The house I moved into has an OSSF system. There is a perforated drip line that is buried about 6-8 inches beneath the surface of soil (according to the specs). The system is setup to run on a timer. It runs for 15 minutes 6 times a day. The 15 minute increment is the shortest amount of time that the timer can support. The specs for the system says to run it in 7 minute bursts but that isn't possible with this timer.

The OSSF system runs along the side of my house and across the backyard. In one area near the back of my house, I get some soggy-ness on the surface and puddling when the system runs. Maybe a 5x10 ft area is soggy and a couple 12 inch puddles. Once the system is done running, the water dissipates in about 20 minutes.

The drain field is generally sloped away from my house. But in the area that it gets soggy, the field is flat or even has a bit of an indention. I also did a little digging when I first saw the puddling and found that the drip line was only about 5 inches below the surface in that area.

Is this a simple matter of grading? If I added a few inches of soil and made it slope away from the house, would that fix it?

Or is there some sort of treatment or repair that would be necessary?

Should I dig up the drip lines in that area and see if there are any gushers or leaks?


Thanks,
Sal

 

Saying you have an on sight sewage system (OSSF) system doesn't tell us much other than you have an Engineered system. In many areas it's illegal for a homeowner to do any repair or maintenance as all work must be performed by licensed professionals... in some areas. So, first I would check to see if you are legally allowed to do anything with your system. Next, I would start asking around to find a reputable contractor/installer for your type system. It could be worth the money to have them out for an on-site inspection. Since your specs call for a 7 minute pump time and you're running for 15 right away that's one sign that your system might not be set up properly.