Ditto, no toilet. We have discovered the old cesspit (puit perdu) ourselves. There was an area that smelled bad for no apparent reason. We dug, found a 'chamber' and then wished we hadn't. We had it filled in with soil but there is still a whiff when that bit of ground gets really hot.
Yes Mike, we have had this problem -- but it was in Australia, not the USA, and it put the entire system out of commission.
Just before we left for Europe in 2010, we had what was called a 'once in 200 year' rainfall here in Central Victoria. We lived on 7 and 1/2 acres in the country and our entire septic tank system was under water for a full week.
It had to be completely pumped out and the plumber discovered that all of the electronics had fried. BUT, the good thing was that when the electronic sensors were changed out, it all worked perfectly again. The repair bill was a rather shocking $1,000, but we were quite lucky because we were completely covered by our homeowner's insurance.
The drain fields were under water too -- and it took 2 weeks for them to be functional again. Thank heavens we had a composting toilet in a separate small building next to our art studio -- just a short walk across the driveway.
You're quite correct about drainage and the local council, too. Our land would not have flooded if the local council had EVER finished the upgrades of the drainage ditches that ran parallel to our road. It was quite aggravating because our annual property taxes are supposed to pay for such things.
Good luck with getting it sorted out!
We have a high water table. All the old properties have wells. After a long period of heavy rain, I have dug a hole and found water only 20cm. below the surface.
I know I should do something to send roof water further away from the house, but I am not sure that will be a complete solution. Strangely, we are quite high up compared with other properties, so I think that if the mairie did something about improving drainage with roadside ditches, that would make a big difference. But, of course, they don't have money for that sort of thing.
We have only had noticeable problems the last couple of years when we have had exceptional winter rain. Maybe that won't happen too often, but with global warming, who knows?
Previous residents of our peasant ruin managed without a toilet. Perhaps we should go back to the old ways........
If you have that problem then your local SPANC could have you change the lot if there is the very slightest chance you are allowing effluents to go into the ground water. It is a weird contradiction since it is put into the ground by the dispersal pipes in the ground!
Even with the heavy rain the spring this year we had no problem. One thing I have done is plant with irises, reeds and right now have some superb bullrushes and my gunnera leaves are 1.5m. The planting keeps the ground from saturating to much, plus we are on a hillside anyway. So whilst the hillside was saturated and I walked up to my ankles in water some days, it all flows away in hours.
Hi Debra,
In normal use a septic tank fills up in about a month. The solids settle and the liquids overflow into a "drain field." That is a pattern of perforated pipes surrounded with small stones, buried underground, so that the water percolates into the surrounding soil. If due to flooding or rapid snow melt, the ground becomes saturated, the drain field may fill with surface water and then the septic tank cannot empty. Flushing may become less effective and in the worst case scenario, sewage may back up into the property.
http://www.precisionhomeinspect.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sept...
I hope that explains........