# Septic Tank - Realistic costs and maintenance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051 "2014-06-04T19:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/41 "2014-06-05T01:41:58Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I’m getting serious about buying a home site in a city with several affordable lots. Unfortunately, most of them do not have city sewer, although they do have city water. > > So they need a septic tank. I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories about septic tank problems, but I guess the people who are happy with them have no need to publicize it. > > So I’m looking for realistic expectations here. I guess the worst case is I buy a lot that has an old, failed septic tank. For the Pacific Northwest area, about how much would it cost to remove the old one, and install a new one, top of the line? And if I did that, what yearly maintenance and costs would I incur, and how long before I would have to replace it? > > Also interested in any tips on how to prolong its life, or experiences you’ve had, good or bad. > > Thanks. everyone has responded about classical anaerobic septic tanks. That is the most common kind and uses a drain field. An alternative is an active aerobic system. That requires an air pump that keeps the O2 levels relatively high in the waste water. Aerobic bacteria are far more efficient at breaking down waste than the anaerobic systems. Obviously, they require more maintenance-an air pump. I get system pumped out every year or two. The system I use has two tanks, a primary and a tertiary second tank. From there the grey water is pumped away (often through chlorine tabs) to either a ditch or lawn sprinklers. I find them far more acceptable than the classical anaerobic tanks. In fact, around here you can’t install a classical septic tank in new construction. Just so you know there are other, higher performing, systems available. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/42 "2014-06-05T03:04:33Z")
The house we’re living in was built in the 1950s. At that time neither sewers nor city water were available. For over 25 years the septic system was never treated in any way, nor was it pumped out. The well is about 125 feet deep, and taps into an absolutely delicious water source. It was tested once or twice and was always perfectly fine. The town insisted on putting in sewers some time in the 1970s. And yes, the grass over the drain field was always very lush and green. The first year I was here we planted our garden there and we had absolutely incredible amounts of tomatoes and cucumbers. There were days I picked 50 or more tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/43 "2014-06-05T03:27:45Z")
You want a gravity system if you can get it which only requires inspection every 3 years, an alternate system require yearly inspections. We had a alternative system in our old house and it was a pain as it required a pump and rain filled it up and we always had an alarm. At our current house we have a great gravity system and have had zero problems. here is the info from Kitsap County [http://www.kitsapcountyhealth.com/environment/septic\_systems.php](http://www.kitsapcountyhealth.com/environment/septic_systems.php) btw–I know people use a garbage disposal but I believe it is recommended that you not do that ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/44 "2014-06-05T03:28:57Z")
Costs and regulations obviously vary an awful lot around the country! We had a septic system installed six months ago - one tank, AFAIK, and the county requires 150’ of drain field - and the installation cost was $1500. I’ve lived in lots of rural places, usually with septic systems, and polled my friends when I was budgeting, and that was the consensus on the “going rate” around here. We project having to have the system pumped maybe every five years, if that often. These requirements and costs are in southeast Georgia. (We also had the well installed after the septic system was installed. That required a separation of 100 feet between the two systems.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/45 "2014-06-05T04:01:47Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Costs and regulations obviously vary an awful lot around the country! We had a septic system installed six months ago - one tank, AFAIK, and the county requires 150’ of drain field - and the installation cost was **$1500**. … Did you miss a decimal place there? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/46 "2014-06-05T04:12:39Z")
Nope. One thousand, five hundred dollars. Seriously. Five-thousand for the well and pump, fifteen hundred for the septic system. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/47 "2014-06-05T04:14:47Z")
That’s fucking crazy compared to here. One tenth of the cost: at least! ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/48 "2014-06-05T04:30:23Z")
(Okay, I looked around, and the “going rate” around here is probably between $2000 and $2500. “Our” guy, however, gave us a bit of a discount because we had already hired him for a few other jobs around the home site, and because we paid cash.) Still, I can’t believe the difference in costs around the country! It probably helps that the ground around here is relatively easy to work with - sandy soil, flat terrain with low risk of flooding, extremely low risk of freezing, so concrete tanks are the norm (cheaper than other options, plus I assume that tanks have to be buried below the frost line in most states? Our frost line is pretty much Virginia!) Plus, you’d have to dig stupid deep to hit bedrock here in the Coastal Plain. Ideal conditions, I’d suppose, for easy installation. But the skeeters are hell. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/49 "2014-06-05T04:36:03Z")
tanks don’t have to get buried below the frost line. the bottom of the tank is well below the frost line and so the tanks stays liquid. the top of the tank chambers needs to have access so one or both of the openings are at the surface or just a few inches below. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/50 "2014-06-05T04:49:49Z")
Gotcha. But my reading about materials used for tanks led me to think that colder conditions mean that (cheaper) concrete probably isn’t the most durable option for northern climes. I suppose that would contribute to the relative higher costs of installing a system? ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/51 "2014-06-05T04:55:36Z")
Since you mentioned the Pacific NW, the cost of pumping is probably more than the $100-200 that been mentioned by others. The charge for us (Snohomish County) for a 900 gallon tank come to almost $400, and with a household of six we have it pumped every two years. There’s usually a lot of toilet paper accumulated (much more than I’d like. Sigh!) so it can’t go much longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/52 "2014-06-05T05:08:57Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > If it helps to have specific numbers, I’m in the Pacific Northwest, outside of Redmond, WA. Our homeowner’s agreement requires that the tank be pumped every three years, it cost us $300 last time. We had it inspected when we moved in, and the company told us that life expectancy for a system here was between thirty and fifty years, and would cost about $40,000 to replace (most of that being the drain field – the tanks themselves are apparently not that expensive). $40K seems crazy high to me. We had to have our field lines replaced in Maine (not a low cost of living area) and it was $8K about a year ago. Here in Missouri, we just installed a new system that has two buildings connected to a rather complicated system requiring separate tanks for each building, for $12K. The guy said the regular system cost is around $8K, but ours was special. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051/53 "2014-06-05T15:25:10Z")
> [@Dickerman](#): > > Since you mentioned the Pacific NW, the cost of pumping is probably more than the $100-200 that been mentioned by others. The charge for us (Snohomish County) for a 900 gallon tank come to almost $400, and with a household of six we have it pumped every two years. There’s usually a lot of toilet paper accumulated (much more than I’d like. Sigh!) so it can’t go much longer than that. This is why we used to throw ours away in a trash can with a tight seal. Pee paper always went there. Poop paper was a judgement call. It made a huge difference. We moved to Indy a few years ago, though, and now we’re in an apartment. The water tastes like chlorine, and we’re still not used to it. But flushing all the paper is great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/septic-tank-realistic-costs-and-maintenance/690051.md?page=2)