yes i was expecting the one about the spinach and other greens leaves, we are kept abreast of the news world wide. but you are confusing the 2 surely the water that was sued to wash those greesn may have been the contamnient? and if the suers would have washed them then maybe nothing would have happened, or it could have been contaminated in the packing shed? i'm not sure if they ever realy found out any one thing to blame so just threw a blanket over it. we have the same products on our supemarket shelves come from all poins of australia, thee ash never been any health problem from people eating this product i ahve consumed my fair sahre of it, the packet does say wash before eating, but does everyone/anyone?? that is of course and etirely different scenero to someone growing as i ahve suggested i would above ground crops that we all wash in any case and most ge cooked. so best not for us to confuse the boundries let officialdom do that they do it best. yes there are and will be pathogens in septic water even into teh leach field but microbes and worms take care of them in that environment, the ae different ecoli bacteria all around the place the garden soils you work will have them not all are cause fatalities and some a stomach ache that is not debilatating. but no one is suggesting you drink the septic water or not wash hands thoroughly after all garden work, and no one is suggesting root crops which if eaten raw could very well pose a health problem, but if washed and cooked then no problem the health authorities say this. like they say if you tend to personnal hand hygene you will lessens you risk to different viruses passed on from contact of contaminated surfaces generally in public places. so again i ask you do you have hard case evidence of major group health issues and the health system being swamped maybe, i dunno a pandemic?? i see recall of meat products in the USA is this to be blamed on leach fields or bad processing practises? len

Virginia Cooperative Extension http://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-617/426-617.html Vegetable Gardens and Drainage Fields Sometimes the ideal place to put a vegetable garden seems to be over the leach field, raising the question of bacterial and viral contamination from the effluent. Soils vary a great deal in their ability to filter viruses and bacteria. Clay soils work best, eliminating bacteria within a few inches of the drain trenches, but sandy soils may allow bacterial movement for several feet. A properly operating system will not contaminate the soil with disease-causing organisms, but it is very difficult to determine if a field is operating just as it should. If at all possible, use your septic drain field for ornamentals and plant your vegetables elsewhere. If you must plant vegetables, take the following precautions. Do not plant root crops over drain lines. Leafy vegetables could be contaminated by rain splashing soil onto the plant, so either mulch them to eliminate splashing or don't grow them. Fruiting crops are probably safe; train any vining ones such as cucumbers or tomatoes onto a support so that the fruit is off the ground. Thoroughly wash any produce from the garden before eating it. Do not construct raised beds over the field; they might inhibit evaporation of moisture. Cornell Cooperative Extension > Gardening http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/ Here is a link that might be useful: septic system garden

The EPA and the CDC recommend 50 ft distance for a water well to a leach field. So if you are worried about contaminants to the corn roots that would probably be considered a safe distance. You should also consider that birds and other animals will deposit contaminants in your corn field. I would be more concerned about the vegetable roots getting into the leach lines. Three feet away would probably be a good distance if you worry about that. Or if you don't do a lot of worrying just plant non root vegetables ( no onions, carrots, potatoes) and enjoy the bountiful harvest. This post was edited by zeuspaul on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 12:17

crikey ... how deep is the field ... and will anything you grow on top ... get their roots .... to the actual depth ... mine is 2 to 3 feet down .. in sand ... and water doesnt leach upwards ... so i simply dont see what difference it could make ... as with wells ... someone in the county ought to have access to permit/installation information ... i think i tracked my well info thru the county health dept ... [i had started by calling well drillers .. there are only 3 in the county .... until one of them gave me the lead .. you might try the same with septic installers] once you have some actual facts... THEN ... you might get some actual relevant advice .. and... maybe the health dept peeps will have info ... good luck ken