How long has your home been there? If your state is like mine (KY) then it would have been permitted through the Health Department. The backhoe operator can't even dig until he gets the permit and the Health Department Person comes out, looks at the area, and then TELLS the backhoe operator where HE/SHE wants it put. We know as we had to do this for my daughter. There should be a record of whoever decided the slope and where to place the Septic Tank at your Health Department. DO NOT TELL THEM ABOUT THE PIPE. They may make you dig up the entire yard. Just tell them you need to know so that you can have it pumped. There should be some sort of map layout with your info on it. Hope this helps.
I was only suggesting Pumping the tank as an excuse to find out if they have diagram of it so as not to cause you any harm of having to dig and repair the entire system.
In (KY), YOU do not get to decide where or how you want your system installed. My best friends husband owns a backhoe service and installs plenty. One man wanted his system in a different location, but James told the man it had to be put where the Lady at the Health Dept. told him to put it. The man kept insisting so James put it where the man wanted it. The Health Dept always comes back to inspect the final installment before allowing it to be covered up. When the Lady arrived, she made James dig it back out and put it where she said. So James had told the man beforehand that he would charge him twice because he wouldn't listen and so the man had to pay James for 2 installments.
I've installed a couple of presby systems. They don't have a pipe off the end of the field. The presby pipes tie together at the capped output end and you have the "candy cane" pipe tied to those that comes up vertically to allow gases to escape so fluid can enter the end closest to the tank. The whole field is bermed and covered with septic sand then covered with top soil and seeded. Never saw a design that had a pipe for overflow, it would compromise the whole purpose of the septic field if it allowed raw sewage to flow past the septic sand.
I've lived in an area of Nasville not serviced by sewer systems. Only ever had septic systems. 30+ years at parents house and my house, no problems. Yes, I am that old.
Uncle was head of water works in south Nashville. Learned a lot about water distribution, water treatment, and even how New Orleans even exists by touring pumping stations down there with him.
Pumped septic tanks when I was 16. Egg shells produce calcium carbonate that kills the biome. Had to spray a hose into a tank for 2 hrs once to turn the 1.5 ft of egg shells at the bottom into a slurry and stir it around with a 15 ft pole to pump it all out. That was nasty. Sulpher smell lingers in clothes and hair. Yuck. No egg shells. No garbage disposals. Ever! Also had to pump a baseball field with a tank filled with condoms. I'm surprised I'm still alive.
No grease, no egg shells, no hair, no garbage disposals. Only toilet stuff and shower water at its dirtiest. Put screens over all your drains to catch it all and toss it in the garbage. Hairballs are nasty but will not decompose. See Egyptian mummys for details.
Its not hard to maintain the biome in there. They eat what you just ate. Simple.
Do not drive over the leech field unless you have really fat tires. Tractors, ok. Trucks, not so much. Its just gravel over a corrogated pipe with holes. Not structurally sound.
Low flow toilets and flow restrictors are a septic tank's worst nightmare. They thrive on lots of water. Remove any and all flow restrictors from faucets or drill holes through them and cut those plastic cups out of all toilet tanks. Let the water flow in abundance. We always hold the toilet lever down to get a full flush and adjust the floats for max water level.
I can also explain fluid dynamics and emptying human waste at 1000+ ft depth from a Posiden or Trident submarine (very different), but i am not a plumber so what do i know.
Our systems also had a separate system for grey water from washing mashines that emtied into a much smaller tank with virtually no leech field. Bleach and phosphates, you know. Bad for the biome.
Also no baby wipes, ever. They may say they are safe for septic systems. They're not. Have a second home and neighbors say don't ever put them in there either. Normal sewers there. No baby wipes. Important enough to say twice.
I'm not an expert but unless you've lived with them, had to find them and dig the lid off, had to pump them out, and repair leech fields, you probably don't know much about septic systems. "Been there. Done that."
I had an old home construction book from 1945 that showed what was called a Slush Pit.
Honest, I thought this was a political term until I read about it! The toilet flushes straight into a deep pit with leaky gaps in between the bricks. The leach field is all the surrounding area. It's simple to build but wasn't up to code even then. I've used them in Mexico. When you got to go you use what you got.
Not sure I can be of help but will give it a try.
Our home was built in 1974 and we have a septic system. It has only ONE entrance and that is where we have it pumped out every two years.
The waste goes into the tank and then filters out underground.
I raised three boys here and never had an issue with the tank or the drain field.
I do not know how long you have lived there but if you have not had the tank pumped out, you may be dealing with a drain field that is saturated.
Here is a bit of info from a great website regarding septic systems.
Specifically, this is how a typical conventional septic system works:
All water runs out of your house from one main drainage pipe into a septic tank.
The septic tank is a buried, water-tight container usually made of concrete, fiberglass, or polyethylene. Its job is to hold the wastewater long enough to allow solids to settle down to the bottom forming sludge, while the oil and grease floats to the top as scum.
Compartments and a T-shaped outlet prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and traveling into the drainfield area.
The liquid wastewater (effluent) then exits the tank into the drainfield.
The drainfield is a shallow, covered, excavation made in unsaturated soil. Pretreated wastewater is discharged through piping onto porous surfaces that allow wastewater to filter though the soil. The soil accepts, treats, and disperses wastewater as it percolates through the soil, ultimately discharging to groundwater.
If the drainfield is overloaded with too much liquid, it can flood, causing sewage to flow to the ground surface or create backups in toilets and sinks.
Finally, the wastewater percolates into the soil, naturally removing harmful coliform bacteria, viruses and nutrients. Coliform bacteria is a group of bacteria predominantly inhabiting the intestines of humans or other warm-blooded animals. It is an indicator of human fecal contamination.**
How long has your home been there? If your state is like mine (KY) then it would have been permitted through the Health Department. The backhoe operator can't even dig until he gets the permit and the Health Department Person comes out, looks at the area, and then TELLS the backhoe operator where HE/SHE wants it put. We know as we had to do this for my daughter. There should be a record of whoever decided the slope and where to place the Septic Tank at your Health Department. DO NOT TELL THEM ABOUT THE PIPE. They may make you dig up the entire yard. Just tell them you need to know so that you can have it pumped. There should be some sort of map layout with your info on it. Hope this helps.
I was only suggesting Pumping the tank as an excuse to find out if they have diagram of it so as not to cause you any harm of having to dig and repair the entire system.
In (KY), YOU do not get to decide where or how you want your system installed. My best friends husband owns a backhoe service and installs plenty. One man wanted his system in a different location, but James told the man it had to be put where the Lady at the Health Dept. told him to put it. The man kept insisting so James put it where the man wanted it. The Health Dept always comes back to inspect the final installment before allowing it to be covered up. When the Lady arrived, she made James dig it back out and put it where she said. So James had told the man beforehand that he would charge him twice because he wouldn't listen and so the man had to pay James for 2 installments.
I've installed a couple of presby systems. They don't have a pipe off the end of the field. The presby pipes tie together at the capped output end and you have the "candy cane" pipe tied to those that comes up vertically to allow gases to escape so fluid can enter the end closest to the tank. The whole field is bermed and covered with septic sand then covered with top soil and seeded. Never saw a design that had a pipe for overflow, it would compromise the whole purpose of the septic field if it allowed raw sewage to flow past the septic sand.
Is this somehow GA-related as OP needs to drain his own swamp?
Have you looked up the term Alternate Septics to see what is done nowadays for septics that are not leach field?
I've lived in an area of Nasville not serviced by sewer systems. Only ever had septic systems. 30+ years at parents house and my house, no problems. Yes, I am that old.
Uncle was head of water works in south Nashville. Learned a lot about water distribution, water treatment, and even how New Orleans even exists by touring pumping stations down there with him.
Pumped septic tanks when I was 16. Egg shells produce calcium carbonate that kills the biome. Had to spray a hose into a tank for 2 hrs once to turn the 1.5 ft of egg shells at the bottom into a slurry and stir it around with a 15 ft pole to pump it all out. That was nasty. Sulpher smell lingers in clothes and hair. Yuck. No egg shells. No garbage disposals. Ever! Also had to pump a baseball field with a tank filled with condoms. I'm surprised I'm still alive.
No grease, no egg shells, no hair, no garbage disposals. Only toilet stuff and shower water at its dirtiest. Put screens over all your drains to catch it all and toss it in the garbage. Hairballs are nasty but will not decompose. See Egyptian mummys for details.
Its not hard to maintain the biome in there. They eat what you just ate. Simple.
Do not drive over the leech field unless you have really fat tires. Tractors, ok. Trucks, not so much. Its just gravel over a corrogated pipe with holes. Not structurally sound.
Low flow toilets and flow restrictors are a septic tank's worst nightmare. They thrive on lots of water. Remove any and all flow restrictors from faucets or drill holes through them and cut those plastic cups out of all toilet tanks. Let the water flow in abundance. We always hold the toilet lever down to get a full flush and adjust the floats for max water level.
I can also explain fluid dynamics and emptying human waste at 1000+ ft depth from a Posiden or Trident submarine (very different), but i am not a plumber so what do i know.
Our systems also had a separate system for grey water from washing mashines that emtied into a much smaller tank with virtually no leech field. Bleach and phosphates, you know. Bad for the biome.
Also no baby wipes, ever. They may say they are safe for septic systems. They're not. Have a second home and neighbors say don't ever put them in there either. Normal sewers there. No baby wipes. Important enough to say twice.
I'm not an expert but unless you've lived with them, had to find them and dig the lid off, had to pump them out, and repair leech fields, you probably don't know much about septic systems. "Been there. Done that."
Are you sure it is waste, not stormwater? Storm water pipes often carry water down, away from the house.
I had an old home construction book from 1945 that showed what was called a Slush Pit. Honest, I thought this was a political term until I read about it! The toilet flushes straight into a deep pit with leaky gaps in between the bricks. The leach field is all the surrounding area. It's simple to build but wasn't up to code even then. I've used them in Mexico. When you got to go you use what you got.
Not sure I can be of help but will give it a try. Our home was built in 1974 and we have a septic system. It has only ONE entrance and that is where we have it pumped out every two years.
The waste goes into the tank and then filters out underground.
I raised three boys here and never had an issue with the tank or the drain field.
I do not know how long you have lived there but if you have not had the tank pumped out, you may be dealing with a drain field that is saturated.
Here is a bit of info from a great website regarding septic systems.
Specifically, this is how a typical conventional septic system works: All water runs out of your house from one main drainage pipe into a septic tank. The septic tank is a buried, water-tight container usually made of concrete, fiberglass, or polyethylene. Its job is to hold the wastewater long enough to allow solids to settle down to the bottom forming sludge, while the oil and grease floats to the top as scum. Compartments and a T-shaped outlet prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and traveling into the drainfield area. The liquid wastewater (effluent) then exits the tank into the drainfield. The drainfield is a shallow, covered, excavation made in unsaturated soil. Pretreated wastewater is discharged through piping onto porous surfaces that allow wastewater to filter though the soil. The soil accepts, treats, and disperses wastewater as it percolates through the soil, ultimately discharging to groundwater. If the drainfield is overloaded with too much liquid, it can flood, causing sewage to flow to the ground surface or create backups in toilets and sinks. Finally, the wastewater percolates into the soil, naturally removing harmful coliform bacteria, viruses and nutrients. Coliform bacteria is a group of bacteria predominantly inhabiting the intestines of humans or other warm-blooded animals. It is an indicator of human fecal contamination.**
Here is the link....https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-your-septic-system-works
Hope this helps!