Backwoods septic debate

[Yankeesouth]

Seeing the topic on septics got me thinking about a conversation I had with a guy at a local watering hole.  Has anyone built one of those homemade 55 gallon septic systems in an area with big boulders and deciduous trees/vegetation? 

I was talking to a guy who swears they are the septic system of choice where he has his seasonal camp.  I don't know a lot about septic systems....but I would think, building code aside,......the thing would clog.  He said most people just run one pipe out  from their one or two tank systems,  5-10 feet,  then the trees, plants, and big rocks act like a leech field .  His argument was the trees and rocks are better than a leech field because they absorb all the nasty stuff and it's good for them; helps them grow.    He also swears some folks don't even bury the pipe from the tanks.  Personally I don't want to see or smell my poo.   Oh FYI....he is obviously in an area that doesn't follow any codes.       

[Squirl]

I was discussing were my field was to go with a septic engineer.  When I was going over with him putting it towards the wooded area or in the wooded area of my property he shook his head.  First it is against the septic code.  Second he told me because it simply doesn't work well.  The majority of septic treatment of sewage is not in the tank, it is in the soil. The septic tank treating sewage is a common misconception. This releases massive amounts of bacteria and nitrogen into the soil.  The bacteria and plants that handle this best are grasses and other types of vegetation. Trees don't do as well and the large roots can damage and clog the pipes.  Because the nutrients will be great it attracts the large tree roots.  Also the trees would have to be of the kind to handle the high water content without drowning or getting diseased.  The usual rule is 10-15 ft minimum from trees, because the tall the tree the wider the root base.

The boulders being helpful is just plain ridiculous.  So is putting the pipe out of the ground. 
This is a great anecdotal description as to why there are septic codes.  Some people lack complete common sense. 

[Yankeesouth]

Hey... I know what you mean squirl....Like I said I don't know a lot about septic systems but when I tried to question the fact that the poo would just sit on the rocks her swears it/they filter the waste like water running over rocks in a stream.  I was just curoius as to if he had and substance to his argument at all.

[fishing_guy]

  I was just curoius as to if he had and substance to his argument at all.

I think we all know the substance of his argument...after all, it's what he's an "expert" in...

[Squirl]

her swears it/they filter the waste like water running over rocks in a stream.

Many people in sub-saharan africa believe streams and rivers treat waste too.  That is why waste born illnesses are one of the leading causes of death there. So to him, the more rocks in a river, the cleaner the water?

I haven't seen a lot of hard data on the comparison of nitrogen uptake and oxygen exchange of trees vs. grass and shrubs.

A little into how septic systems work should give you a clue into possible failures.  The average pipe is laid with very little slope, say 1 inch in 16-32 feet.  This is so the sewage drains evenly over the soil and not just in one location.  The reason for this is so that one area doesn't get it all at once.  If one area gets all at once it causes more sewage to be dumped in a location than the bacteria in the soil and plants can treat.  Also that area may get to much water or nitrogen and kill the plants. The water might also build up faster than the soil can drain and come through the surface. In addition undigested oils in our waste stream will saturate one area and cause early failure. 
When I talked over the septic code with the inspector he warned me of people who use the infiltrators and only run a pipe to the front.  It causes all the sewage to be dumped in the front rather than distributed over the length of the trench, causing early failure to the whole field.

Now that you know how the pipe is supposed to work and how it fails you can imagine how a large woody tree root can damage the field.  If it gets near the front of the pipe and raises it just 1/16th of an inch gravity is working against you and you can get a back up.  Also if the root breaks the pipe, all the waste will be dumped in that one location instead of over the length of the pipe.