Northeast - Anyone notice a lot of septic problems? Is it the rain?

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jgf310
06-23-09, 12:34 PM
So, I live in Connecticut, and my rides generally go through the town of New Canaan. It's not exactly rural, but in some parts of town, the houses are pretty far apart, and they don't have town sewage there. Houses in these parts of town have septic systems.

On my ride today, the smell was REALLY bad - in many places. I mean bad enough that I wanted to gag a bit.

can the rain cause problems with people's septic systems?

We have had an unbelievable amount of rain recently.


Kevrob
06-23-09, 12:45 PM
Yup, it's probably the rain. Geoff Fox on the ch. 8/WTNH news mentioned the other night that the ground is getting so saturated that it is affecting the "perk" (percolation) of septic systems.

When it is drier, the outflow propagates through the soil faster, so odors are less noticeable.

IANAP [I am not a plumber.]

BTW, the odor could be from manured fields, if you travel by any farmland. Don't forget roadkill. I know some skunk or something crawled into a wooded section of my street and died the other day. I can smell it, but not see it.

Kevin

rhm
06-25-09, 08:12 AM
Yeah, south shore of Long Island is getting pretty interesting, especially in the more populous, lower property value areas....