Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It isn't just the acreage, its the soils that existon that acreage. Which is why percolation tests are done before a septic system is designed for a parcel. Not all soils will be compatible with a septic system. Someone who has a septic system needs to be mindful what they pour down their house drains. Many chemicals will damage or kill off the microbe community that keeps a septic system functional. If managed properly, all that's going into a septic system is biodegradable by those microorganisms. Besides, solids don't just get poured into the ground. They stay in a septic tank which needs to be pumped out periodically. How often depends on multiple factors. Then liquids flow off the top of the septic tank contents into a leach field. The surrounding soils can filter what's left so it doesn't foul the water table or surrounding water bodies. Obviously, there are limits to how many septic systems can "fit" in any area of soil.
This is correct - it's the soil and limit of how many septic system can fit.
The other big issue is does this house have city water or well water? If it's well water, the well needs to be deep so there is separation between the well water and the sewer water.
the city's sewer system is safer and more sanitary in the long term
Two different friends of mine would highly disagree. One suffered a public sewer back up during a rain storm, another suffered a public sewer back up when a sanitary main clogged near his house. Both instances resulted in damage so severe the entire house needed to be gutted to the studs and rebuilt. And sure, a home's septic system could also back up but the damage would be controlled by simply turning off the water. Whereas with public systems it's uncontrollable. Also the yuck factor is roughly 10000000X with public vs your own poop.
From a technical and engineering standpoint, a septic system is, generally speaking, no less environmentally safe than a public system. It could easily be argued that they have an even lower environmental impact. Each septic system is different from another and each public wastewater system is different from another. The variables that determine the true environmental impact of both are countless.
How does requiring a change from septic to sewer when selling a house increase development in that area?
Depends on the zoning and the underlying land.
There are a lot of properties that are unbuildable due to various factors: proximity to surface water, the water table, the soil composition, that make it impossible to install a traditional (or even a newer design non-traditional) septic system.
A central sewer system makes those properties buildable.
The other is density. Again, due to negative property factors tied to lot size from the above that limit septics, a central system takes away those limitations and allows greater density (say a change to 2 acre lots from 5 acres).
Two different friends of mine would highly disagree. One suffered a public sewer back up during a rain storm, another suffered a public sewer back up when a sanitary main clogged near his house. Both instances resulted in damage so severe the entire house needed to be gutted to the studs and rebuilt. And sure, a home's septic system could also back up but the damage would be controlled by simply turning off the water. Whereas with public systems it's uncontrollable. Also the yuck factor is roughly 10000000X with public vs your own poop.
From a technical and engineering standpoint, a septic system is, generally speaking, no less environmentally safe than a public system. It could easily be argued that they have an even lower environmental impact. Each septic system is different from another and each public wastewater system is different from another. The variables that determine the true environmental impact of both are countless.
Your friends picked a very costly way to learn about "backup prevention valves."
Very common code requirements.
Onsite septic system messes are far more common than municipal sewer messes.
Poor installs.
Poor owner maintenance.
Deterioration of concrete.
I was not aware this could be a hazard. Cholera - really?
The lot of this particular house is just over an acre.
My first thought is that someone from the local govt is in bed with a company or two who do the work. I hate thinking that way, but there is so much damn corruption, it's hard not to.
I am not buying the house, but I was curious anyway. Always good to learn something. Apparently, the cost to do this is around 20k. Yikes. It was supposedly built into the asking price, so the buyer will not ultimately be responsible for the cost. I have my doubts if that will really work out for whoever buys the house; as I am not a potential buyer, I have not done any comps, but based on the little bit that I have been keeping my eye on certain areas, the asking price seems inline with FMV.
Cheers.
There is a rural community near where I live. All septic/well and that worked fine until it became a neighborhood, every lot sold/99% built on. So now you have a 1000+ homes and everybody is pulling water from the same groundwater and putting the waste right back in the same ground......
I have family member who had purchased a home without the city pipes/sewer system hooked up. The septic cost a fortune to install and it was a ***** to clean out.
I have family member who had purchased a home without the city pipes/sewer system hooked up. The septic cost a fortune to install and it was a ***** to clean out.
Then they were doing something wrong. One doesn't clean out their own tank, they hire a company to pump it and it costs maybe $300-350 every 4-5 years. We've had septic in our last two homes, 24 years here, with never an issue.
I have family member who had purchased a home without the city pipes/sewer system hooked up. The septic cost a fortune to install and it was a ***** to clean out.
Obviously, you're going to lay out quite a bit of $ if you choose to buy an unfinished property without a septic or sewer connect already in place. Hopefully the asking price takes that into consideration. Sure, a neglected system can fail and need replacement. That's what buyer inspections are for. Buying a pig in a poke isn't smart.
All my houses have been on septic. The systems were already in place. Sewer was never available then and would probably never be feasible. Not one of my septics has ever failed or needed repair. Routine tank pumping every few years plus paying attention to what goes down the drain. It just isn't that hard to manage. How frequently the tanks got pumped varied due to local conditions. My last 3 houses were in AK where the soils stay cold enough year round that septic microorganism activity is very low. Tanks need pumping a bit more often. Just the way it is. IIRC, the last service this house needed cost about $300 but based on usage, upkeep shouldn't cost me anything for the next 5+ years.
Last edited by Parnassia; 07-18-2023 at 03:45 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
