Our house was built in the early 1970s and our whole neighborhood is on septic, despite being a populous suburb of Atlanta. We have lived in the house since 1999 and didn't had a problem with the tank until late 2012, when sewage started backing up into our basement shower and toilet. We called a septic company and they "pumped" the tank in just a few minutes and basically didn't do much, after they did the work, it was clear that they were scamming us, so we brought in another company. They found that some component made of concrete had been eroded by built up methane gas and replaced with plastic. We believed the issue was resolved. Well, a few weeks ago the basement toilet started gurgling and soon we discovered the basement shower had filled with waste. We reduced our water usage, stopped using the dishwasher, washed loads of clothes hours or days apart, etc. It rained for a couple of days and the problem occurred again, on one occasion the toilet flooded the floor. We went on vacation for a week and came back to a basement that had been flooded with waste. The carpet was completely saturated and we've been running dehumidifiers and sucking up all the water we can with a shop vac. We had the septic tank company we had used before out to look at it yesterday. The water was around 4 inches above the outlet and did not drain away when the filter was removed. The guy told us it was probably a clog in the field lines. It took hours to pump and clean the tank and while flushing the field lines, a bunch of mud came back up and they told us our pipes were collapsed. The company told us the only way to fix this was to get all the appropriate permits and people out to determine where we could dig and place new field lines. The guy told us that it is now illegal to repair/replace any existing field lines and that the environmental agency and the government were solely responsible for determining where the new lines could go, regardless of the cost. As far as I understand, our tank is fine, so we only need to replace the drain field. The guy said the engineers would want to put the lines either in the vacant lot next to us (we own the property but it is full of trees) or through the front of the house, which means we will need another tank. Upon pumping the tank, the guy told us we had maybe 2 weeks to get this done before our basement floods again. So far I cannot find much on this sort of problem and if the pipes can actually be repaired or replaced. Has anybody had experience with this particular problem? We are going to get it fixed ASAP. We could use all the help we could get, thanks!



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The water being above the outlet does prove the problem to be with the distribution box or field lines themselves. Its not uncommon for field lines to fail after many years of use. In the county I live in a septic permit will only be issued if there are future repair areas available for new field lines.
You will probably need an official from the health department to come out and discuss the options you may have.

I saw commercial on TV for a local septic company that claimed that they offer a service for clearing out drain fields by somehow using compressed air; drain fields could be put back in working order without any digging. I've never heard of such a procedure. Is this a legitimate method, or a band-aid, get the money and run deal?

Thumping and injection air into the distribution field lines. Its an artform and one would require a warranty for the process.

Of course septic discipline should be observed.
Best Wishes