Sand filter

[Mary C]

I recently had to have my septic system replaced with one using a sand filter. Because of the odd configuration of my lot and other things they had to put it right in front of my house at a very odd angle. Needless to say, it is an eyesore, and one that will certainly devalue my property. My engineer says very little can be done to "fix" it (e.g., covering it with dirt, crushed stones or whatever) but I've read elsewhere that is not the case. I wanted to do something that would correct the angle such as laying rr ties around it to square it off with the driveway and using crushed stone on top of that, but he says no. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Bismarck Jack]

how green of you. sand filters have been around for a while, but i dont hear of them often. do you have a picture of your eye sore? love to see it. is yours on the surface? i am guessing it is not, but we would need to see it.

Your engineer is trying to maintain ease of access since these filters need to be maintained quite often. hense the crushed stone method. without seeing a picture it is hard to recommend, but if the RRties are placed so that access remains available, then i dont see what the problem would be.:bebored:

[Mary C]

Unfortunately the filter is at my house in Vermont and I am now in NJ so I don't have a picture available right now. Maybe I can have my sister take one and e-mail it.

The soil is so bad that if it weren't for the fact that there was already a house there, the state would never issue me a permit.

The engineer did not mention access as an issue, and even if it were it would be easy to get to with my idea of just layering extra stone on top of the filter. I really don't understand what his objection is; he is adamant that the existing gravel lie a few inches under the perimeter of the filter, and that no soil should come close to the upper boundary or sides of the filter (it is set into a hill.) I read on another site that you can do plantings on top of sand filters, so I am really puzzled. I sent him that advice, but have not heard back from him yet.

[joed]

Sounds like you have what we call a mound system. Sandy fill brought in when soil it to thick or rock is near surface. They normally cover them with topsoil and plant grass.

[Mary C]

We do have a lot of mound systems in the area, but I think its one of those systems that incorporate a synthetic drainfield in a box. Anyway my engineer is going to research it further to see what if anything can be done.

[Bismarck Jack]

it really seems odd that he would protest since it will not prevent access. perhaps he has had a bad experience with sand filter failure due to landscaping efforts. good luck. nobody likes an eyesore.

[Mary C]

Okay, upon further discussion it appears that the sand filter needs circulating air, so in that regard i wouldn't even be able to cover it with a deck unless it was significantly elevated over the filter. In addition the manufacturer states that it needs to have 6 inches below the tops of the timber exposed so that there is no risk of run-off contamination. I thought crushed stone would drain, but they don't even want me to do that. What they said was acceptable is if I plant ground cover that cover the timbers outside, as well as inside the box. Anything with shallow roots can be planted in the gravel within the box so it looks like I'll go with that and other shallow rooted grasses, shrubs etc. around the box after I bring the rest of the lawn up to grade. I'm hoping I can use some mock rocks over those ugly pipes sticking up from the filter!