Mariano Inspections and Services

Below are some types of systems you can find in your yard

Septic System:

A septic system consists of a holding tank, a distribution box, and a soil absorption system, (SAS).

Septic tank is a holding tank and the first line in the treatment process.  Solids separate out and drop to the bottom off the tank.  Effluent (dirty water) is then sent to the distribution box.  From there, it is sent into the leaching field.  The leaching field can be thought of as an extra large Britta Water Filter.  The sand and stone in your system filters the effluent before it enters the water table. 

Below is a picture of a typical system.



There are many deviations of this consisting of Chambers, Precast Structures, Tubes and Pipes.  They are all base on the same premise.



Cesspool:

The other typical system you could have in your yard is a Cesspool.

A cesspool is a cone like structure buried in the ground.  In this system it is porous as to let the water infiltrate out of the structure, to be purified by the surround sand and stone before entering the water table.

The issue with cesspools is, they are a one part system.  They tend to clog up with solids, thus not allowing the effluent to infiltrate out of the structure.  Also, most system was installed into the water table, which is failure criteria. 

All and all, a cesspool is not an automatic failure.  If diagnosed property, they system does have a chance of passing.

Below is a diagram of a cesspool.