additives into a septic tank on a monthly basis by the homeowner, hoping to extend the life of the disposal field, is not a good idea. Putting additives monthly during the life of a septic system is even a less good idea. It is not possible to stop people from doing so, therefore the EHDs don't make prohibitions about doing it. They rightfully recommend against it however. Here's why.
The ultimate purpose of a septic tank is to sequester and thus remove bio-solids from the waste stream by separation into sinkable and floatable solids through intestinal bacteria activity within the septic tank. This is commonly called "primary treatment". The intestinal bacteria in your solid waste don't digest the organic material in the septic tank (they didn't in your intestines so how can they in a septic tank?) but they break apart molecules making up the solids into solids that can sink to the bottom of the tank forming what is called sludge and this allows solids that can now float or rise to the surface of the effluent to form a solids layer called scum. This removes between 70 and 90 percent of the solids you just put into water to take them out of your house by gravity. To do this most effectively, there is a minimum retention time for the effluent to remain in the septic tank. This is why you have to pump your septic tank; to remove these sequestered solids so the retention time for liquid to remain in the septic tank stays within the design limits. Eventually solids take up space and reduce the liquid capacity of the septic tank, reducing retention time. What people are doing with the additives they put into their tank every month is short circuit the sequestration process.
The bacteria, enzymes and chemicals additives breakdown and solubilize some of these sequestered solids and allow them to leave the septic tank (where they belong) and travel in suspension within the effluent to the disposal field. There these solids form a congealed sludge and can potentially decrease the functional life of the disposal field. People feel better and believe they are doing something powerful for themselves by having to pump their septic tank less frequently. The reality is different. They aren't removing solids from the system, they are merely moving them to another area of the system, the disposal field. The potential for decreasing the functional life of the disposal field is more problematic and could be more costly than saving some pumping costs. Homeowners putting these products into a septic tank are potentially damaging the most expensive aspect of their septic system...the life of the disposal field.
If you are willing to pay for a highly over priced disposal field replacement, then my comments about these additives are not germane to you. But if you want to make certain that you are not doing anything to compromise the potential functional life of your disposal field, then you are well advised not to put these bacteria, enzyme and chemical additives into the septic tank. Allow the tank to provide the sequestration as its designed to do and pay for periodic pumping. Pumping is cheap compared to the potential for early disposal field replacement.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Just Think One Day At A Time
I get a lot of calls from people who don't understand much of anything about septic systems other than they are "supposed" to pump the septic tank from time to time and that eventually you'll have to replace the system (meaning the disposal field). They listen to the "experts" and having no other source of information, they blindly and most often dumbly follow what they are told to do. It seems this is a sad commentary on so much of the decision making we in America do these days.
There is for me an interesting aspect of the commonly accepted designs for septic systems that property owners with septic systems really need to be think about...the common anaerobic septic tank. In fact, it is just plain silly to demand that septic systems have standard anaerobic septic tanks now that the Pirana technology is available. The government regulators and bureaucrats continue to force us to use anaerobic septic tanks to concentrate contaminating organic waste and bacteria, building up the "inventory" or both over time, until we have to remove them to some other facility, in very concentrated form, for digestion and disposal. I've mentioned this fact in passing before, but the more I think about it, the more ludacrious the whole premise is.
We humans build on what we know. We started out with outhouses, moved with flush toilets to cesspools, and with the maintenance required of cesspools, septic tanks and leach lines were created to reduce maintenance and increase the time before failure of the soil. Now we have aerobic systems but they were designed to be inefficient because they are designed to deal with the effluent leaving septic tanks that have sequestered the vast majority of the organic load as stated above. The aerobic systems can only handle what's left in the waste stream after the septic tank has sequestered and concentrated the vast majority of the load. Even then, the aerobic systems need constant maintenance. The Pirana in the septic tank is digesting and recycling the daily load each day. There is no concentration of organic matter or bacteria that are the ultimate problem. Removing each days organic load received by the septic tank each day is such a simple solution to this most common problem.
There Pirana doesn't disinfect the effluent. The Pirana System easily deals with the daily organic load and deliver out of the septic tank highly treated effluent that we can now do something beneficial with the effluent, or at least the disposal fields won't fail from the most frequent problem...biomat clogging of the soil. The key is only dealing with one day's organic load each day in the septic tank, instead of allowing the waste and contaminants to concentrate creating the classic problems of septic systems. Its the old ounce of prevention vs a pound of cure trick Granny always mentioned to me. Deal with problems when they are small and you won't have to deal with big problems.
Think about it.
Thanks for stopping by.
There is for me an interesting aspect of the commonly accepted designs for septic systems that property owners with septic systems really need to be think about...the common anaerobic septic tank. In fact, it is just plain silly to demand that septic systems have standard anaerobic septic tanks now that the Pirana technology is available. The government regulators and bureaucrats continue to force us to use anaerobic septic tanks to concentrate contaminating organic waste and bacteria, building up the "inventory" or both over time, until we have to remove them to some other facility, in very concentrated form, for digestion and disposal. I've mentioned this fact in passing before, but the more I think about it, the more ludacrious the whole premise is.
We humans build on what we know. We started out with outhouses, moved with flush toilets to cesspools, and with the maintenance required of cesspools, septic tanks and leach lines were created to reduce maintenance and increase the time before failure of the soil. Now we have aerobic systems but they were designed to be inefficient because they are designed to deal with the effluent leaving septic tanks that have sequestered the vast majority of the organic load as stated above. The aerobic systems can only handle what's left in the waste stream after the septic tank has sequestered and concentrated the vast majority of the load. Even then, the aerobic systems need constant maintenance. The Pirana in the septic tank is digesting and recycling the daily load each day. There is no concentration of organic matter or bacteria that are the ultimate problem. Removing each days organic load received by the septic tank each day is such a simple solution to this most common problem.
There Pirana doesn't disinfect the effluent. The Pirana System easily deals with the daily organic load and deliver out of the septic tank highly treated effluent that we can now do something beneficial with the effluent, or at least the disposal fields won't fail from the most frequent problem...biomat clogging of the soil. The key is only dealing with one day's organic load each day in the septic tank, instead of allowing the waste and contaminants to concentrate creating the classic problems of septic systems. Its the old ounce of prevention vs a pound of cure trick Granny always mentioned to me. Deal with problems when they are small and you won't have to deal with big problems.
Think about it.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Bureaucrats, Distinctions Without A Difference
Here I am at the end of my first month putting up ideas and issues in front of what may be no one. I am a liberal and a populist that believes we should all band together to get the disease of large profits out of our biological plumbing. I spent a period in my youth defending my beliefs against the establishment and have a few scars from that period. We call that period Hippie. It constantly makes me realize that if we don't all stand together against bureaucratic ineptness, little gets done and change moves so slowly our children will be lucky to see results from our individual efforts outside of a group. In today's fast moving world of communication, and the horrendous economic collapse our country finds itself in, this snail's pace of progress out of antiquated solutions has to cease. We the people, who pay all the bills, deserve better from our government, especially when the topic is our homes and the forced cost to dispose of our "stuff".
Stories can be fun and I especially like to relate some of my experiences accosting bureaucrats. I've used stories in past blogs and I was asked to mention this one by a friend in another state. I had to call a department head at the state level to discuss the Pirana System I invented and the method for its use. I had state wide approvals at that time in more than 20 states and many local jurisdictions in states where I had no state approval. The fellow I was talking to mentioned a theme I've heard ad nauseam. He claimed the septic systems in his state were different than septic systems in other states. Another opportunity to have some fun.I asked this department head if we could kinda go through what he stated and see where there might be some understanding or even some misunderstanding. He said sure but what I felt he meant was Ho Hum. We agreed that I could ask some questions and he would answer them to the best of his ability.
I asked him if he would get a sample of everyone of his family's "stuff" while I went to four or five other randomly chosen states and gathered samples of "stuff" from ten or fifteen other families. I said that I would then mix them up with his family's "stuff" and could he then pick out his family's "stuff" from the mix? He said I was being ridiculous that no one could do that. Ah, said I, so your "stuff" isn't different from the "stuff" of families in other random states. If it were, your "stuff" should stand out enough to tell the difference. So we came to an agreement that "stuff" from people in all states are primarily the same "stuff".
I asked him what size septic tanks are required by his department in his state? He said 1000 to 1200 gallon tanks for 3 bedroom houses. The same basic volume required by most states around the USA. We now had our second agreement. Tankage requirements are about the same.
I asked what the tanks were made of in his state and would you believe, he said the exact same materials that are limited to and / or allowed in most other states. We had our third agreement.
I finally asked him how he qualifies soil types. He informed me that they use a Class distinction based on how the soil reacts to the passage of water through it. In other words, he used D'Arcy's Law for percolation and movement of water through soils to determine which Class 1, 2, 3, or 4 (4 being the least desirable or outright not allowable for disposal fields) to qualify the soils of his states. Will wonders never cease, this is exactly what other states do. He said but his state had soils from different sources. I mentioned that Classes of soil are not about the mother stone that created them but how they react to percolation and water movement through them therefore the source of the soil had no issue. Class 4 soils called adobe clay from degraded volcanic ash is no different from Class 4 soils from eroded serpentine. They both react to water identically. So finally we had our fourth agreement. In fact we had no disagreements, yet.
On sizing of disposal fields based on percolation tests we again found that there really wasn't a substantive difference between his states requirements and those of other states. Now we had the fifth agreement. This couldn't last and I knew what was coming.
Lastly, I asked him if he thought the people in government in other states were idiots or less intelligent than the people in government in his state? He said he thought there was a similar cross section of potential in the people working in government any where in the country. Again we had agreement. I therefore asked him if there are 20 or so states that have approved the Pirana and had for years, and the people in government in other states are neither more stupid nor more intelligent than the people in government in his state, then why would he not allow a technology that has so many state's approvals from people that are in essence just like him and his fellow government employees? Here we had our disagreement. His answer is listed below:
"That's just the way it is and you'll have to live with it."
Ahhhh, the fall back of the misdirected, the ill informed, the incompetent or the bureaucrat...sorry, I repeat myself.
I said no I won't because I didn't live in his state, thank the heavens. But that attitude is common in so many jurisdictions around the country that we can't get any progress in dealing with septic issues. We need the people who are being impacted by this silly posturing (that's all of us) to maintain control over our lives (at least the biological plumbing part of our lives) to stand up and be heard on this subject of bureaucratic refusal to allow every type of recognized solution by any other authority to be used in any local area without censure. We've seen what can be done by others who band together in political arenas and the dramatic change they've created, why are we not doing something similar with regard to something so basic to our lives?
In closing, its the same "stuff", its sent to the same tankage made of the same materials and it goes into soils that are classified by an identical yard stick of performance so why does a technology that has successfully worked in a reasonable number of jurisdictions (say five to ten jurisdictions of authority) not be allowed in all other jurisdictions? Unless we stand up as a group and demand this situation to cease, we'll have done what I've heard so often mentioned, "We turned our lives over to the bureaucrats, the least adept and least qualified to make decisions for us." Until we make our politicians step in and stop this, what in reality is blatant protectionism, I guess you'll really have an expensive pay toilet in your house.
I am not against regulatory oversight in some areas of our lives. I do not consider all bureaucrats to be bad people or without redeeming value in our society. But I do consider them an extension of our political system and therefore we can exercise some control by banding together to become politically focused at least on a local level if not on a state or national level to make ourselves and our issues heard. The way you've been treated by the local EHD or DEQ, is entirely different than how the government deals with municipal wastewater plants and those households served by the MWWP.
Imagine the political leaders telling each household that they are going to have to pay $25,000 to continue to use the MWWP for the twenty years not including occasional costs for maintenance issues and we'll take the money now or you have to vacate you home? Wouldn't happen. The people would rise up in arms so no politician would consider such a thing. When its the politician and just you, its a demonstration of power like no other. For your information, MWWPs pollute far more than septic systems.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Some Good News In Our Bad News
The recession has finally brought competition to the septic industry. The contractors have dropped their prices by huge percentages. Why? Because they now want any job they can get and there are fewer jobs than there are contractor / installers that want to do them; hell need to do them. This puts competition back in the septic marketplace and if you homeowners think about it, it will give you an idea of how much the general public has been overpaying for the past couple of decades.
No one thinks, I hope, that the contractor / installers are working now at a loss. No, they are now working closer to the actual cost of installing a septic system. The difference is that they are not able to charge anything their "little heart's desire" because there is now no "going rate pricing". My brother in law who is septic contractor said to me a couple of months ago that "We're really having to make deals we wouldn't have considered before the housing market took a dump". (I like the term dump don't you to describe his position...now its in his "backyard") There is competition and its fierce in most areas of the country that have contractor / installers trying to survive the economic and housing down turn. So pay attention now to what is being charged for septic work (you can ask around to find out what costs are now in your area) and then watch out for when better economic times return, and in some form better economic times will return, and compare the difference. By paying attention now, you will have a reasonable yard stick to gauge whether you're being price gouged in the future.
I'm betting my money on the installers and contractors ramping up their future prices when economic "good times" return to as near as they can to what they were in the "good ol' days" of going rate pricing. I intend to watch and raise a red flag against this if I'm proven correct. I have no idea whether anyone will pay attention but I do so love waving around red flags. We have to have reform in the septic industry and we have to break the "unintentional collusion" between the EHDs and the industry. Like we're hearing out of Washington DC these days, we have to have reform and we have to let human ingenuity loose so we can have progress while prospering. No industry needs this more than the septic industry. Some may ask why?
Because that bathroom down the hall affects everyone of our lives. It is one area of our life that is as critical as eating and drinking. Remember, you have to take in food and water and what's left has to come out. Its kinda like a septic system. Its open at both ends. Plug one end up and the other end won't work. You're stuck with the consequence of eating and drinking. Therefore I personally don't want to be victimized because of my personal plumbing and the consequence of using it.
We see and feel the affects of government, sometimes its good and sometimes its not so good and all to often its just plain bad. In the way the EHDs operate around this country, I believe it is more "just plain bad" for the homeowner. As I pointed out above and before, septic issues are different than other building related issues. We don't have to fix the leaky roof if we don't like the price. We can put plastic over the roof or put a bucket under the drip. We have a choice that doesn't affect our neighbors or the environment. We aren't forced by a daily bodily function to do anything. Unlike the other areas of the construction industry, we have to take care of septic problems (unless you like many don't really give a damn about a bit of nasty liquid surfacing in your yard). Septic issues should therefore be considered in an entirely different framework.
I believe that septic problems and solutions from a governmental point of view should not discount, nor casually waive off the idea that government can't be concerned with cost of installations and repairs when making decisions (quite cavalier when it ain't their money...remember none of the money in government is their money ITS OUR MONEY!) on what is allowed or not allowed assuming we can't stop the government from limiting our options (I should say since government will not stop interfering and limiting our options). Ideas that are a bit out there but ideas none the less: Every business involved in doing work in the septic industry be required to provide a cost breakdown for the job to the homeowner with all profit clearly delineated; control of allowable profit margins is another idea. I don't personally like either as a life long contractor and businessman. But something has to be done to stop the escalating cost of septic installation and repairs so that costs are affordable. That something is the Pirana System technology.
I will keep bringing this issue to point...if the government wants to limit my options then limit my costs. What I want is government to stop limiting my options. I have no problem with requiring me and every other homeowner that has a septic problem to fix it, but don't tell me how. Make government's job to make sure our septic systems are functioning properly. We're all hearing that the future holds changes in our standard of living. I didn't get the idea that the changes are going to be upward financially. We are most likely not going to like what occurs. This is all the more reason to join together as homeowners and tax payers to loudly protest to our local governments to make changes that protect us from this particular financially damaging situation the government has created. (I don't want to diminish the recognition of any other damaging situation our over paid and over controlling government has created so I use the word "particular")
I talk to many many homeowners across the country every week. They all sing the same song that should be titled, "I Can't Pay $10,000 For My Septic Repair and I Don't Want Any Of Those SOBs On My Property". Who the hell can and does? The $10,000 is a discounted price!
I just had to get this one out. Don't miss the point. If you hear that costs of repairs are substantially lower during this economic crisis, you know how much you were over charged before the crisis. Don't let it happen again. Join with your neighbors who are on septic systems and make your discontent heard by your local government and point to the price reductions to back up your position.
Thanks for stopping by.
No one thinks, I hope, that the contractor / installers are working now at a loss. No, they are now working closer to the actual cost of installing a septic system. The difference is that they are not able to charge anything their "little heart's desire" because there is now no "going rate pricing". My brother in law who is septic contractor said to me a couple of months ago that "We're really having to make deals we wouldn't have considered before the housing market took a dump". (I like the term dump don't you to describe his position...now its in his "backyard") There is competition and its fierce in most areas of the country that have contractor / installers trying to survive the economic and housing down turn. So pay attention now to what is being charged for septic work (you can ask around to find out what costs are now in your area) and then watch out for when better economic times return, and in some form better economic times will return, and compare the difference. By paying attention now, you will have a reasonable yard stick to gauge whether you're being price gouged in the future.
I'm betting my money on the installers and contractors ramping up their future prices when economic "good times" return to as near as they can to what they were in the "good ol' days" of going rate pricing. I intend to watch and raise a red flag against this if I'm proven correct. I have no idea whether anyone will pay attention but I do so love waving around red flags. We have to have reform in the septic industry and we have to break the "unintentional collusion" between the EHDs and the industry. Like we're hearing out of Washington DC these days, we have to have reform and we have to let human ingenuity loose so we can have progress while prospering. No industry needs this more than the septic industry. Some may ask why?
Because that bathroom down the hall affects everyone of our lives. It is one area of our life that is as critical as eating and drinking. Remember, you have to take in food and water and what's left has to come out. Its kinda like a septic system. Its open at both ends. Plug one end up and the other end won't work. You're stuck with the consequence of eating and drinking. Therefore I personally don't want to be victimized because of my personal plumbing and the consequence of using it.
We see and feel the affects of government, sometimes its good and sometimes its not so good and all to often its just plain bad. In the way the EHDs operate around this country, I believe it is more "just plain bad" for the homeowner. As I pointed out above and before, septic issues are different than other building related issues. We don't have to fix the leaky roof if we don't like the price. We can put plastic over the roof or put a bucket under the drip. We have a choice that doesn't affect our neighbors or the environment. We aren't forced by a daily bodily function to do anything. Unlike the other areas of the construction industry, we have to take care of septic problems (unless you like many don't really give a damn about a bit of nasty liquid surfacing in your yard). Septic issues should therefore be considered in an entirely different framework.
I believe that septic problems and solutions from a governmental point of view should not discount, nor casually waive off the idea that government can't be concerned with cost of installations and repairs when making decisions (quite cavalier when it ain't their money...remember none of the money in government is their money ITS OUR MONEY!) on what is allowed or not allowed assuming we can't stop the government from limiting our options (I should say since government will not stop interfering and limiting our options). Ideas that are a bit out there but ideas none the less: Every business involved in doing work in the septic industry be required to provide a cost breakdown for the job to the homeowner with all profit clearly delineated; control of allowable profit margins is another idea. I don't personally like either as a life long contractor and businessman. But something has to be done to stop the escalating cost of septic installation and repairs so that costs are affordable. That something is the Pirana System technology.
I will keep bringing this issue to point...if the government wants to limit my options then limit my costs. What I want is government to stop limiting my options. I have no problem with requiring me and every other homeowner that has a septic problem to fix it, but don't tell me how. Make government's job to make sure our septic systems are functioning properly. We're all hearing that the future holds changes in our standard of living. I didn't get the idea that the changes are going to be upward financially. We are most likely not going to like what occurs. This is all the more reason to join together as homeowners and tax payers to loudly protest to our local governments to make changes that protect us from this particular financially damaging situation the government has created. (I don't want to diminish the recognition of any other damaging situation our over paid and over controlling government has created so I use the word "particular")
I talk to many many homeowners across the country every week. They all sing the same song that should be titled, "I Can't Pay $10,000 For My Septic Repair and I Don't Want Any Of Those SOBs On My Property". Who the hell can and does? The $10,000 is a discounted price!
I just had to get this one out. Don't miss the point. If you hear that costs of repairs are substantially lower during this economic crisis, you know how much you were over charged before the crisis. Don't let it happen again. Join with your neighbors who are on septic systems and make your discontent heard by your local government and point to the price reductions to back up your position.
Thanks for stopping by.
Doggie Doo Doo or Doggie Don't
There are two messages in this missive. I am outlining both because they occurred together. I really never considered the issue of doggie doo doo until this particular day.
One of my customer/clients asked me to meet with an inspector at his property because the inspector was demanding that he immediately replace his drain field. I was to say the least in absolute disagreement with the inspector (I was barely containing my rage at the abuse of authority). He claimed the leach lines were failed and I said they were marginal but still functional. We had nice green grass growing over the leach lines and the striping was obvious. There was no degradation in the soil structure over the leach lines (the ground wasn't spongy or wet) and there were no signs of failure; surfacing effluent over the leach lines or septic tank, nor backed up or slow draining plumbing fixtures. Just really vigorous and rich green growth over the leach lines. As a contractor, I've seen this condition last for five years without the conditions of failure.
The inspector was making noises about how there might be a surfacing event soon and therefore the disposal field had to be immediately replaced. I said I disagreed because he couldn't specify how long in the future this surfacing event might take place. He said that he has to protect people, the environment and drinking water and that if the effluent surfaced, then the potentially harmful contaminants and microbes in the surfacing effluent could make someone ill. I said I can't get the police to pick up someone who might be stalking my daughter sometime in the future. Until he or she actually does something to my daughter (that is defined as illegal) no police action can be taken on what might happen. I said that the same logic applies to septic failure.
Failure is defined to a narrow set of conditions. All conventional septic systems will fail but no one knows exactly when. Therefore until one or more of the conditions of failure occurs, and green striping isn't one of the conditions, the inspector had no authority to demand the homeowner to immediately replace his disposal field. Otherwise he should make the demand that every existing conventional septic system disposal field should be replaced because a failure event is going to happen sometime in the future. Besides which there was a Pirana System installed in the septic tank and the disposal field was being remediated. While we were "discussing" the situation, I watched the owner's teenage son take a shovel and bucket and scoop up a couple of days worth of dog "stuff" from two big German Shepard dogs.
I saw the kid pick up at least six large piles. He put them in the bucket and walked out a back gate into the field behind the fenced area and tossed the dog "stuff" out into the high grass. I mentioned this to the inspector. He said, "So what?" I retorted with I didn't understand why he doesn't care about the dog "stuff" because I didn't want to drink water contaminated with dog "stuff" nor swim in a creek or water way with dog "stuff" in it either. He said, "Well shucks, golly gee..." (he didn't I just put that in to give this narrative a bit of humor) What he said was that wasn't an issue because there were no pathogens in dog "stuff" that could make humans sick. I said, "Okay then, why don't you eat some of the dog "stuff" if it won't make you sick?" (I was being serious with this inspector) I said there are plenty of contaminants in dog "stuff" that are still problematic. Dog "stuff" can't be that far removed from our "stuff". Read the label on dog food and we as humans could probaby survive quite well on dog food. Hell, I know people back in the Haight that ate dog food on occasion. Kal Kan Beef Stew was quite tasty I was told. So what goes in, in part comes out.
I said if everyone can toss their dog "stuff" over the fence or put it into the trash can to be taken to the land fill, why not put our "stuff" in the trash can and take it to the land fill? The land fill has plenty of toxics in the fill and most land fills are a toxic catastrophy waiting to happen anyway. This would keep the problem "stuff" out of the water and therefore eliminate the problem of septic systems.
I was not being serious (kinda) but I was trying to make a point. I wanted him to recognize that that aside from our human waste, there are probably 100s of millions of pets who's "stuff" is daily tossed around and about without one bit of concern by us, him and his ilk or any government agency. Since none of us will eat this "stuff" or willingly swim in it (nor walk bare footed through it), then it can't be all that healthy just tossing it any ol' place. I told him that if the regulators and inspectors are really concerned about our health, they should consider regulating what we do with the 100s of millions of pounds of daily pet "stuff" we just throw anywhere we want. (I don't want them to regulate anything but it was part of my arguement)
I know this may sound silly on the surface but if I am forced to pay taxes and my tax dollars are then given to people like this inspector who doesn't understand why I don't understand that his job is to "take care of me" (bless his little heart), and when he (they) defends his (their) position in a contraversy by claiming he (they) is looking out after my health and welfare, then why is he only concerned about part of my health? Dog "stuff" is filled with contaminants that are not good for me and CAN POTENTIALLY pollute if tossed carelessly in the wrong place, so why isn't he demanding that something be done about dog "stuff" (because sometime in the future I or others might be made ill from inappropriate contact with it)? If he's being paternal in his personal defense (and he was) about protecting me from me and all of us from each other, then hey, let's go all the way...PROTECT ME! His reply isn't printable. He left and my client didn't replace his disposal field. In fact the striping is gone and its working fine thanks to the Genie.
In a conclusion, I want to finish with these two points. It ain't failed until the situation fits the defination of failure. Make sure you know what the local codes define as disposal field failure. Also, you need to think about who you've empowered to tell you what to do in the name of protecting the environment, drinking water and your health. Some people may have been sickened by pet "stuff"? I haven't heard of anyone off hand but I can say without pause I haven't heard of any epidemic from people being sickened by our "stuff" in this country either. Let's all of us think about how we view issues around waste and what is being forced on us under the claim of protecting us from ourselves. Personally, I don't need to be protected but I don't have a problem with regulatory oversight of all of us with regard to making sure we do something about our waste. I do have a problem with being told how to do it and limiting my options while not limiting my costs. When costs get as high as they are today (though the recession/depression has reduced prices for septic repairs and new installations - but that's a blog for another day) its no wonder a great majority of homeowners will not inform the EHD about any problems their disposal system may have. The EHD's attitudes about their money make the EHD the enemy. No septic system is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
I hope I've given you something to chew on (pardon the pun) and hope I brought a different insight to your attention.
Thanks for stopping by.
One of my customer/clients asked me to meet with an inspector at his property because the inspector was demanding that he immediately replace his drain field. I was to say the least in absolute disagreement with the inspector (I was barely containing my rage at the abuse of authority). He claimed the leach lines were failed and I said they were marginal but still functional. We had nice green grass growing over the leach lines and the striping was obvious. There was no degradation in the soil structure over the leach lines (the ground wasn't spongy or wet) and there were no signs of failure; surfacing effluent over the leach lines or septic tank, nor backed up or slow draining plumbing fixtures. Just really vigorous and rich green growth over the leach lines. As a contractor, I've seen this condition last for five years without the conditions of failure.
The inspector was making noises about how there might be a surfacing event soon and therefore the disposal field had to be immediately replaced. I said I disagreed because he couldn't specify how long in the future this surfacing event might take place. He said that he has to protect people, the environment and drinking water and that if the effluent surfaced, then the potentially harmful contaminants and microbes in the surfacing effluent could make someone ill. I said I can't get the police to pick up someone who might be stalking my daughter sometime in the future. Until he or she actually does something to my daughter (that is defined as illegal) no police action can be taken on what might happen. I said that the same logic applies to septic failure.
Failure is defined to a narrow set of conditions. All conventional septic systems will fail but no one knows exactly when. Therefore until one or more of the conditions of failure occurs, and green striping isn't one of the conditions, the inspector had no authority to demand the homeowner to immediately replace his disposal field. Otherwise he should make the demand that every existing conventional septic system disposal field should be replaced because a failure event is going to happen sometime in the future. Besides which there was a Pirana System installed in the septic tank and the disposal field was being remediated. While we were "discussing" the situation, I watched the owner's teenage son take a shovel and bucket and scoop up a couple of days worth of dog "stuff" from two big German Shepard dogs.
I saw the kid pick up at least six large piles. He put them in the bucket and walked out a back gate into the field behind the fenced area and tossed the dog "stuff" out into the high grass. I mentioned this to the inspector. He said, "So what?" I retorted with I didn't understand why he doesn't care about the dog "stuff" because I didn't want to drink water contaminated with dog "stuff" nor swim in a creek or water way with dog "stuff" in it either. He said, "Well shucks, golly gee..." (he didn't I just put that in to give this narrative a bit of humor) What he said was that wasn't an issue because there were no pathogens in dog "stuff" that could make humans sick. I said, "Okay then, why don't you eat some of the dog "stuff" if it won't make you sick?" (I was being serious with this inspector) I said there are plenty of contaminants in dog "stuff" that are still problematic. Dog "stuff" can't be that far removed from our "stuff". Read the label on dog food and we as humans could probaby survive quite well on dog food. Hell, I know people back in the Haight that ate dog food on occasion. Kal Kan Beef Stew was quite tasty I was told. So what goes in, in part comes out.
I said if everyone can toss their dog "stuff" over the fence or put it into the trash can to be taken to the land fill, why not put our "stuff" in the trash can and take it to the land fill? The land fill has plenty of toxics in the fill and most land fills are a toxic catastrophy waiting to happen anyway. This would keep the problem "stuff" out of the water and therefore eliminate the problem of septic systems.
I was not being serious (kinda) but I was trying to make a point. I wanted him to recognize that that aside from our human waste, there are probably 100s of millions of pets who's "stuff" is daily tossed around and about without one bit of concern by us, him and his ilk or any government agency. Since none of us will eat this "stuff" or willingly swim in it (nor walk bare footed through it), then it can't be all that healthy just tossing it any ol' place. I told him that if the regulators and inspectors are really concerned about our health, they should consider regulating what we do with the 100s of millions of pounds of daily pet "stuff" we just throw anywhere we want. (I don't want them to regulate anything but it was part of my arguement)
I know this may sound silly on the surface but if I am forced to pay taxes and my tax dollars are then given to people like this inspector who doesn't understand why I don't understand that his job is to "take care of me" (bless his little heart), and when he (they) defends his (their) position in a contraversy by claiming he (they) is looking out after my health and welfare, then why is he only concerned about part of my health? Dog "stuff" is filled with contaminants that are not good for me and CAN POTENTIALLY pollute if tossed carelessly in the wrong place, so why isn't he demanding that something be done about dog "stuff" (because sometime in the future I or others might be made ill from inappropriate contact with it)? If he's being paternal in his personal defense (and he was) about protecting me from me and all of us from each other, then hey, let's go all the way...PROTECT ME! His reply isn't printable. He left and my client didn't replace his disposal field. In fact the striping is gone and its working fine thanks to the Genie.
In a conclusion, I want to finish with these two points. It ain't failed until the situation fits the defination of failure. Make sure you know what the local codes define as disposal field failure. Also, you need to think about who you've empowered to tell you what to do in the name of protecting the environment, drinking water and your health. Some people may have been sickened by pet "stuff"? I haven't heard of anyone off hand but I can say without pause I haven't heard of any epidemic from people being sickened by our "stuff" in this country either. Let's all of us think about how we view issues around waste and what is being forced on us under the claim of protecting us from ourselves. Personally, I don't need to be protected but I don't have a problem with regulatory oversight of all of us with regard to making sure we do something about our waste. I do have a problem with being told how to do it and limiting my options while not limiting my costs. When costs get as high as they are today (though the recession/depression has reduced prices for septic repairs and new installations - but that's a blog for another day) its no wonder a great majority of homeowners will not inform the EHD about any problems their disposal system may have. The EHD's attitudes about their money make the EHD the enemy. No septic system is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
I hope I've given you something to chew on (pardon the pun) and hope I brought a different insight to your attention.
Thanks for stopping by.
Monday, March 23, 2009
So You Like Your Cesspool?
I was talking to a fellow from one of the southern coastal states today and he was curious about cesspools since he has one. What he wanted to know was why regulators or "government men" didn't like them as his had worked for 40 years. I told him I didn't know as they are fundamentally the same as a conventional septic system. In fact, a cesspool is a vertical disposal system and a conventional septic system is a horizontal disposal system.
The soils around a cesspool clog with biomat just like the soil around leach lines. This causes the cesspool to hold liquid like a tank. This allows for separation of solids just like in a septic tank. There just isn't as many square feet of absorption area for a cesspool as a leach line for a septic tank. The primary treatment is the same (separation, settling and sequestration of biosolids) but the disposal capabilities are much reduced in a cesspool. This translates into more maintenance and the potential to abandon the existing cesspool and moving it more frequently than replacing a leach field. Often the homeowner merely digs another cesspool to act as a seepage pit or disposal pit and doesn't bother to mention this to the local regulator. For shame. For some reason regulators don't like this lack of control over your toilet discharges. What all this means is the conventional septic system with leach lines is merely a horizontal cesspool.
In forested environments, a cesspool is actually less likely to have problems with roots than a conventional system with leach lines. The large volume of the cesspool doesn't clog with roots as does the distribution lines and the rock infill for the trench. But the regulators don't care about logic or good design. I had a debate once with a regulator in a county in southern California. I tried to reason with him about what seemed an illogical position he was taking. He stood up, looked over the short work space dividers and called out, "Hey Dave. This guy is trying to use logic on me". Dave and he both got a real laugh out of the situation. I retorted with, "I should have realized that I wasn't dealing with people with intelligence and beg your pardon". Needless to say I'm happily not a popular guy in that county.
The Pirana System can restore cesspool soils to proper function just like leach line soils. As I stated, they both fail from exactly the same cause. "Logic" dictates that if you can solve one problem caused by biomat, you can solve another caused by biomat by the same means. In math its stated that if A=B and B=C then A=C. Logical. If you have problems with your cesspool, you really should look into the Pirana. Installations are slightly different for a cesspool than for a septic tank but installation is not a problem. The Pirana can make your cesspool as "dependable" as a conventional septic system (I use the word dependable to mean as long lasting).
The idea of "upgrading" a septic system when its functioning properly, and if its not can be made to function properly again, doesn't make good sense to me. Upgrades from cesspools to conventional septic systems doesn't do a damned thing for pollution or doing a better job at disallowing water contaminated with human waste from entering the environment. We should all stand up and start to resist these arbitrary decisions by bureaucrats that cost a fortune and don't really have sound logic or a good argument to support them.
Thanks for stopping by
The soils around a cesspool clog with biomat just like the soil around leach lines. This causes the cesspool to hold liquid like a tank. This allows for separation of solids just like in a septic tank. There just isn't as many square feet of absorption area for a cesspool as a leach line for a septic tank. The primary treatment is the same (separation, settling and sequestration of biosolids) but the disposal capabilities are much reduced in a cesspool. This translates into more maintenance and the potential to abandon the existing cesspool and moving it more frequently than replacing a leach field. Often the homeowner merely digs another cesspool to act as a seepage pit or disposal pit and doesn't bother to mention this to the local regulator. For shame. For some reason regulators don't like this lack of control over your toilet discharges. What all this means is the conventional septic system with leach lines is merely a horizontal cesspool.
In forested environments, a cesspool is actually less likely to have problems with roots than a conventional system with leach lines. The large volume of the cesspool doesn't clog with roots as does the distribution lines and the rock infill for the trench. But the regulators don't care about logic or good design. I had a debate once with a regulator in a county in southern California. I tried to reason with him about what seemed an illogical position he was taking. He stood up, looked over the short work space dividers and called out, "Hey Dave. This guy is trying to use logic on me". Dave and he both got a real laugh out of the situation. I retorted with, "I should have realized that I wasn't dealing with people with intelligence and beg your pardon". Needless to say I'm happily not a popular guy in that county.
The Pirana System can restore cesspool soils to proper function just like leach line soils. As I stated, they both fail from exactly the same cause. "Logic" dictates that if you can solve one problem caused by biomat, you can solve another caused by biomat by the same means. In math its stated that if A=B and B=C then A=C. Logical. If you have problems with your cesspool, you really should look into the Pirana. Installations are slightly different for a cesspool than for a septic tank but installation is not a problem. The Pirana can make your cesspool as "dependable" as a conventional septic system (I use the word dependable to mean as long lasting).
The idea of "upgrading" a septic system when its functioning properly, and if its not can be made to function properly again, doesn't make good sense to me. Upgrades from cesspools to conventional septic systems doesn't do a damned thing for pollution or doing a better job at disallowing water contaminated with human waste from entering the environment. We should all stand up and start to resist these arbitrary decisions by bureaucrats that cost a fortune and don't really have sound logic or a good argument to support them.
Thanks for stopping by
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Getting A Good Look At Stuff In A Disposal Field
Well here's another day and another set of issues to consider in my world of the unmentionables. I want to try and put up a couple of pictures to save you all the discomfort of having to read my musings. I hope this will make the discussion concerning the problems with the leach field more understandable for those who have no real "view" of what the problem looks like or what the Pirana System can do to solve the problem.
The picture is a clogged leach line in Kansas. You can clearly see the black nasty (and smelly if you were standing there) biomat in the gravel and the soil. If you look closely you can see the black liquid effluent in the hole in the upper right of the picture. This is what eventually happens to every anaerobic conventional septic system leach line and is the primary problem every homeowner faces with these conventional septic systems. They were designed to fail from biomat clogging.
Here is a close up of this wonderful hole in the soil that our septic experts, the septic industry and the regulators think is the way to deal with our "stuff". Obviously Ma Nature isn't impressed and doesn't agree other wise this "stuff" wouldn't be here.
Two months after the installation of the Pirana System this is what the leach line and gravel looks like. Biomat gone and the liquid effluent in the line has been absorbed into the soil.
Here's another close up of the inside of the leach line. Not bad if I do say so myself. The Pirana System technology has won the day. The leach lines are working again and the homeowner saved himself or herself thousands of dollars and one hell of a mess in their yard. No more biomat and no more liquid effluent stored in the leach lines. The next picture is a real eye catcher. Its an Eljen GSF unit with biomat accumulated on it so you can see what pure biomat looks like and what is all through the soil clogging your leach line soils up so your leach lines no longer work.
A friend who is just a homeowner who personally saw this had one thing to say, "Nasty". It is just that. This slimey, gooey and smelly biomat is what is clogging the soils and can be eliminated by the simple installation of a Pirana.
I will leave you with this information and see what other surprises I can bring in my next communication.
Thanks for stopping by.
The picture is a clogged leach line in Kansas. You can clearly see the black nasty (and smelly if you were standing there) biomat in the gravel and the soil. If you look closely you can see the black liquid effluent in the hole in the upper right of the picture. This is what eventually happens to every anaerobic conventional septic system leach line and is the primary problem every homeowner faces with these conventional septic systems. They were designed to fail from biomat clogging.
Here is a close up of this wonderful hole in the soil that our septic experts, the septic industry and the regulators think is the way to deal with our "stuff". Obviously Ma Nature isn't impressed and doesn't agree other wise this "stuff" wouldn't be here.
Two months after the installation of the Pirana System this is what the leach line and gravel looks like. Biomat gone and the liquid effluent in the line has been absorbed into the soil.
Here's another close up of the inside of the leach line. Not bad if I do say so myself. The Pirana System technology has won the day. The leach lines are working again and the homeowner saved himself or herself thousands of dollars and one hell of a mess in their yard. No more biomat and no more liquid effluent stored in the leach lines. The next picture is a real eye catcher. Its an Eljen GSF unit with biomat accumulated on it so you can see what pure biomat looks like and what is all through the soil clogging your leach line soils up so your leach lines no longer work.
A friend who is just a homeowner who personally saw this had one thing to say, "Nasty". It is just that. This slimey, gooey and smelly biomat is what is clogging the soils and can be eliminated by the simple installation of a Pirana.I will leave you with this information and see what other surprises I can bring in my next communication.
Thanks for stopping by.
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