Georgia Lakeside Septic Installation Encounters Many Regulatory Roadblocks

Putting the drainfield across the road, on a steep slope, was part of the solution for this challenging site

Georgia Lakeside Septic Installation Encounters Many Regulatory Roadblocks

Harold Kilgore eases the tank truck down a 35% to 40% slope using the Takeuchi TB260 compact excavator as a brake. (Photo courtesy of On-Site Wastewater Consultants)

Interested in Systems/ATUs?

Get Systems/ATUs articles, news and videos right in your inbox! Sign up now.

Systems/ATUs + Get Alerts

A couple purchased a wooded 0.4-acre lot on sprawling Lake Lanier in the northern region of Georgia, unaware that the Hall County Environmental Health Department had revised the original approval from a three-bedroom home to a one-bedroom cottage.

“In addition, there was no space for an onsite system and reserve area,” says Harold Kilgore, owner of On-site Wastewater Consultants in Carnesville, Georgia. “That’s when our phone rang.”

On Kilgore’s recommendation, the owners purchased an adjacent 1-acre lot for the septic systems, but officials wouldn’t approve the two-lot design. “They claimed it wasn’t an onsite system if it was across the road from the house,” says Kilgore.

The county Board of Health met quarterly, which delayed negotiations. Once officials approved Kilgore’s design, he needed approval from the county Planning Department and specifications from the Engineering Department on how to cross the road. Then he met with the county Zoning and Planning Commission, which concurred with the other agencies and issued the permit.

The process took 15 months. Kilgore’s 600 gpd design for the four-bedroom home his client always wanted featured Eljen sand filter modules and low-pressure dosing.

Gravelator Systems, Kilgore’s sister company at the time, installed the system. Topography was the greatest obstacle. Although the two lots totaled 1.4 acres, gullies and ditches limited the usable areas. The primary drainfield was on a hill 80 feet higher than the main floor of the house, and the 4-inch PVC house lateral ran 29 feet down a wooded gully with a 35% to 40% slope.

“Working on the steep grade required substantial planning and was the most hazardous part of the project,” Kilgore says. The first task was cutting a road to enable Ray Matchen, owner of Nix Tank Co. and driver of the tank truck, to reverse onto the lot and down the gully between the trees.

Kilgore ran the Takeuchi TB260 compact excavator, while son Heath Kilgore operated the Takeuchi TL12R2 compact track loader, assisted by nephew Justin Kilgore. With the road constructed, Harold Kilgore rumbled halfway back down the slope, dug the hole for the 1,000-gallon concrete single-compartment dose tank, came back up, and tied a chain from the excavator blade to the front of Matchen’s truck.

“Now if Ray began to slide or lose control as he backed down, I could lower the blade and boom to anchor us,” says Kilgore. “We eased down the slope very slowly.” Once the truck was in position, they set the tank before repeating the operation with the 1,500-gallon concrete dual-compartment septic tank. The work took all day.

Both ends of the orifice shields – 4-foot-long PVC pipe – are plugged with end caps into which centered 2-inch holes have been drilled for the 1.50-inch PVC distribution pipe. (Photo by Kaylinn Gilstrap)
Both ends of the orifice shields – 4-foot-long PVC pipe – are plugged with end caps into which centered 2-inch holes have been drilled for the 1.50-inch PVC distribution pipe. (Photo by Kaylinn Gilstrap)

“The county Board of Health and the commissioners had specified HDPE tubing to eliminate joints in the 2-inch force main and 4-inch sleeve,” Kilgore says. “In addition, the sleeve could act as a conduit, enabling us to replace the old line if necessary.”

In one shot, Ben Swanson, owner of Swanson Utility Construction, bored from the top of the hill near the drainfield down to the dose tank. Then he pulled back 360 feet of 4-inch sleeve followed by the force main. 

On the third day, the crew installed 36 A42 modules, 12 per three 52-foot-long trenches. To improve effluent distribution, they cut 2-inch holes centered in 4-inch-diameter end caps, then inserted the caps into 4-foot lengths of PVC pipe serving as orifice shields

“By suspending the 1.5-inch PVC distribution pipe through the caps, an inch of water remains in the sleeve invert when the pump switches off,” Kilgore says. “Now effluent can’t run from module to module and discharges immediately with the next spray cycle.”

A 2 hp Liberty effluent pump doses the field with 120 gallons five times per day. Before departing, Kilgore held a training day for inspectors unfamiliar with low-pressure dosing systems. 

Suspending the 1.50-inch distribution pipe in the 4-inch orifice shields creates a trough that allows immediate effluent discharge at the beginning of each spray cycle. (Photo by Kaylinn Gilstrap)
Suspending the 1.50-inch distribution pipe in the 4-inch orifice shields creates a trough that allows immediate effluent discharge at the beginning of each spray cycle. (Photo by Kaylinn Gilstrap)

Read more about On-site Wastewater Consultants in the November issue of Onsite Installer.



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.