Septic Tank, Leach Drains plus bore or Well

[ootai]

I have seen many discussions here and on other sites regarding septic tanks and leach drains in reference to how they work etc. Also I am also aware that there is a need to be careful about placement of these in relation to a bore or well.

For people out there who use Bore and well interchangably I define (for myself) a well as where someone can climb into it otherwise they are both just holes down through the ground to where the water is (hopefully) or else it would then be a dry well or bore.

Anyway as we are not likely to spent the money to have a full hydrogeological survey done to determine where we put the septic in relation to the bore/well, I thought the following information is perhaps the best I have seen about this subject.

I don't think I can paste links but here are the addresses

http://www.cmhc.ca/en/co/maho/gemare/gemare_009.cfm
http://www.cmhc.ca/en/co/buho/buho_003.cfm

Hopefully someone finds them useful. Because they are from Canada you might be able to disregard the bit about preventing your tank from freezing.

[maraudingscot]

I have seen many discussions here and on other sites regarding septic tanks and leach drains in reference to how they work etc. Also I am also aware that there is a need to be careful about placement of these in relation to a bore or well.

For people out there who use Bore and well interchangably I define (for myself) a well as where someone can climb into it otherwise they are both just holes down through the ground to where the water is (hopefully) or else it would then be a dry well or bore.

If you us a "well" or a bore-well to extract your water, which will be found either at the natural water level for that area, or a deeper source. Surely if you are using a "leach/septic" drain there will be a cross contamination effect somewhere along the line!

I would prefer my "soil" waste to be taken away and not have any chance of it seeping into the water for the house. but then you cannot control neighbours so maybe I should set up a system to filtrate all the 5H1T out!

mmmm

[Shrek]

Thanks for the information and the diagrams.

[benlovesnuk]

On-Site Sewage Treatment Alternatives - Virginia Cooperative Extension

This is a very wide ranging and highly descriptive piece of literature. I am looking at a conventional Septic tank as primary filter, maybe with an outflow system to a second aerobic/UV breakdown process like wetland, reed bed distribution.

The main problem for me is tiered levels with the highest part of land being at the front and access only being at the front, like arse to face!

[ootai]

benlovesnuk

That looks like good shit, sorry info. I will make a point of reading it all this weekend while waiting for the football (Aussie rules) to start.

I'm luckier than you as our block slopes slightly downhil from the back of the house and I have no houses(people) at the back of the land. My main concern will be the bore we have down near the current house. So I intend to use a normal septic to second settling tank and then into a leach drain system. On top of the leach drain I will plant bananas and stuff like that which will hopefully suck up most of the water. I know that probably 5 years down the track I will need to dig up the leach drain and clean it out and get rid of the roots etc.

If we drill a new bore I would like to go to the deeper water so hopefully it will be drinkable. I will also get the water from the current bore tested as I think it is probably drinkable and then after the leach system goes in to check if there are any adverse effects.