I'm currently on a septic system. Our city is planning to run a sewer line into our neighborhood 'in the next couple of years'. My question is how/where will I connect my drain into the new sewer line? I have an existing wood deck that sits over my septic tank and discharge location from the house. Its old and I'm ready to replace it with a new composite deck. If I have to rip the deck out to get access to run the new sewer line, I'll wait. However, if I can re-route the drain line under the house and out to the front of the yard (where the new sewer line will be) and abandon the old drain and septic tank in place, I'll go ahead and re-do the deck now.

So, my question is: When I tie into the new sewer line (located in the front of the house), can I cut the drain line under the house and re-route it to the new sewer line, cap the old drain line and abandon it and the septic tank in place under the back deck? Or do I have to tie in on the old septic system someplace out near the septic tank?

Thanks,
Kent

 

Hi Kent.

Do you have a crawl, basement, slab?

Yes. If you have a lower area to access the sewer pipe, you can route to the front of the house. You will need to cut it all out and pitch the pipe the opposite way. Some people keep it going out the back, so they do not have to disconnect everything. Then they trench around the house to the front. All the issues I have seen with doing it that way, is the lines often clogg at the turn from the back to the front of the home. Make sure you put a long sweep there.

Also, are they making you tie into the sewer? I would wait until they make you or your septic fails. By code you need to break the septic tank apart and fill it in if you abandon it.

Plus you get that nice sewer bill every quarter.

Alot to think about.

Mike NJ

 

Will your municipality require you to connect to the sewer? When will the sewer connection be required? If it will be several years give or take before the project is due to be completed and they are giving you so many years to connect... it could be quite a long time before you are required to connect. You may not even be required to connect.

I'm With Mike (Lowrosa). I would not connect unless I had to. There is usually a connection fee and sometimes it is very expensive. Then you bear the cost of excavating and installing the line to connect to the sewer, also expensive.

How far does your deck extend from the house and how high is it off the ground. If it's not very deep and it's high enough an excavator could reach under the deck, or worst case that part may have to be hand dug.

 

The city will require us to hook up once the line is installed (likely a year +) so waiting until the septic system fails wont be an option. I have a crawl space with plenty of room to make the re-route under the house. I did not know about the requirement to break up/fill in the tank? How is that accomplished? Is it possible just to fill in the tank with sand/grout? If I have to get in there with a backhoe, I'll have to remove the deck.

 

You have to pysically break down the walls and bottom so it will not hold any effulent.

Mike NJ

 

Check with your local inspectors as to what they require to decommission your septic tank. Some areas require that the tank be broken/destroyed while others only require that it be pumped out to remove the sewage and then filled so it does not present a drowning hazard in the future.

 

thanks -- this is all good info.