HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-04-02 Letter, Inspection of Septic SystemCITY of ORONO
Poet Office 13ox 66•Crystal Ray, Mtnneaota 5.`i:141*Municipal Offices
On the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka
April 2, 1986
Michael P. Dale
261 Cygnet Place
Long Lake, MN 55356
Re: Septic System
Dear Mr. Dale:
I was contacted by Jill Monson of Wayzata Mortgage Company to inspect
the septic system serving your home. On April 2, 1986 I inspected the
syst_m, and wish to make the following comments regarding the condition of
the system:
1) The system was installed in 1960 according to City records.
Joe Boyer was general contractor for the house but it is unknown
who installed the septic system.
2) No record exists of any percolation tests, and it is
unlikely that any were done when the system was built.
3) Records indicate the installation c,f 2-800 gallon concrete
block tanks. From my inspection, it appears that the tanks may
be somewhat less than 800 gallons capacity, and do not have solid
bottoms. In fact the first tank appeared to have 12"-18" of
s' ►idge in the bottom.
4) It appears that the tanks were recently uncovered and
inspection pipes installed. The second inspection pipe is tilted
and is not condusive to easy inspection of the tanks. It was
impossible to determine whether this pipe was located over a
baffle. Perhaps the contractor that did the work can shed some
light on this. City records indicate the tanks were pumped on
1-2-85 by Sullivans Services, and a total of 1400 gallons was
removed.
Bl ILDING R LONtN(, 4717317 • ADMINISTRATION & FINA.N( I - 471 7358 • Pt BI k NORks 414 . 1Cu
ASSESSING
5) The drainfield appears to be extremely substandard in size
and construction. Records indicate 150' cf 2' wide drainfield,
or 300 s.f., was installed. This is perhaps 1/3 or 1/4 the size
drainfielc: that would be installed today for this house, based on
the soils and the number of bedrooms in the house. (Hennepin
County Soil. Survey indicates Ki lke-- y loam soils, which genera 1 _' y
have a very slow percolation rate perhaps 45 minutes per inch or
slower. This translates to 330 s.f. of drainfield required per
bedroom, based on 2 people per bedroom at 75 gallons per day per
person. A 4 bedroom house woul,' need a 1300 s.f. drainfield
under these assumptions.)
6) It appears that the drainfield may run downhill, evidenced by
the fact that when I probed to find the end of the drainfield in
the woods, noting an area where some sep-age of effluent was
occuring, probing down about 18" to the ro- .3ed ca.ised a release
of pressure and the drainfield began to mor-. rapidly seep to th•--
surface (see sketch). This portion of the drainfield it
saturated to the surface, most likely because the drainfield runs
downhill and perhaps because there is less cover over the
drainfield. This drainfield is in poor condition at best and
appears that it has a high potential for failure, in that it is
currently only barely keeping up with the effluent load and
during the current relatively wet ground conditions is
discharging to the surface.
Since tnis is the first indication that the system is failing, the
City will re -inspect in 30 days and again in 60 days to see whet:1er the
condition clears up. If not, orders to repair will be issued, soil testing
will be required, ane the system will likely be required to he brought into
total code conformance.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Michael P. Gaffron
Assistant Zoning Administrator