Alrighty guys, I had my septic pumped twice since Feburary, and recently 2 weeks ago. Well we have had lots of rain the past few weeks. & our septic is backing up in the tub again. I called the septic service and told them what was happening again & he said field lines need replaced and it was going to be $4000. We live in at the bottom of our neighbors hill. And when it rains all the rain comes down that hill and into our front yard... There once was a Trench to help with the rain fall. My fiancé is wanting to dig another trench and see if this will help the issue. What would you guys recommend.

Does the rainwater puddle/lay in the front yard? If so, that could be enough to affect the drainfield. Keep in mind that winter and spring are the wettest seasons and once you get thru both, the situation may be alleviated. You may also consider a backwater valve between the tank and field.

If the trench is deep enough that will most likely take care of the situation. It needs to be positioned as to catch all of the run off from the hill. I would place a 4" perforated corrugated pipe in the bottom of the ditch and run the end of it out of the ground below the area of your field lines. Then finish filling the ditch with wash stone.
An onsite evaluation may turn up more options or better way of doing it, but the ditch with gravel will almost always work. Just replacing the field lines may not improve the situation as the ground is likely saturated and new lines in wet dirt still won't work.

You have what is called Leach field failure. Unfortunately this is hard to correct without replacement. Some of the causes

1) improper location in impervious soil (clay) or too wet condition which sounds like your problem
2) clogging of the field with improper or not frequent pumping of the septic tank causing solids to bpass the tank and pass into the leach field or too much effluent which overwhelms the leach field. You Could try to make a trench to divert the water from the field. However the field may take too long to recover.
3) the leach field can be damaged however by driving on the field (comnpress the soils and make it impervious to water)

Having the ability to perform and onsite inspection is much better than having a crystal ball on the Internet. A septic system that is "aged" can present all kinds of issues, depending on how well it was protected and serviced. Cleaning the tank, does not resolve issues in the distribution field, if the laterals are blocked. Air injection has resolved some issues, but an inspection by licensed professionals is still the best way to .... consider.

Best Wishes

Make sure your septic risers are above ground and sealed properly.

Inspector to give you an honest and full assessment of the septic system. This will help you to know the condition of the septic system and what to expect. At Septic Works LLC, our professional septic inspectors are ready and willing to serve all residential, commercial and municipal clients. Our septic tank services include:

Septic inspection level 1: This is a visual inspection that involves running water from various drains and flushing toilets in the home. The septic tank inspector is looking at how well everything is draining. The visual inspection also includes looking for septic leakage to the top of the drain field area. We also check for sewage odors in the area of the septic tank and the leach field. This inspection can help identify problems but a level two can give our septic inspectors a better idea on issues with your septic system.

Septic inspection level 2: We do a septic tank pumping. We remove the cover of the septic tank. This allows our septic tank inspectors to check the water level. Water levels determine whether water is properly draining. To make sure the water is properly flowing, our septic inspectors will run water in the home. This is done to determine if the water level rises when more water is introduced. Next, we will check out if your septic system has backflow from the absorption area. Backflow will let us know if there is a problem with the leach field.

After this is done, our septic inspectors will pump your tank. Next, we will check out if your septic system has backflow from the absorption area. Backflow will let us know if there is a problem with the drain field.

Septic inspection level 3: We highly recommend you choose this option when you are purchasing a new home. The level three septic inspection includes both levels one and two. The difference with level three is that we install baffles. In many states, this is now mandated by the Department of Environmental Health. We install baffles in two separate locations: an inlet baffle and an outlet baffle. The inlet baffle allows water to flow into your septic system without disturbing the scum layer. This baffle guides wastewater to flow down, across the septic tank and then up. The outlet baffle serves as a filter to retain solids from traveling to the leach field.



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