Laserfiche WebLink
UNIVERSITY Septic System Management Plan <br />for Above Grade Systems <br />OF MINNESOTA <br />Homeowner Management Tasks <br />These operation and maintenance activities are your responsibility. Chart on page 6 can help <br />track your activities. <br />Your toilet is not a garbage can. Do not flush anything besides human waste and toilet paper. No wet <br />wipes, cigarette butts, disposal diapers, used medicine, feminine products or other trash! <br />The system and septic tanks needs to be <br />checked every 24 months <br />Your service provider or pumper/maintainer should evaluate if your tank needs to be pumped more or less <br />often. <br />Seasonally or several times per year <br />• Leaks. Check (listen, look) for leaks in toilets and dripping faucets. Repair leaks promptly. <br />• Soil treatment area. Regularly check for wet or spongy soil around your soil treatment area. If <br />surfaced sewage or strong odors are not corrected by pumping the tank or fixing broken caps and <br />leaks, call your service professional. Untreated sewage may make humans and animals sick. Keep <br />bikes, snowmobiles and other traffic off and control borrowing animals. <br />• Alarms. Alarms signal when there is a problem; contact your service professional any time the <br />alarm signals. <br />• Lint falter. If you have a lint filter, check for lint buildup and clean when necessary. If you do not <br />have one, consider adding one after washing machine. <br />• Effluent screen. If you do not have one, consider having one installed the next time the tank is <br />cleaned along with an alarm. <br />Annually <br />• Water usage rate. A water meter or another device can be used to monitor your average daily water <br />use. Compare your water usage rate to the design flow of your system (listed on the next page). <br />Contact your septic professional if your average daily flow over the course of a month exceeds 70% <br />of the design flow for your system. <br />• Caps. Make sure that all caps and lids are intact and in place. Inspect for damaged caps at least <br />every fall. Fix or replace damaged caps before winter to help prevent freezing issues. <br />• Water conditioning devices. See Page 5 for a list of devices. When possible, program the recharge <br />frequency based on water demand (gallons) rather than time (days). Recharging too frequently <br />may negatively impact your septic system. Consider updating to demand operation if your system <br />currently uses time, <br />• Review your water usage rate. Review the Water Use Appliance chart on Page 5. Discuss any major <br />changes with your service provider or pumper/maintainer. <br />During each visit by a service provider or pumper/maintainer <br />Make sure that your service professional services the tank through the manhole. <br />(NOT though a 4" or b" diameter inspection port.) <br />Ask how full your tank was with sludge and scum to determine if your service interval is <br />appropriate. <br />• Ask your pumper/maintainer to accomplish the tasks listed on the Professional Tasks on Page 4. <br />-3- <br />