Let’s Talk About Poop!…

Well, alright we’ll just keep it to how poop gets out of your house – specifically, in a septic system.  And not just any septic, this is the mother of all complicated septic systems.  Why you ask?  Well, let me explain…

The point of any septic system is to break down the waste and eventually return it back filtered and clean – well, cleaner.  Therefore the entire design of the septic system depends on how the waste will eventually dissipate into the natural surroundings and re-join us in society.  Exciting isn’t it?  That is to say, once it’s been properly filtered of course.  This occurs in a couple of ways; it either evaporates into the sky or percolates into the soil.  Because of this, engineers will design either an evaporation system or a percolation system.  This decision is controlled mostly by cost, which is controlled by the condition of the soil.  Oh yes… back to expansive soils.

As it turns out, clay is a builder’s worst nightmare on all fronts.  Not only is it impossible to build anything structurally sound on top of it, but it’s also hard to dissipate anything sufficiently through it.  This is known in construction as a percolation rate, or a ‘perc rate’.

When the perc rate is poor, then septic systems get complex, and leach fields get massive, as explained further in this video…