water disposal?

[blueboy]

i just had a thought :huh . can saltwater damage a septic system? sometimes i dump it in the driveway, but wondered if that might be bad too(salts building up in the soil). what's the best way to dispose of water in the country?

[Richard]

I either pour it outside or it goes down the drain. The country grass/weeds don't mind, I don't anything could kill that stuff. Sometimes I use a python to do water changes so then it goes down to the septic. I just leave the water running for awhile afterwards so the sw doesn't sit in my septic tank long.

[blueboy]

and i guess you've been doing this for some time, with no apparent ill effects? i have heard of salts building up in soil to the point were nothing grows there, but when i pour it on the weeds in the driveway, they don't even flinch.

[captexas]

I seem to remember a discussion about this very issue some time ago. I think there was some question over whether the saltwater would kill off any of the bacteria in the septic tank that help break down the wastes and keep it working properly. I don't remember what the answer was, but I would imagine it depends on how much saltwater you are actually draining into it and how often.

[jroescher]

I live in the country, and have a 'native grass' yard. My sump is plumbed out to the back yard and so far there's been no effect on the grass whatsoever. The armidillos have dug up all around where the water drains, so I guess they like it too.

[GaryP]

Yes, salt can kill the bacteria in a septic system. I guess it really depends on how big a water change you are doing and how much FW is diluting it. The problem is that the bacteria experience a big shock when the SW is first introduced to the septic tank. A rapid change in salinity is worse then a slow change. I would suggest finding another way to dispose of it. Its not worth the risk.

[blueboy]

thanks gary, so the drain is out, but it sounds like just pouring it on the ground is cool? unless you don't want armadillos digging up the yard! hehe i have plans for the dillos anyways, those holes they dig will make a right proper shallow grave!

[Thunderkat]

www.pixpond.com/1/1qafsv.bmp

Please don't kill us Mr. Blueboy :(

Link doesn't work, was suppose to be 3 cute little baby armadillos.

[alton]

I have had my aloevera plant for about ten years, my carpet grass for 21, my liveoak for 10, and my japanese box woods for 20. Nothing's died yet. It gets about 20 gallons a week average. And yes we had this arguement last year, I think we compared saltwater to urine? If you compared how much fresh water verses saltwater you put in your septic tank 4000 gals of freshwater verses 30 gallons of saltwater, I would say it's dilluted pretty well. If you only knew what was growing in your septic tank?

[GaryP]

I was thinking about this for a house I was planning on building and I decided that I would dig a pit to pour it into. The water would percolate down or evaporate.