Septic system maintenance
Karen Mancl

About 1 million households in Ohio are located beyond the city sewer and must treat and dispose of wastewater on the lot.  Like all of the appliances and structures in your home, sewage treatment systems require care and will eventually have to be upgraded or even replaced.

Septic systems consist of two basic parts -a septic tank and a soil absorption system.  The septic tank provides a small portion of the treatment by creating a large, quiet compartment to allow solid material to settle out of the  wastewater and collect in the tank.  Once the large solid material is settled out, the sewage flows into a deep layer of unsaturated soil, where the soil and microoganisms growing in the soil remove the pollutants before the wastewater enters ground or surface water.

Septic systems are simple to operate and, when properly designed, constructed and maintained, they do an excellent job of removing pollutants from wastewater to protect Ohio's water resources.  Property owners must do a few important things to keep their system operating for 20 to 30 years.

• Conserve water by repairing leaks and installing water-conserving fixtures.

• Careful landscaping that diverts rainwater drainage away from the soil absorption system area.  Keep parking areas and pavement off of the soil absorption area and do put additional soil fill over the soil absorption system area.

• Pump the septic tank on a regular basis, using Table 1(see below) as a guideline.  Do not use biological or chemical additive in place of septic tank pumping.
  

Upgrade a septic system every 20 to 30 years.  Just like the house roof, driveway and furnace, septic systems require upgrades and possibly replacement.  Tanks, pipes and other system components deteriorate over the years of contact with sewage.  Standards have changed and research has developed new and better approaches to treating sewage onsite to protect the health of the residents, the community and the environment.  While some older systems may have met standards when they were installed, upgrades and replacements will take advantage of the tremendous advances scientists and engineers have developed to improve wastewater treatment.  Be prepared for new or upgraded systems to be different from the system that may have been installed decades ago.

To learn more about septic systems, look for Extension fact sheet AEX740 Septic System Maintenance and other wastewater treatment publications at www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~settll.

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Karen Mancl, professor and Extension water quality specialist, wrote this article in cooperation with Brian Slater, assistant professor and Extension soil scientist, School of Natural Resources.