Effluent running out of the observation port and ponding in the drainfield alerted the manager of Echo Lake Lodge in Idaho Springs, Colo., to a serious problem. The lodge has a full commercial kitchen, 45-seat restaurant, and gift shop.
The lodge owner, Denver Parks and Recreation, hired a pumper to clean the 2,000-gallon septic tank twice a week as officials searched for a solution. An employee at Denver Water recommended All Service Septic, an engineering/design firm in Arvada. “We don’t have soil here; we have primarily bedrock,” says co-owner Richard Petz, P.E. “The problem was high-strength waste discharging to a moderately
