where your tank is?how big it is?

when it was last pumped?where your drainfield is?

do you know... Aftersludgesettlesdown,liquideffluent(yourwastewater)flowsouttothedrainfieldandseepsthroughdrainpipeholesintothesoil“filter”whereit’spurifiedbymicrobialcrittersinsoilpores.Percolatingdowntorechargegroundwater,yourtreatedwastewaterfeedsyourwell,yourneighbors’wells—plusgardens,irrigation,andourlakes&streams!Youwantittobegoodsoil,andcleanwater. Bacteriainthetankworktobreakdownthesludgelayer,buteventually...ALLTANKSNEEDTOBEPUMPED!Alltanks.All.

HEy—Community Systems & Townies! Even if you’re on a community system or live in town, these guidelines make smart sense too.It all goes somewhere, and our water’s all connected!

EffluEnT fIlTEr:Installorretrofitintank’soutletpipetokeepsolidsfromescapingtodrainfield.Darncheapinsurance!

Taking Care of Septics Keeps Your Water Well!

Onceyoufindit,mapit!

Septics Anatomy:

rISErSbringaccessuptogroundlevel—likeplasticculvertsonend,risingtothesurfaceastallasthetankisdeep(1-2ft)&cappedatgradewithmanholecovers.Butdon’tburythelids! Instead,Think:decorative lawn ornaments.

how they work & why they fail

Mostcountiesnowkeeprecordsofnewsystemswithanas-built, adrawingofthehousefootprint&propertylinesinrelationtothesepticandwell—asitwasbuilt! Askthecountyforyours,ordrawoneyourself!

as-built

what’s buried out in your backyard?

(TreasureMap)

Doesn’tmatterwhereyoulive,inwhatkindofhouse,howbigitis—orifyourgranddaddyhomesteadedtheplaceoryou’reashinynewcityslicker.What’llmakeyourseptictheGood,thebad, or the DownrightuGly is all about:

Howyoutakecareofit,&Howyoulivewithit.

FollowusinthePoreofDiscoverytoexplorehowtoprotectyourwell&septic—&howtodiscoversignsoftrouble!

X

100ft

When Things AreIT’S a SmoooTH opEraTIon!

note:bothtankcompart-

mentsgetpumpedthrough

separateaccessmanholes,

sogetasetofrisers.

GOOD,

The GOOD . . .

Here in the Heart of the West!The GOOD . . .

InspectRegularly& Pump as Needed

the bad ...like it’s been Rode hard

& put away wet

... and the downright UGLY!! Bite the Bullet, It’s Dead (R.I.P.)

... and the downright UGLY!! (R.I.P.)

¤***•

Wh

en G

oo

d S

yste

ms

Go

a f

aIl

urE

waIT

Ing T

o H

app

En

Atan

kfu

llof

solidsleaves

lessroo

mforliqu

idsoitsho

rten

sse

ttlin

gtime,flow

ingou

ttodrainfie

ldwithsolid

smixed

in.

Redu

cedwa

stew

ater

-tre

atmen

tca

pacitym

eansyou

ref

fluen

t’snotalway

sco

mpletelyclea

nbe

fore

rea

chinggrou

ndwa

ter—

andyo

urwell!

B AD

...

monTa

na m

CmanSI

on

SEn

d I

n T

HE

rESEr

vES

!

UGL

Y!

th

ere’

s n

o f

ixin

G a

fa

iled

dra

infi

eld

. W

ithsoilpo

resco

mpa

cted

orclog

gedwith

solid

s,noam

ountofairorwater

pum

pedin

willflu

sh‘e

moutorplum

p‘emupag

ain.

You’llha

vetopu

tinanew

drainfie

ld,

inadiffe

rentare

ade

sign

ated

and

protec

tedfo

rare

plac

emen

tor

“res

erve

.”Find

you

rs!W

itho

ut

suitab

lesoilsin

res

erve

,folks

might

ha

vetopu

mpef

fluen

tof

f-site—or

even

buy

moreprop

erty!

Wells&sep

ticsystem

smay

betooclose

insom

eof

ourolder

co

mmun

ities,whe

rea

well’s10

0’setba

ckSafety

Circlecou

ldove

rlap

with

neighb

oringse

ptics.

SEp

TIC

SyST

EmS

& w

Ell

SEp

ara

TIo

n

yup,

IT’S

dEa

d, a

lrIg

HT

... or

tur

n Do

wnrig

ht

You

betitis.S

epticad

ditive

sco

uld

harm

—an

dpretty

muc

hdo

n’the

lp.L

ookatit

thiswa

y:Cau

stic

chem

icalso

rbiologica

lage

ntsd

esigne

dto

brea

k dow

n s

oli

dsca

nbr

eak

soli

ds

dow

ntoflo

atoutthe

tank&

clogthe

dr

ainfi

eld.Becarefulw

hatyouwish

for!

Down

right

to a

dd

, o

r n

ot

to a

dd,

IS t

hat

th

e q

ues

tio

n?

addIT

IvES

:

UGL

Y!Ta

nkplugg

edfullo

fso

lidsov

erflo

wstoclog

pipes

,soilp

ores

—&plum

bing

!Clogg

ed,s

lugg

ish,&bac

ked-

up,t

hisisyou

rse

wage

com

ingba

cktoha

untyo

u.

Y

ouwillbevisite

dby

see

page

,lea

kage

,&FAIL

URE

—co

ntam

inatinggr

ound

wate

r,wellw

ater

—an

d yo

ur d

rink

ing

wate

r!

are

yo

udrink

ing

from

nea

rby

septicfailure

s?

Give

sawh

ole

newmea

ning

to

yourN

eigh

bor-

hood

Circle.

s RetrofitRisers&EffluentFilters

s ThinkCompost&Trashvs. GarbageDisposal

s UseLeastAmountofToxicChemicals &Cleaners(use recommended dose, handle & store carefully)

s LandscapeDrainfieldwithShallow-RootedPlants,NotDeep

s KeepSprinklers,Runoff,&ContaminantsAwayfromDrainfield

s TestWaterAnnually (nitrates, bacteria)

s WatchWaterUse&“Shock”Loads

s KeepGoodRecords—septic/well loG (find it, start it, keep it)

s CheckGraywaterPotential forYourCounty!

wanted:

septic killeRs!

Candy garrison raabRanchHand&BrilliantIllustrator

Jana m. SuchyWrangler/Writer/Producerway out west creative

P.O.Box200901Helena,Montana59620-0901406.444.6697www.deq.mt.gov/wqinfo/swp

Joe meek Crew bossdeQ source water protection

aRmed &extRemely dangeRous

RewaRd: clean wateR!

+ pRotected pRopeRty/investment/health

5,500copiesofthispublicdocumentwerepublishedatanestimatedcostof33¢percopy,foratotalcostof$1,822,whichincludes$1,822forprinting.

alias

& Credits:

starrinG:biG sky slim &elly the horse

pete the prairie doG& his lady, nellie

The Wild Bunch

Contacts

Ride Herd on Your Septic!

wanted:

septic killeRs!

loCaTE (findit!)

InSpECT regularly

pump asneeded

& proTECT!

tank needs pumping

high water use

flushing trash

laCk of maintenanCe

too muCh garbage disposal

overloaded with solids

KITCHENGREASE&TOxICCHEMICALS

(+water-softenersalts

)

driving over drainfield

tree roots; poor drainage

poor installation, design, siting

(unfitsoils,steepslope

s,smalllot)

DON’TKNOWWHERESEPTICIS

DON’TKNOWTHEREisASEPTIC!

s RetrofitRisers&EffluentFilters

s ThinkCompost&Trashvs. GarbageDisposal

s UseLeastAmountofToxicChemicals &Cleaners(use recommended dose, handle & store carefully)

s LandscapeDrainfieldwithShallow-RootedPlants,NotDeep

s KeepSprinklers,Runoff,&ContaminantsAwayfromDrainfield

s ProtectWell—3bestways: monitor water Quality (nitrates, bacteria), septic maintenance, & curb runoff pollution

s WatchWaterUse&“Shock”Loads

s KeepGoodRecords—septic/well loG (find it, start it, keep it)

s CheckGraywaterPotentialforYourCounty!

s AndRemember,NoMatterHowFancyor Expensive—all tanks need to be pumped!

Artwork© 2011