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is this my septic tank???????

15 years ago

the only way i can describe what is in my backyard would be a "sink hole". it is at the bottom of a hill in our backyard, about 25 ft from the house. i would say it is about a 3ft radius. it appeared sometime this winter. is this some sort of problem with our septic system? there is no odor and no visible water problem anywhere in the yard. any help????

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Comments (8)

alphonse
15 years ago
Could be. Any sign of a vent or manway? Stick a shovel in the earth and see how far it goes, tanks aren't very deep normally. If you live in a rocky area, make sure it's concrete and not rock you run into.
maryland_irisman
15 years ago
I agree, it could be the septic tank, your descriptions do point that way. Is this a new house? If so, the backfilled soil may have settled. The procedure alphonse suggested would be the way to find out. I would think there is a clean out pipe somewhere in that area to help confirm the presence of one.
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Excellent idea. Been using that type of system for years. Have one 1100 gal tank buried above the garden. Wish I had two. It's connected to all the house and out buildings' down spouts so it fills up pretty fast in moderate rain. Keep the drain field intact for overflow and recharging groundwater. I have a 1/2 hp spa pump mounted on a platform above the tank and the intake footvalve suspended a couple of inches above the bottom. A buried black plastic line carries the water down to the main hydrant. Have all the waterpressure and GPM I need. Make sure your septic suckers get it as clean as they can, then after the tank fills up with rain water pump it out on a unused part of the garden and rototill it in. Do this a couple of times and the water you collected will be good for ground application. I never water the foliage. I also have a fresh water hydrant at the pump to fill sprayers and to prime the pump if the footvalve leaks. In the fall the pump plug is pulled to drain and the main hydrant is opened to prevent freeze damage. Make sure all your wiring for the pump is run through a GFI device. Good luck
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If it were a cover, it would be only 4" thick or so. Have you dug down BELOW it in order to see that it is attached to a tank or the neck of a tank? I still have my doubts. It still looks like a bootscraper anchored in a roughshod hunk of concrete. I don't know if you care about this, but the walk looks like brick on sand. If so, its concrete edge is improperly installed and thus, unsightly. If it were properly installed, you would not see it as the surface. Since I'm only seeing a piece of it, I don't know what would be involved in a re-do. But if you care, or begin to care, about appearance, you might want to add it to your list of things to do.
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joed
15 years ago
An active septic tank would certainly smell. It could be an old abandoned tank, It could be an old well. It could be a sumpump outlet that has washed away the soil.
Take proper precautions not fall in if you are going to approach it.
If someone falls in DO NOT go in after them. More than one person has died by climbing into a bad air tank to try and rescue someone else.
gglks
Original Author
15 years ago
yikes!!!! it's not a new house....built in the 70's. we had our tank cleaned in november and there were no problems at that point. also, the sinkhole is not right near the tank itself. i'm thinking at the end of a drain or leach line????? should i just call a plumber?
davidandkasie
15 years ago
if it is not wher teh tank itself is, then it could be anything. possibly even and old stump that was covered and finally rotted out. how deep a depression is it?
alphonse
15 years ago
Making the assumption that the house-actually, the septic system- was constructed under the auspice of a sanitation agent acting on behalf of a municipality or other governing body (township,etc.), AND that it is NOT your actual tank, the leach (drain) field is probably not sited at the bottom of a hill. Such an area would be subject to external floodwater, and leach fields don't "want" the extra burden.
Given the year of construction and stricture of the lot, and being proximate to the septic tank, it COULD be part of the leach field, or perhaps a pre-field filter, like a Zable.
If it is a septic issue, it will have characteristic smell. Better to call your tank pumper than a plumber, even if only to act as referral.
joed
15 years ago
Post some pictures. It's hard to say who to call without knowing what it is.
An excavator might be in order to dig it out or fill it in.
pjb999
15 years ago
Whatever it is, be careful!

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