How does your plumbing system work? This picture and brief description will help you better understand your septic system.
Your septic system is in place of what many people would have in a city sewer situation. Instead of going to a main drain line in the street, it gets filtered into your yard.
So does that mean there is sewage in your yard? No. In fact, if you do have sewage in your yard that typically denotes a serious issue with your septic system. There are many different types of systems, but this is how most of them basically work.
- The sewage leaves your home and goes to a large tank. As the sewage sits in the tank the solids sink to the bottom and the other stuff floats to the top. In the middle is “clear water” – and this is the only stuff that should actually go out to your yard. Also, there are little “walls” called baffles that keep anything but the clear water from getting out of the tank (which is why tanks need to be pumped – when they get filled with the other stuff).
- The the water enters the distribution box. This is just a box that makes sure the water is evenly distributed.
- There are perforated pipes called “laterals” that connect to the distribution box and the water travels down them and seeps into your yard, being naturally filtered (to a degree).
That’s basically how a septic system works. Have questions? Contact me!