BACK TO THE BASICS….

SEPTIC VS SEWER

SEPTIC SYSTEMS simply put are individual miniature treatments plants treating the household waste and releasing it back into the natural environment. There are many variations of these however the primary idea is the waste gets treated ONSITE and released back into the environment.

SEWER SYSTEMS on the other hand are generally found in more densely populated areas where a central treatment area can be shared among many homes and business through a series of pipes. This can be a full blown treatment plant like those found in larger cities but they can also sometimes be found in neighborhoods where economics or geography may play a roll in determining a centralized treatment area such as a community mound system.

!!!!WARNING!!!! NEVER ENTER A SEPTIC TANK

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!!!!WARNING!!!! NEVER ENTER A SEPTIC TANK 〰️

SEPTIC TANK BASICS

The tank or tanks allow the household waste to settle and separate into THREE layers after entering the tank, these layers from top to bottom are:

The Scum Layer-Stuff that floats

Effluent-The liquid (dirty water)

Sludge-Stuff that sinks

When a maintainer (often referred to as a septic pumper) comes to your home we’re after the Scum and Sludge layers refereed to as the SOLIDS of the tank. It’s those two layers that we will measure to determine if your tank or tanks need pumping PER STATE CODE, anything over 25% of the overall tank operating capacity requires pumping of the septic tank or tanks for proper system maintenance and to avoid those solids from reaching and damaging and shortening the life of the treatment area. Although the terms trench/mound/drainfield/cesspool/bed/at-grade and a few others are often used interchangeably there are important differences in these terms but for the sake of ease we will simply use the general term of “Treatment Area”.

At the time of pumping there are a number of system components the maintainer will look at including but not limited too:

  1. Access covers for evidence of failure

  2. Tank integrity (signs of corrosion, leakage, actual collapse etc.)

  3. Baffle condition

  4. Inspection pipes and caps

  5. Riser condition or leakage

  6. Above ground pooling of septage

  7. components of lift tanks if applicable

  8. …..any many additional items depending on your specific system

INTRODUCTION TO THE RULES BOOK

The laws and rules that govern septic maintainers (pumpers) are vast and complicated however a quick guide to these basics are found in the book called MINNESOTA RULES CHAPTERS 7080-7083. This is a condensed quick reference of Minnesota statutes effecting maintainers, there are many others that may or may not apply depending on what other services are offered by the company however if you so inclined to do some reading we offer a link below to one submitted online by the city of Andover for quick reference.

State code requires septic systems to be evaluated every three years to determine if pumping is necessary per rule 7080.2450, I encourage you take the time to use the link above, look up the specific rule 7080.2450 and read it, getting use to it can often answer many questions you have many of which are answered on our answer page.

In regards to frequency, most LGU’s (Local Government Units) such as townships, cities, or counties generally follow state guidelines in this regard with some enacting enforcement through reminders sent out to homeowners based on records often derived from septic pumping permits or records filled out by the septic pumping company at the time of pumping. It is the septic pumping companies responsibility to fill out and submit this permit or submit a record in those locations where it is required. Much of what a septic “Maintainer” (septic pumper) does is guided by the Minnesota Rules Chapters 7080-7083,