How to Live With a Small Septic System

An overflowing tank can lead to sewage backups in the home, leaks along the sewer pipes, or failures in the tank and drain field. Fortunately, if your family has grown but not your house, you can implement certain strategies so that you can continue to live with the current capacity of the tank.

Understanding the minimum requirements and determining where your tank falls within these requirements is important. Keep in mind that minimum requirements were enforced when the home was built. Change in usage over the years can make these minimums obsolete.

In Pennsylvania, code requires a 900-gallon tank minimum for homes with up to three bedrooms. Tank size requirements go up as water usage increases, but the code only requires an increase in size by 100 gallons for each additional bedroom in the home. For those in smaller homes with larger families, or those that have special items like a hot tub, the minimum requirements may not be enough.

You must know your tank size before you can determine whether it is too small. Ideally, your home documentation should list your tank size, or you should be able to access it through your city planning office. If these options don’t work, a service technician can determine the size of your tank for you.

Once you have your tank measurements and have decided that the tank is too small for your needs even though it meets state requirements, you must decide on a strategy to address the problem. Fortunately, you have three options.

The most obvious solution is to reduce the water use in your home so that your usage patterns still mirror that of a smaller household. This can be done by installing low-flow fixtures, including toilets, showerheads, and faucets. You can also decrease the capacity needs of your family when you reduce or eliminate the use of appliances like the garbage disposal that put solid waste into the septic tank.

A family of six, for example, with a 1250-gallon tank may need to pump as often as every two years, or more often if they use a hot tub or garbage disposal. You will need to compare the costs of the additional pumping to the costs of increasing the tank capacity to determine whether or not increased pumping makes financial sense as a long-term solution.

If you anticipate moving in the next ten years, for example, an extra pumping or two over the next few years may be the best solution.

While traditionally this is done by installing a larger replacement tank, there is another method. If you have room near your existing tank, you can have a second smaller tank installed and hooked up to the first tank via a sewer line. This can save you the cost of having the old tank deactivated and removed.

You will now have two tanks that require regular maintenance and cleanings, but the increased capacity means you will not need pumping as often.

Whether you decide to minimize your tank’s usage, adjust the cleaning and maintenance schedule, or increase your tank size, you can find solutions that allow your septic system to grow with your family. As always, check your local and state laws to get details on permits, allowances, and further details of what is and is not allowed in your area. Contact us at Walters Environmental Services Inc. to learn more about managing your home's septic system.