Let's Talk Water Table

We are receiving a lot of calls lately on full tanks, slow flushes, gurgling drains, etc. This is common during this time of year, as the seasonal water table is on the rise.

What does that mean? The depth to the water table can change (rise or fall) depending on the time of year. During the late winter and spring when accumulated snow starts to melt and rainfall is plentiful, water on the surface soaks into the ground and the water table rises. We are experiencing that now. This depth can vary greatly within a given neighborhood or subdivision. Your neighbor down the street may have a different water table depth than your property. That may explain why their system works and yours doesn't, or their system may have been installed more shallow in the ground.

If you are experiencing some issues with your system right now, the seasonal water table is likely the problem. The leach field may be in this "zone". That means nothing can flow out of the tank, because the leach field pipes/chambers are under water.

That is also the reason we maintain separation distances from the water table during installs. We don't want effluent (unclean water) to pass from the tank, right into the water table without treatment by the soil "bugs". Lift-stations may be required to pump the effluent higher into the ground,

depending on the depth of your existing sewer line or tank.

We can typically judge if the water table is an issue by determining the depth of the field or observing the tank levels or flow back during pumping. After performing a thorough system evaluation, we will then determine a solution for your septic system.