Ground Frost Level in Eastern Ontario, Canada

I've heard that in Maine the frost line is about 4 feet and since you hit granite in places it is impossible to get below the frost line without a serious effort. It is about 18 inches here in Virginia so I'm pretty sure that 2 feet isn't going to get you there.

First I would check 2 things. I would make sure my grey water line from the kitchen sink and laundry are not going into the septic. I would run them out into a french drain underground in the opposite side of the house. Also make sure the builders did not tie the roof gutter drains into the sewer system. They do that here sometimes.

I would make sure only the toliets are discharging into my septic. You won't belive how much better it works when the soaps and cleaning products are taken away from the septic.

Then I would look for a way to encrouage the water to move on its on without the use of electric power.

Well out there in the Boonies ever think about having a fish pond?

If you have the land move down hill from your system 30 to 50 yards and dig a fish pond. Even restocking the fish after every spring thaw and harvesting them before it freezes would be better than pumping water in the dead of winter or dealing with busted frozen pumps. If you could go 25 or 30 foot deep then the small fish might live thru the winter too. Ask a wildlife manger they will know the depth needed for fish to make it thru the winter there.

Sounds like you have the wrong kind of system there. If you have a seasonal water table so close to the surface, to say nothing of the tight clay soils preventing a satisfactory percolation, they should have constructed a raised bed evapo-transpiration or maybe sand filter type of system. I have designed successful commercial systems of this type in a similar climate zone as yours, same problem, water table too close to the surface. As opposed to messing around with the pumps, sump pits, surface discharges, etc, which are really just stopgap solutions, you may want to just suck it up and install a raised bed system, either evapo-transpiration or sand filter. The evapo-transpiration system allows vegetation on the raised mound to take up the water and pass it to the atmosphere as well as some evaporation and also downward percolation. If you have a place to surface discharge to and the local authorities permit a treated surface discharge, the sand filter system is worth considering. A sand filter system is constructed in a raised bed, like the evapo-transpiration but instead of evaporation and transpiration, and a land application leaching into the ground, it has a surface discharge, with a second set of collector laterals about 2 ft below the upper discharge laterals, the collectors gather the effluent and channel it to a chlorine contact chamber to make it suitable for state discharge permit limits. We do this at work where tight soils are endemic. Because of the grades, you may need an effluent pump station after the septic tank to pump the effluent to the leach system. The best thing is to get a local PE familiar with the site conditions to take a look at your situation and make recommendations. None of these solutions are cheap, but then there are only so many ways to deal with high water tables and tight soils. Good luck with that.

1.) Move away from that dreadful climate

2.) Can you say Outhouse?

You'll have to go down about 4 ft. to get below the frost line. You'll also have to insulate around the top of the well (and the cover) to prevent the frost going deeper. Definitely get rid of the check valve to allow the lines to drain after each pump out. You may need some heat tracing. If you have a sump pump in your basement, make sure it doesn't pump into the septic tank; pump it elsewhere. After I did all of these, my pump still froze up. It had tripped the breaker and by the time I noticed it, the inoperative heat tracing allowed the lines to freeze. Since then, every spring I just throw a portable pump down the insulated hole and pump it out. Works fine.

Hey Thermo ; Thanks for your advise , you sound like you actually know what i am trying to do here . I noticed that you are in northern ontario and have built a system i am trying to build here . Do you have any other suggestions ?

You said that after all , your pump still froze . What happened there , did you fight the good fight and where you victorious .?

Depending on how elaborate or cost effective you want to be!!

1) Catchment-400 gal drum or plastic tank installed in ground, with Float switch.

2) Wire fence around tank to prevent large particles and animals falling in.

3) Use a doghouse or build a small pumphouse to accomodate pump and small heating unit or light bulb.

4) Use PVC pipe (its cheap) and cover with thick tubular foam insulation for selected pipe size. Put pipe in about 4" plastic tubes to also prevent freezing. when not in use, you can use air to purge lines.

Good Luck

Guest

Thanks for your help , will take your advise and start building as described .