OFFGRID SEPTIC SYSTEM
IS CONCRETE

closed system of square concrete. We chose concrete over plastic for several reasons. Our land is mostly clay. During monsoon season, if the tank was not full, we thought the pressure from the surrounding ground may cave it in. Also, plastic hardens and cracks, so we chose concrete.

Our offgrid septic tank holds 1000 gallons before it leaches over into the leach field. It is located on the west side of our house 10 feet from the house. We had a licensed plumber install the septic system. We were concerned that doing this ourselves we would not get the grades correct for the drainage and the vent pipes.

The offgrid septic system was our second most costly work done regarding the house. We have more money invested in the septic system, well and solar than the entire rest of the house including the cost of the land.

We have 300 feet of leach field, 3-100 foot beds 7 feet deep with 5 feet of stone. We are not supposed to drive on it, build on it, or plant anything but shallow roots on it. This is enough land to build two houses.

We wanted to have a diverter valve put in from the shower and bathroom sink to make use of the grey water. We wanted to water our trees with the gray water from the shower.

Our plumber told us that the only grey water that we could use was from the bathroom sink. We decided that the toothpaste we spit down the sink a couple of times a day was not going to water the trees nor was it worth the expense.

We were going to use composting toilets in our offgrid home and make use of a dry well for the small amount of liquid that would be produced instead of an off grid septic system. It made sense. We were trying to be as ecologically minded as we could afford.

So, I called the EPA. We had to pay a special permit of $450.00. We had to send them a diagrahm of the composting toilet with all of the features. We had to write a letter stating how we were going to dispose of the waste. They gave no indication as to what was the proper disposal of the waste from a composting toilet.

We still had to install a regular size septic system for the number of bedrooms in the house. We decided that the $2000.00 minimum cost was a bit much for a toilet.

I was disappointed with the lack of help and the difficulty we encountered in our effort to conserve water and energy.

Note: When your permits are filed whether it be by a contractor, sub-contractor or yourself, it is the owner's responsibility to submit accurate information. When I filed the permit for our offgrid septic the company who did the perk test and the plot plan omitted several dimensions.

I had already done a plot plan myself had it with me at the county seat. I had to stand there at the counter and fill in all of the missing information.

They were not going to issue the permit. This was crucial since the building codes were changing in two days. We would not have been able to build our home ourselves with the new codes. So be prepared with your own information.

One of my dogs slipped into it and her entire leg was down in the hole. My dogs would not leave these alone and the mound was inside our fenced perimeter.


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