[footfootfoot]

Ours is technically a cesspit. There is no leach field. It's a hole in the ground, lined with dry stacked stone, that fills up with about 1200 gallons of waste. A large part of the liquid slowly seeps into the soil while micro organisms break down the poo. Eventually, it gets full and needs to be pumped out. It used to be on a 3 year pump out cycle now it is yearly. The ability of the liquid to seep has been compromised by the years of caked on poo effectively plastering the stone and clogging the sand. That's my understanding.

A new septic system would run me about $10,000. A yearly pump out is currently $280. I don't see the benefit to installing a new system. I just need to be a bit more proactive come pump out time.

The sinking feeling today is the possibility that the clay drain tile (pipe) leading from the cast iron to pit may have collapsed, and if that is so, then all bets are off. I may tell the bank they can have the house.


There is a hour's worth of cleanup from today's part of the project and I still am not sure if things are running. I pulled a lot of flushable wipes out of the drain. They are not flushable, in case you wanted to know.