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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-01-05 Septic System Design ReportEX?N:0` iT _ _� TO: Jeanne A. Mabusth, Zoning Administrator FROM: Michael P. Gaffron, Septic System Inspector DATE: January 5, 1982 SUBJECT: Ringer Subdivision, North Willow Drive #615 Summary: All proposed lots were found to have high water tables, necessitating the use of mound systems. Percolation rates in the upper soil profile generally were suitable for :Hound systems, with slower rates found in deeper test holes. Slopes on them entire site are fairly level and suited for mound systems. This report will consist of: a) a short review of each lot of the proposed division and b) a discussion of mound systems,including how and why they work and their current and future use as part of Orono's land use management plan. The Ringer subdivision is perhaps the most extensive development in Orono to date that will require all mound systems. A. Ringer Subdivision A preliminary review of the Hennepin County Soil Survey indicated extensive areas of Cordova silty clay loam and Shorewood silty clay loam as well as Leseur loam would be found at this site. These soils all would be expected to have a seasonal water table or saturation zone between 1 and 3 feet bAlow the surface. During the course of the soils investigation, Imet with the site evaluator, Carl Borg, and r.ealtor Graydon McCulley on the site. We made a boring which definitely indicated these high water table soils were present. I Idter confirmed with Dr. James L. Anderson of the University of Minnesota Soils Extension Department that mound systems would be. appropriate for these soil types. These are much the same soils as found in the Medina-• Norningside area, which experience conventional trench septic system failures due to the soil conditions. In general, the loamy topsoil characteristics for the Ringer property are suitable for proper functioning of standard pressure -mound septic systems as per Orono's Code and Design Manual. For clarity's sake I have labeled the northern most tier cf seven lots as Block 1, the western group of six lots as Block 2, and the two lots to the southeast as Block 3. Lot 1, Block 1 Peres PB11 thru PB16. Borings BB11 thru BB13. Average perc rates for both primary and alternate sites are acceptable. Slopes are quite level. Saturation indications (mottling) started at 1.7 to 2.5 feet. Actual water table at 5-7' depth. A mound system should be used due to the presence of shallow saturation zones. vis Page 2 ou 'd C 1 10 $a �v � 4) a C C C C C C C C C C C o y • ww ww ww ww ww ww ww ww .. w .4 y 1A P N O Ln an in Ln Y1 fl. 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Mottling indicated below 21, with actual water table at 3.2 to 4.2'. A standard mound system should be used due to the presence of shallow sa on zones. Lot 3, Block 1 Peres PB31 thru PB26. Borings BB31 thru BB33. Slopes in the primary site are approximately 6-80, on a slight flattening Of the 10-121 slopes surrounding it. Borings in the primary site indicate 1 to 2 ' of loamy topsoil over a 6" layer of organic clay topsoil over a plastic sandy clay. Actual water table at the primary site was below 5'. However, the high plasticity indicates a heavy clay that is probably saturated. The secondary site was mottled below 1.5 feet with an actual saturated zone at l' depth. Coupled with a slope of 10% the secondary site is marginal for a mound system and would require at least 2' of sand base as part of the design. I suggest thata standardpressure mound system be required for both sites with addea sand depth for the secondary system. Please note that this lot is the most tenuous in the subdivision in terms of slope and soils consideration for using a mound system. Should a proposed house location encroach on either of the tested sites, careful review and possible additional testing will be needed to ensure that a mound can still be used. The site does not appear capable of supporting any kind of a trench system. Peres PS41 thru PB46. Borings IB41 thru BB43. Slopes average 51 - 7t overall. Borings indicate actual'water table at 4' with mottling at a depth of 3-4' for the primary and 2' at the secondary site. Perc rates were fairly uniform throughout these tested sites. A depression/drainageway to the immediate south of the tested sites must be avoided during construction of the systems. I would recommend a standard pressure mound for both sits. Lot 5, Block 1 Peres PS51 thru PB56. Borings BB51 thru BB53. Slopes are 31 to 60 overall. Mottling at the primary site start i at 2.7 to 3.5' with actual water table at 3.7 to 5.01. This s�,:e is acceptable for a standard mound system. The alternate site has a perc rate considered too slow for any system by code. However, close scrutiny shows that the peres were taken at depth in the sandy clay subsoil, not in the topsoil. In general, throughout the entire subdivision the testing done at a depth of 12", in the topsoil, indicates acceptable percolation rates, with testing at 24" or more indicating slower, marginal perc rates. In my opinion, this site is no different than most of the others, and would have an acceptable perc rate if tested at the 12" depth in the sandy loam topsoil. No further'testing should be required; a mound system is recommended. 1615 Ringer Subdivision page 5 Lot 6, Block 1 Peres PB61 thru PB66. Borings BB61 thru BB63. Average perc rates at both sites are acceptable. Slopes range from 2 to 48. Mottling started at a depth of approximately 2.4 feet, with actual water level at 2.5 to 4.41. A standard mound system should be used at both sites. Lot 7, Block 1 Peres PB71 thru PB76. Borings BB71 thru BB73. Slopes average 2-3%. Perc rates were fairly slow, with the secondary si.ce being somewhat slower than the limit (however, the justification for Lot 5, Block 1 also applies here). Actual water level ranged from 1.7 to 3.5' with mottling generally below 2.5'. A standard mound is recommended for both sites. Lot 1, Block 2 Peres PA11 thru PA18. Borings BAll thru BA13. Slopes are very flat. Mottling was indicated below 2.2 ' with actual water encountered below 2.01. Two secondary sites were tested. All sites are acceptable for a standard mound system. Lot 2, Block 2 Peres PA21 thru PA26. Borings BA21 thru BA23. very flat slopes. Mottling occurs at 2.0 to 2.4' with actual water encountered below 2.41. Perc rates on both sites are acceptable. A mound system is recommended for both sites. Lot 31 Block 2 Peres PA31 thru PA36. Borings BA31 thru BA33. Slopes averaged 2 to 51. Mottling starts at a depth of 2.0-3.51. Actual water level was below 2.5'. Perc rates are acceptable. Mound systems are recommended for both sites. Lot 4, Block 2 Peres PA41 thru PA46. Borings BA41 thru BA43. Slopes are very flat. Mottling generally was found below 2.01, with actual water level at abu ut 4.01. Perc rate for primary site is acceptable; perc rate for secondary site iL slightly slow but acceptable for a mound based on the justification referred to for Lot 5 Block 1. I recommend a mound system for both sites. Lot 5, Block 2 Peres PA51 thru PA56. Borings BA51 thru BA53. Slopes are very flat. Mottling occurred below 1.2 feet with actual water below 4.0 feet. Perc rates are acceptable for the primary site and slightly slow at the secondary site. (Refer to Lot 5, Block 1) This lot has the overall worst set of percolation rates of the division. 'However, only two of the peres were taken in the topsoil, the others, two of which were very slow, 4ere at depth. I recommend that a mound system be used on this site. If peres were re -taken in the topsoil, it is likely they would pass as did nearly all others done in this manner. 1615 Ringer Subdivision Page 6 Lot 6, Block 2 Peres PA61 thru PA66. Borings DA61 thru BA63. Slopes are nearly level. Mottling occurred below 1.5', with actual water encountered below 5.71. (Note that soil appears saturated below 2.51) Perc rates were acceptable, although t of 6 taken at depth very very slow. Both primary and secondary sites should use mound systems. Lot 1, Block 3 Peres PC11 thru PC14. Boring BC11 and BC12. This lot contains an existing house, garage and barn. The existing septic system is unknown and was not located during my routine inspection in July 1981, although no evidence of failurQ was noted. A future drainfield site has been tested to the south of the house. Average percolation rate is 21 minutes per inch; soil borings indicate soils suited for a shallow trench or mound system, with mottling beginning at a depth of 51. This is the highest elevated point in the entire subdivision and appears to be the only lot possibly suited for a shallow trench system. An attempt should be made to locate the existing system to ensure it is within the lot boundaries, although there is only a•remote possibility that it isn't. Lot 21 Block 3 Peres PC21 thru PC24. Borings BC21 and BC22. This lot contains an existing house and small shed. The existing septic system is unknown and was not located during my inspection last July. No evidence of system failure is noted. While the existing system undoubtedly consists of trenches, soils data provided for a future drainfield site indicates mottling at a 3.5' depth. This indicates that the replacement system, should it ever be necessary, would probably have to be a mound. Percolation rates averaged 56 mpi. It would also be advisable to locate the existing system to ensure it is within the new lot boundaries. B. Discussion of Mound Systems Since the proposed Ringer subdivision appears to need mound systems throughout, it might be worthwhile to review the conditions whict. favor use of mound systems over conventional trench systems. As you are aware, a biomat forms at the rock -soil interface in a standard trench system. This biomat acts as a "valve" to slow the downward percolc.~ion of septic tank effluent to a rate w ere the flow is unsaturated, i..,. air in the soil pores is in contact with the percolating effluent. Under these essential conditions, adequate sewage treatment will occur. However, in many soils, either a seasonal saturated condition or extremely fine, impermeable soil texture (or both) tends to eliminate the air/effluent contact and also severely limits the soils capacity to absorb large amounts of effluent. To ensure that a standard trench system is not 1615 Ringer Subdivision Page 7 installed in these limiting soils, a set of governing criteria have evolved over the last 50 years. Specifically, trench systems are not allowed: 1) where the percolation rate is slower than 60 minutes per inch of water level drop in a percolation test hole; and 2) where the highest known water table or indicated saturated soil layer is less than 3' below the bottom of the trench. In most cases, these same soils have a varying amount of topsoil which is usually "loamier" and will accept and treat a limited amount of effluent. The pressure -mound system is designed specifically to use this loamy topsoil layer for effluent treatment and disposal. In brief, a 12-24" layer of sand (placed over the natural roughened topsoil) is fed effluent from a pressure distribution system in an overlying rock bed. The biomat "valve" forms at the rock/ sand interface which is 12-24" above the natural soil. Because of the pressure distribution, an unsaturated air/effluent contact is maintained as treatment occurs in the sand bed. This treated effluent is then dispersed into the topsoil and allowed to move laterally through the topsoil,possibly even past the boundaries of the mound system (yet still below the surface) until it eventually seeps downward or evaporates over a wide area. It would-be poor planning for Orono to allow installation of standard trench drainfields in soils which have high-water table characteristics, since many systems likely would eventually fail, as was the case in Medina-Morningside. Since Orono has shown a strict desire to limit the extension of sanitary sewers, it appears reasonable to allow (and, in fact, promote) the use of alternate on -site sewage treatment methods where development pressures persist. Mound systems have been installed over the last 10 to 15 years around the country as an alternative to trenches. In Orono, pressure distribution mounds were first installed in 1976. To date, the City*has 13 pressure mounds in service, with no recorded failures. In my opinion, under specified site conditions, mound systems are a safe, sanitary, reliable method of sewage treatment. EXI-,'!91T November 27, 1981 P.O. nix 209 1jay23ta, Minnesota 55391 Mr. Judd Ringer 405 South Willow Drive Long Like, Minnesota 55356 Dear Mr. Ringer: lie have completed a site evaluation for on -site sewage treatment facilities of 15 proposed lots located East of Willow Road and North of Trunk Highway No. 12 in Orono. Minnesota. A location nap has been enclosed showing the location of the soil borings and percolation tests. Soil boring logs and percolation test data is also enclosed. The soil boring show a uniformly high water table throughout the area tested. This condition prohibits the installation of conventional soil absorption systems. The gentle slopes and percolation rates encountered indicate that Mound Systems should be satisfactory on these sites. We recommend that the future homes be provided with Mound Systems of soil absorption. Please call if you have any questions. Thank you. Tours very truly. Q�'z �_9 VC C' CARL W. BORG, P.E. CWB:vl cc: Mr. Michael Gaff:on City of Orono Ene. 3 copies - Location `tap Sheets 1 - 3 - Soil Borings 1 Sheet Percolation Test Data "r l :. - I yt a • 1• r ,ices • 5as:: s �+V j fir• +e �•sf La i19 s Vu� > 01 � u ~r , �i ��' , �� M Ii j �S�il�a � sn s••'a;j � to If Cd iot Y on to ► MI' O ~00ca Ia Q 90 OD C ,i N I • co!l C _ - .+ O " - ' COI rJ O i i �t I 1 r o� M 00 a a r J t •� I J t a o r J J 0 0► i pp ^ rI J ► t is [ v,. 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An alarm device and reserve capacity equal to one days sewage flow are required. /S17�,St./Bre'� ;K pf> 1CVE Cu'kC-j" kAAY //UCLLA-DE L)fQD SPNCf- Aft, vF TA-- o.A-r-bT 1-7l L . TYPICAL 'HOUND" SEWRGE rRaTxcNT SYSTEM LAYOUT 4 INCHES STRAW OR MARSH SANDY LOAM SOIL 6-12" doe; MAY AND LAYER OF RED ROSIN PAPER PERFORATED LATERAL GRASS COVER 6 INCHES 12-24" SAND FILL TOPSOIL MAXIMUM SLOPE 3 TO I OPS IL. ---^ PLOWED OR CLEAN ROCK q" BELOW FIFE. 2" OVER DISKED SURFACE CROSS SECTICN A -A 14 -2" PIPE FROM PUMPING CHAMBER 1 l o ROCK BED - L 1 BR Home - 10'x 40' 4 BR Home - 10'x 50' 5 BR Haas - 10'x 65' 1'1," PVC �j — S LL D PERFORATED i E C* LATERALS ^ � I ROC - -fFMED 'A" Holes i� S ES. every 36" I I'� 1' I c-x-rc"r of BET AREA-N4 IdI0,00 `1 D I, /V 6:b INCES CLEANROCKI , J - _ 6V Si-OP�,L 12" DEEP ( 11 W A W i W ; m� PE72 your 2O S C 20 �y rHArNgA INCH"r INCHES SAND 1 10 FEET-� SAND 10'ain-"r` MAx 10'min-7 ""rk If I.)VIR SAND 1 \ PLAN VIEW QUESTIONS 7 CALL THE SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTOR AT 473-7357• CITY OF ORONO GENERAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS MOUND DRAINFIELD SYSTEM TO BE USED WHERE: Seasonal perched water table is between 2 feet and 4 feet below surface. Percolation rate in top 12" of soil is faster than 60 MPI. Percolation rate in subsoil but above water table is faster than 120 MPI. Where percolation rate is 60-120 MPI, depth to groundwater shall be at least 3t and slope must be no more than 3%. Where percolation rate is 30-60 MPI, depth to groundwater shall be at least 21 and slope must not exceed 6%. If percolation rate is faster than 30 MPI, depth to groundwater shall be at least 31 and slope must not exceed 6-12%. CONNECTION TO HOUSE House to tanks may be PVC (ASTM D-3034 or better), cast iron or clay tile. PVC should be sand -bedded in flat runs over long distances. No outside air test required but joints must be tight. TANKS Two (2) precast concrete tanks are required. Min. size 1000 gal. and 750 gal.; we recommend 2 1000's. Tanks must have 20" manhole riser to within 12" of final grade, and at least one 4"-6" inspection stack to surface. Baffles must be acid resistant and may be plastic, fiberglass, or precast with tank. DRAINFIELD Mound consisting of 12-24" layer of sand on plowed, chopped, or otherwise scarified natural surface soil. 12" rock bed on top of sand layer, 10' maximum width X length dependent on water use. Distribution pipe is laid in top 3" of rock. Cover rock bed with straw or hay AND building paper. A layer of sandy loam 6-12" thick should be placed over the covered rock bed and a 6" layer of topsoil then placed over the entire mound. Finished sideslopes to be 3:1 or flatter. Grass cover should be established as soon as possible over the mound area to reduce erosion and aid in evaporation. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN CONSTRUCTING A MOUND IS PREPARING THE NATURAL SOIL SURFACE BY DISC -PLOWING OR CHOPPING WITH A BACKHOE TO A DEPTH OF ABOUT 12". When sand is pushed or dropped onto this loosened raw top- soil (DON'T drive on it), an interface is formed which will allow percolation to occur from the sand into the topsoil. SEE SKETCH ON BACK OF THIS SHEET. DISTRIBUTION The mound must use pressure distribution and requires a pump from the se tic tanks. Distribution must be 1�" PVC or plastic with " holes (turned down) every 36". Pumping from a 2" manifold, distribution system should be 3 lengths of pir^ spaced 40" on center capped at the ends, running tha length of the rock bed (see sketch). No drop boxes or distribution boxes are used. 4" PIPE WITH GRAVITY DISTRIB- UTION IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN A MOUND SYSTEM.