Septic Tank Problems: Learn How a Septic System Fails

The Septic System Owners Manual / How Does A Septic System Fail?

How Does a Septic System Fail?

All anaerobic septic systems will eventually fail due to one of the following causes:

• Mechanical failures: includes the collapse of an underground pipe, blockage from tree roots or deterioration of the plumbing system.The minority of failures fall into this category. These are generally resolved by hiring a plumber or contractor to replace the damaged components.
• Related to the anaerobic bacterial environment in the septic tank: inadequate anaerobic biochemical processing can cause system backups, septic tank overflow, sewage ponding in the yard and septic odor. The vast majority of septic system failures fall into this category.

What Happens in the Septic Tank Affects the Drainfield

Anaerobic septic system failures almost always occur in the drainfield, but the root cause of the failures can be found in the septic tank and in the marginal efficiency of the anaerobic bacteria! Here is what typically happens:

Start of biomat growth in anaerobic septic system drainfield

Biomat growth progressing along bottom and sides of drainfield

Biomat sealing anaerobic septic system drainfield

• 

  Drainfield filled with wastewater

  Over time, an anaerobic septic tank allows enough unprocessed organic waste and anaerobic bacteria to flow into the drainfield that a biomat begins to form.

• The biomat is an impermeable black, slimy living organic layer made up of anaerobic bacteria and organic matter.

• The biomat grows at the outer boundaries of the drainfield, clogging the pores of the soil intended to allow water to pass back into the ground.

• Incoming wastewater into the drainfield continually carries more organic solids that the biomat uses as a food source to live and grow.

• It grows slowly but constantly, first across the bottom and eventually up the sidewalls of the drainfield.

• As this happens, the homeowner will start to see slow flowing and gurgling drains.

• Failure to implement septic system best practices accelerates the failure process.

• The biomat eventually grows to completely cover all of the outer surfaces of the drainfield.

• At this point, incoming wastewater has no place to go and collects in the drainfield.

• the homeowner now experiences:
  • high water levels in the septic tank
  • septic back-ups
  • ponding in the drainfield

Anaerobic Septic Failure Can Be Prevented and Reversed

Biomat

Anaerobic septic system failure and be prevented and reversed by converting the septic tank to an aerobic environment.

Aerobic bacteria are dramatically more efficient at breaking down organic waste. Consequently, the wastewater leaving the septic tank is cleaner, greatly reducing the food source for a biomat living in a drainfield. As a result, biomats can not live in an aerobic septic system; they are gradually starved and consumed by aerobic bacteria.

Aero-Stream has been extraordinarily successful in executing controlled conversions of anaerobic septic systems to aerobic systems, extending the life of existing systems and saving homeowners thousands of dollars in the process.