Is it worth looking into land that failed to perk?

[mutlovr]

I have been looking at land and for the most part there really isn't much on the market in the area and price range that I am interested in.   I  saw a peice of property over the weekend that was very nice.  I was pretty suspicious of the price and it turns out that it has failed a perk test.  

I have read a bit about some of the composting systems such as the Clivus and the Phoenix.  I would definately consider seeing if I could get something like this with a greywater system approved locally.  

This land is in a great location and I would consider it worth a bit of extra hassel.  My concerns would be if it would end up being significantly more expensive.   I also wonder about rain water run off or other issues that I might end up having.  It isn't wet or soggy right now of course it hasn't really rained for a while.   The land is mostly bare dirt, grass and some blackberries.  It actually looks like someone used to use it to ride dirt bikes or four wheelers.  There is an area on one side that is lower and looks almost like it could be a stream bed.  That area has many trees and more vegitation.

[Daddymem]

Do you have information on what exactly made it fail?  High groundwater?  Impervious soil? Too slow a percolation rate?

[mutlovr]

My realtor didn't tell me.  I will see if she knows.

[Amanda_931]

Some parts of the country use mound type septic drain fields.  I know absolutely nothing about them, except that they exist and they are right expensive.

In another current topic we ended up putting three different links to Art Ludwig's sites--I was responsible for two.  Take a look at the Arizona grey water law.  You can get there from here:

http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/law/

Might be nice to see the land in the rainy season.

What are you going to do for water, potable and otherwise?

[glenn-k]

Check your options with the official who failed the test at the county.  He or she can give you a good idea of what you can do, what they will allow and point you in the right direction.

[spinnm]

Glenn has good advice.  Here, it's the state engineer's office that takes care of the permits for wells and septics.

And, they have a history on all of them.  Whoever it is where you are, that person should be able to tell you why it failed and what you can do about it.

On one house in CO we had to put in a mini sewage treatment plant.  Really didn't cost that much.

[mutlovr]

Thanks for the advice.  I called the county today and I will be able to stop by the records department tomorrow.  I should be able to pull up specific information about the perc test.  I do like this land so I hope I can figure something out.

[mutlovr]

Well my realtor talked to the engineer who did the perc test today.  Apparently the water table is too high in that area.  The only reason that the houses in the area are on septics is that they are all fairly old.   Apparently he said that the only way to put in a septic would be to get an easment to a neighbors system.   I guess I don't consider that a great idea if the other properties would be likely to fail a perc test now.  

I think I will talk to the county officials about composting systems and graywater tomorrow.  Apparently about seven or eight other people have talked to that engineer.   It is a nice piece of land.  

[Amanda_931]

And ask about a mound system.  And Shelley's mini sewage system.

But also wonder if the high water table means that you flood frequently and don't drain well ever.

[Daddymem]

My guess is that if the engineer said there is no way to get a system on the lot, there probably is no way to get a system on the lot.  There is a difference between what you can do and what regulations will let you do.  I can't imagine the engineer would just "forget" about using one of the basics like a mounded system, but I guess it could happen.  Many Towns in my area define a minimum distance below existing grade that groundwater can be to even be able to construct a septic system on the lot.  You may be up against something like that which would prevent the use of a mounded system.  In some areas, you have to be able to construct a system on your lot before you can use a composting toilet.

If you plan on pursuing further, I would ask for a copy of the percolation test results and a copy of the regulations for septic systems. There are options/ideas out there, but it would depend on your local regulations.  If you doubt the engineer's ability/assessement, bring the data to another engineer or septic system installer familiar with the area for a second opinion.

When speaking with the officials ask about alternative systems and see what shakes out.  We've done designs for wick wells that get down deep below tight material and groundwater.  In Bermuda, they use boreholes to discharge deep into the groundwater.  Both require advanced treatment and that costs considerable money.  The engineer may be deciding himself that it wouldn't be "worth it" for one of these systems on this lot, but maybe you have money to burn.  

[mutlovr]

Thanks everyone for all of the advice.   I did talk to the county people about alternative systems.  They are allowed, but not encouraged.  Also greywater systems still need a drainfield.  Although, I might be able to get something together that irrigated plants in a greenhouse.

I had to step back and look at this from my head and not my heart.  I really liked this lot.  I do think that I could live happily with alternative systems.  However, if something major happened in my life and I suddenly had to sell or move, I would probably have a terrible time selling.  I could probably get someone else like me who was interested in the property, but I think financing would be a challenge for them.