Keep Your Feet on the Ground

Concrete deterioration, abandoned cesspools and DIY repairs are serious issues when working around septic systems.

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In the past few months, there have been articles and news reports from various parts of the country about homeowners falling into septic tanks. Fortunately, the most recent ones I’ve seen resulted in the homeowners being rescued with no real harm done other than the embarrassment.

Those articles were coupled with someone sharing a practice that I was previously unaware of: trying to “fix” a concrete tank with a deteriorating lid by placing rebar on top of the lid and pouring concrete over the top of the tank.

Temporary repairs

When my colleagues and I do workshops on tank inspection, we highlight in a humorous manner that if you are probing a tank and you hear the splash of concrete into the contents of the tank, step back! You are in danger of falling through into the tank. In any discussions I have had with people in the precast concrete industry, they have noted that if a tank is showing signs of advanced deterioration — such as concrete falling off in chunks and rebar showing through the concrete — the tank is not sound and needs to be replaced.

Solutions such as the one described above may temporarily save the homeowner some money, but unless the cause of the deterioration is addressed, it does not solve the problem. Deterioration will continue, making that tank in the backyard a safety hazard for the homeowner and anyone else who walks across the area.

This opens the homeowner and the company that provided the “fix” to potential lawsuits where the outcome may not be as positive as just fishing someone out of a tank. Every year there are multiple stories about people who fall into septic tanks or cesspools and die, so it is nothing to take lightly or to try to take shortcuts to save a few bucks.

Dangers below

In one recent case, a homeowner in Massachusetts was standing on a stepladder in the tank trying to make his own repairs. The news story didn’t say what those repairs were, but the incident shows the need for continued customer education. Advise homeowners that only professionals with proper safety equipment and knowledge should be making the repairs. I speculate that he was trying to remove some type of blockage in the sewer line when he fell off the ladder into the sewage and could not get out.

From the photos published with the story, it appears the tank was very shallow, which meant dangerous gases could dissipate and the homeowner was able to get fresh air. As everyone in the industry is aware, having adequate oxygen can be a major issue in deeper tanks. This is when those unfamiliar with the risks can be overcome and ultimately lose their life. Using proper equipment for confined-space entry is important, and a job like this should never be done alone.

Cesspool worries

In some areas, seepage pits and cesspools present other potential problems that homeowners and professionals should be aware of. Those systems may have been replaced by more up-to-date technology, but the cesspool or seepage pit may not have been properly abandoned. Each of these is a potential death trap for the unsuspecting, and just about every year there are reports of homeowners disappearing in their backyard when they have walked over the area of an old seepage pit, the ground collapses and they fall in.

Construction of cesspools and seepage pits usually involved using concrete blocks with spaces between and no bottom, so they are technically not tanks. Nevertheless, this type of construction was common 50 to 70 years ago, and the blocks deteriorate and ultimately collapse. Often the current homeowner isn’t aware of the system since it was replaced by newer technology or a municipal sewer connection.

When found, these structures should be properly abandoned by collapsing the blocks into the hole and then filling with a granular material such as sand, compacting the material and covering over the area. If feasible, removal of the blocks is desirable. While this is probably an unanticipated expense for the homeowner, it is necessary to ensure safety.



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