Wednesday, September 6, 2000

By DAVE HAMIRCK
dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com

Prevention may be the best solution for many older homes on septic systems in Fayette County, according to Rick Fehr, environmental health director.
County officials are concerned that many older septic systems may fail, and space for replacement systems may not be available. That's because a law requiring that each home have room for two septic systems, not just one, wasn't passed until the mid-1980s.
Failures of some of the older systems may mean that residents will lose their homes, said Fehr.
And if you're looking for reassurance, there's not much available in the way of statistics except uncertainty. Older septic systems are no more likely, and no less likely, to fail than newer ones.
"They have a finite amount of time that they'll function, but we don't know what that is," said Fehr.
Fehr's advice is that homeowners get in touch with his office for information on how to maintain and increase the useful lives of their septic systems.
Most important among the suggestions they'll be given is to have those systems inspected periodically, he said. "On a routine basis, you should have that system examined by an approved septage company. You don't necessarily have to have it pumped out, but the septage company can say whether it needs to be pumped or not. That's kind of important."
Every system is different. One system might need to be pumped out every year, while others might go several years without being pumped. Start by having your system inspected every year or so, Fehr suggested, and then if all is well, you might cut back to inspections only every three to five years.
The next most important bit of advice from Fehr is: "Make sure you're not putting things into [the system] that will shorten its life-span."
Bleach and detergent are not big problems, he said. The big culprit is grease. "Pouring grease into your system will gum it up quicker than anything," he said.
And it's actually okay to use a garbage disposal, he said, but don't put stuff into the garbage disposal that's not going to decompose easily... like animal bones and food that contains animal fat.
"I don't care how much you grind up the fat, it's going to be grease in your tank," he said.
Some companies advertise that their garbage disposals are specially designed for use with septic systems, but before you pay a lot extra for such a device, Fehr said, check with the state environmental office.
As for chemicals that are advertised as biological agents to help decompose the contents of the septic tank, Fehr said there's no evidence of whether they work. if you want to use them, you may or may not be wasting your money.
For more advice, phone 770-460-5730, extension 5415.

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