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Septic mound clearing

5Cent

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19 pines down, 9 left to go. When we moved in back in 08' they were 4'-5', now 20'+ and developed their own habitat between all of them. Thinking they chose the wrong version lol. I'm worried that due to their size that they will start affecting the leech bed. I couldn't mow around the back of the mound and keeping the area between them went out the window a few years ago. The oldest boy has been there to help move branches each time and asks everyday when it's not raining if we can go cut up more trees. Proud of the little guy and like the new view from the house to the back field.

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Dustinb80

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Good shit Adam. Certainly a great weekend for it. I've been helping bearded Chad get his garage in order. Next up, my garage and landscaping.
 

CJD3

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Its nice when the kids are old enough to start helping da old man around the property. Congratulations on another kid milestone!
 

jagermeister

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Bro... Those pine trees are part of the function of the mound. Looks great and all but hopefully it doesn't affect anything. If you've got decent soil, it likely won't. But those ETA mounds were designed so that the trees would suck up half the water and the ground would soak up the other half. Usually they get thinned as the trees mature but not removed completely.
 

Bigslam51

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Bro... Those pine trees are part of the function of the mound. Looks great and all but hopefully it doesn't affect anything. If you've got decent soil, it likely won't. But those ETA mounds were designed so that the trees would suck up half the water and the ground would soak up the other half. Usually they get thinned as the trees mature but not removed completely.
Well, then there's that[emoji33]
 

Dustinb80

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Bro... Those pine trees are part of the function of the mound. Looks great and all but hopefully it doesn't affect anything. If you've got decent soil, it likely won't. But those ETA mounds were designed so that the trees would suck up half the water and the ground would soak up the other half. Usually they get thinned as the trees mature but not removed completely.

Oh shit. Oops
 

5Cent

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All good JB. I should have said that I consulted Norweco, installer of the system and will be replacing with wildflowers and tall grasses. My biggest concern is compaction. Any insights into human/lawnmower use on it?
 

jagermeister

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All good JB. I should have said that I consulted Norweco, installer of the system and will be replacing with wildflowers and tall grasses. My biggest concern is compaction. Any insights into human/lawnmower use on it?
No worries with mowers. Anything bigger than that would be questionable though.

As a sidebar, Norweco is just a manufacturer of the aeration tank and likely doesn't truly know much about those ETA mounds. Neither here nor there...Because if your soil is decent you probably won't have any problems. The state quit allowing the installation of that system in 2007 because they were plagued with issues. In most areas, the soil was total shit, so the mound relied solely on the trees to soak up the water. Usually it was more than the trees could handle and the water would bleed out onto the surface.
 

5Cent

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No worries with mowers. Anything bigger than that would be questionable though.

As a sidebar, Norweco is just a manufacturer of the aeration tank and likely doesn't truly know much about those ETA mounds. Neither here nor there...Because if your soil is decent you probably won't have any problems. The state quit allowing the installation of that system in 2007 because they were plagued with issues. In most areas, the soil was total shit, so the mound relied solely on the trees to soak up the water. Usually it was more than the trees could handle and the water would bleed out onto the surface.

Great info Jim, thank ya. If I am reading between the lines correctly, the designer is the one who would dictate the trees for the design and condition of soil. I will be sure to keep an eye on the pump tank and inspection tubes to see if the levels rise any until I can get everything cleaned up and replanted. Then I'll install a line of tress down the middle to help if needed. This was installed in 03, and I have been wondering about how the system is handeling the family growth/water usage. No alarms to date or any other system issues except having to replace a the aerator a few years back.

Joe, the uses for the poles are unlimited :smiley_clap:
 

jagermeister

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Great info Jim, thank ya. If I am reading between the lines correctly, the designer is the one who would dictate the trees for the design and condition of soil. I will be sure to keep an eye on the pump tank and inspection tubes to see if the levels rise any until I can get everything cleaned up and replanted. Then I'll install a line of tress down the middle to help if needed. This was installed in 03, and I have been wondering about how the system is handeling the family growth/water usage. No alarms to date or any other system issues except having to replace a the aerator a few years back.

Joe, the uses for the poles are unlimited :smiley_clap:
Actually, nowadays, yes. But prior to '07, no. Back then the was no requirement for any engineered designs. The system choices were all cookie cutter designs. 135' long for 3 bedrooms, 170' long for 4 bedrooms, etc, regardless of the soil and site characteristics. That's why the ETA mounds had so many problems... Some were simply undersized from day one and doomed for failure.

If the mound can't handle the water usage, what you'll notice is a wet/soggy area at the ground surface somewhere along the perimeter of the mound. The way they were constructed is the installer would dig a trench 18" deep and 36-48" wide into the ground. Then a clay berm was built up around the edge of the trench, 18" high. This creates a long trough, almost like a bath tub. The discharge pipe from the pump tank is laid in the bottom of the trench and covered in gravel. Then the whole thing is covered over with topsoil and pine or spruce or arborvitae are planted in an offset manner, directly over top of the "bathtub" area of the mound. The clay berm is meant to hold the water in the trough, allowing the trees to make the most use of it. What happens is, when trees are gone or they simply don't suck up enough water, or you use too much water, the water level in the mound rises higher than the clay berm and spills over, creating a wet spot in the topsoil.

If you have a 4" vent pipe installed somewhere on top of the mound, you can look down in there too see where the level of the water is at... Since that vent pipe should extend down to the bottom of the gravel trench.
 

MK111

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Interesting info. My friend has one at his body shop. Never worked from day one and still doesn't 35 yrs later. Water always backed up. No trees on top as I remember. I'll tell him to plant trees.
 

jagermeister

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Interesting info. My friend has one at his body shop. Never worked from day one and still doesn't 35 yrs later. Water always backed up. No trees on top as I remember. I'll tell him to plant trees.

Have him check with the health dept first. Not all mounds are the same. If it's at his body shop, it may be just an elevated sand filter (leach bed) in which case trees would be a very bad idea (roots clogging pipes).
 

5Cent

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Yep I have two pipes. One with screw on cap another with an end cap. Google has been helpful on understanding the design of things within the mound. Looking forward to getting the rest of this eye sore cleaned up and will monitor how it does.

I am thinking back to when these systems are first installed and the trees are just saplings or little guys. I can't imagine they draw a lot of water at the beginning of life so if there is an issue, wouldn't it show up right away after install/start of use? Or, the variable is the bath tube is empty and it takes time for the level to rise and there's a hedge factor for a few years for the trees to get some size to them.
 

jagermeister

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Yep I have two pipes. One with screw on cap another with an end cap. Google has been helpful on understanding the design of things within the mound. Looking forward to getting the rest of this eye sore cleaned up and will monitor how it does.

I am thinking back to when these systems are first installed and the trees are just saplings or little guys. I can't imagine they draw a lot of water at the beginning of life so if there is an issue, wouldn't it show up right away after install/start of use? Or, the variable is the bath tube is empty and it takes time for the level to rise and there's a hedge factor for a few years for the trees to get some size to them.
Nope, you're absolutely correct. Most issues, if there are any, show up within the first few years of installation. But with a growing family, water consumption usually changes... So that's another variable altogether. I'm guessing you probably won't have any problems. But at least you'll know what to look for. Oh, and if you do find a wet spot over time, let me know... I have a solution. [emoji41]
 

MK111

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Have him check with the health dept first. Not all mounds are the same. If it's at his body shop, it may be just an elevated sand filter (leach bed) in which case trees would be a very bad idea (roots clogging pipes).

I contacted present owner nice my friend passed away and his reply was. When hooked up they installed 2- 220 volt pumps and ran only one 110 service wire. Not enough power getting to the pumps. Plus the pump pipes weren't hooked up to the field pipes.
HE installed a 110 pump and connected the pipes and works fine now.
Stupid is as stupid does.
HE now as a 35 yr old system that almost brand new.
 
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jagermeister

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I contacted present owner nice my friend passed away and his reply was. When hooked up they installed 2- 220 volt pumps and ran only one 110 service wire. Not enough power getting to the pumps. Plus the pump pipes weren't hooked up to the field pipes.
HE installed a 110 pump and connected the pipes and works fine now.
Stupid is as stupid does.
HE now as a 35 yr old system that almost brand new.
Lol... Yep, that'll do it.
 

5Cent

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The hard work is finally done. Just need to take the loose debris off the last 2/3 section with a rake. Remove roots, and figure out how to remove 30 stumps without disrupting the mound too much, just enough to not wreck another mower deck lol. Then plant grass seed sometime in late April/early May.

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Between all the rain and snow the last few weeks, we are sitting extremely wet. A peak into both tubes in the mound showed little to no water. Between baths, showers, and laundry all evening and again this morning I am feeling confident no issues will show u less something extreme happens. Still need to figure out if we put 1/2 the amount of trees back in or change it to some aborviates or some tall grasses.