I'm doing a subdivision and one lot with garage has a well supplying a sink. They've dug a small dry well for about, well, who knows because nobody did any calculations for water use vs. disposal method. They have to do testing for on-lot disposal or decommission the well by filling it with concrete.
Have any of you fellas ever come across an alternative that doesn't involve testing for a sand-mound or filling your new well with concrete?
Is there a way to keep the well and create an acceptable disposal area (other than a sand mound)? This area is notoriously rocky and the mound across the road (part of the original parent tract) is rather large. Everyone else within the parent tract has in-ground systems that work (I hope).
My client is not filling his well with concrete and he said he's not building a $15K sand mound for 20 gallons a week (his words, not mine).
GUH! Why do I always get to be the one breaking the bad news?
mattharnett, post: 338631, member: 6458 wrote: I'm doing a subdivision and one lot with garage has a well supplying a sink. They've dug a small dry well for about, well, who knows because nobody did any calculations for water use vs. disposal method. They have to do testing for on-lot disposal or decommission the well by filling it with concrete.
Have any of you fellas ever come across an alternative that doesn't involve testing for a sand-mound or filling your new well with concrete?
Is there a way to keep the well and create an acceptable disposal area (other than a sand mound)? This area is notoriously rocky and the mound across the road (part of the original parent tract) is rather large. Everyone else within the parent tract has in-ground systems that work (I hope).
My client is not filling his well with concrete and he said he's not building a $15K sand mound for 20 gallons a week (his words, not mine).
GUH! Why do I always get to be the one breaking the bad news?
Remove sink and associated plumbing?
Removing the sink is not enough. The well must be decommissioned because you could easily put the sink back in after they leave.
Can't they just put in a tank to catch the water then on a regular basis pump it out into his regular septic system?
I haven't read the Oklahoma State Health Department's Bulletin No. 600 in a while and it may have changed...but at one time "gray water" (or wash water as it may be known) was exempt from the definition of actual "sewage" influent. Under a certain amount could actually be openly dispersed on the ground or used to water plants.
I realize this is Oklahoma, but wash sink water falling under sewage rules seems screwy. My gosh, you can wash your hands outside with a garden hose down here without a permit...The old boy isn't takin' dumps in the sink is he?
Is there a house on the lot as well 😀 as the garage? If so, I presume it has a wastewater treatment system. Install http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/plumbing/pumps/collection-removal-systems/little-giant-wrs-series-water-removal-system-115v-integral-4-7-level?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CPbizpacn8gCFcOPHwodFEIL5w&apos ;">a pump like this, and connect it to the existing house sewer.
mattharnett, post: 338634, member: 6458 wrote: Removing the sink is not enough. The well must be decommissioned because you could easily put the sink back in after they leave.
The owner can't remove the sink and associated plumbing that is apparently out of "compliance" and keep his well for yard irrigation or future "compliant" use?
Apparently the county must feel the need to punish the owner in some fashion. Perhaps they could install a County lock on his well head until he "is brought into compliance".
Hopefully you are not involved directly in this madness.
Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, Where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the skies are not cloudy all ...
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&*$%%&#(*ing bureaucrats..................
Tell the know-it-alls to stuff it up their @%%.
Can you tell that this level of BS really toasts my bread?
That's what my client is going to say to the DEPs. I cringed and then laughed to make it seem ok. He actually said, "I will escort them out." (DEP and the SEO and everyone they know and love)
I can't say those things. I have to work with these folks.
His system is 350 from the other well. That water added to his house could put him over the 400 GPD estimate used to build the other system (which is in-ground. No sand mound).
Nobody's pooping in the sink. The grey water exception might be an option, though.
They "illegally" created a lot beofre (2008) and it had a house and 2 garages on it but now they want the garage on its own lot.
I am directly involved as a surveyor. I have to contact the sewer agency with intent to develop and they begin inspecting. County won't approve the subdivision without compliance to sewer regs. This is the state DEP involved. No little hole with some gravel will satisfy their lust for your compliance. I'm really at a loss with this thing. It's ultimately his decision to move ahead properly or continue to fly under the radar.
His system is 350 from the other well. That water added to his house could put him over the 400 GPD estimate used to build the other system (which is in-ground. No sand mound).
This doesn't make sense to me. Adding a sink or a well should'nt change the estimated GPD, its usually based on something like the number of bedrooms, or some fixed number per house. You can supply your house with three wells and it doesn't mean you are going to produce anymore sewage. Is the garage and well on the same lot as his house?
If the flow from the sink is so small, why not just remove it and decommission the well?
If he values having a sink in the garage, why not connect it to the house system? For a residence, it should not change the design flow, unless there is a commercial shop or something in the garage.
Or use a tight tank (if permitted) for the sink.
When wells are abandoned, they typically have to sealed in some way to prevent groundwater contamination. I think bentonite is usually used around here.
No, it's not (going to be) on the same lot. The pump would have to pump 350 feet to the system. Then, it's a water source on one lot disposing on a different lot under different ownership.
I don't think an easement would remedy that issue either.
"Or use a tight tank (if permitted) for the sink."
Would you fill your well with concrete? I'd want to keep the well and put in a tank. What kind of tank though?
We would all want to have both: A tank and a well but how do we separate grey water from potential "other" or "black" water from entry? Paper is just paper really.
In Massachusetts, you can have a separate system for graywater discharge, but it has to be a fully complying septic system, so it's not usually economical to have a separate system.
If the sink is just for occasional use (and if the local authority will permit it), you could run the sink drain to a "tight tank", which is like a septic tank with no outlet. I would think a 1500 -2000 gallon tank might suffice, depending on amount of use. Install a high water alarm and when it goes off, have the local septic pumper pump it out. In Mass, these are usually only permitted as a last resort, but for only a sink, maybe it's an acceptable solution.
Oh - the well - if you keep the sink you need to keep the well, of course!