How to Dig a Seepage Pit for a Septic Tank

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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A seepage pit is the area where the fluid from your septic sewage system is absorbed into the surrounding earth. Digging your own seepage pit doesn't have to be hard or time consuming. The designs are simple, and the idea behind it makes the task easy. For someone serious about repairing and maintaining their own home, and with the right equipment, it's a one- or two-day project. Read on to learn how to dig a seepage pit for a septic tank.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Backhoe
Shovels
Cement seepage pit
Gravel
Crane

Step1

Get information on your type of septic tank. Some types require you to dig a pit around the tank and some require a separate pit altogether. Find out how large your septic tank is, and calculate how big the pit needs to be.

Step2

Call the city offices where you live and get any special permits. Find out if there are specific requirements or codes in your area for a seepage pit. You might have to set up a drainfield instead to comply with building code. See eHow's article on installing a septic system for more information. If you're in a rural area and the county is your local jurisdiction, the county offices have information on requirements for installing a seepage pit.

Step3

Visit the Call 811 website, and have them mark the ground on your property. Make sure they mark where the outlet sewer is on your septic tank. Find out how deep it is from the city or from your house plans.

Step4

Find an area on your property that works for digging a seepage pit, if it's not directly around your septic tank. Stay away from buried power, gas, cable or water lines. Make sure that the water table is low enough that when you dig the pit it stays dry and that the ground water doesn't just turn it into a well.

Step5

Dig with a backhoe to get most of the soil out of the way. Use shovels for the last little bit of soil until you have a hole that's as deep as your pit.

Step6

Lower the cement seepage pit into the hole, and insert the outlet sewer pipe from the septic tank into the hole for it. Surround the pit with gravel, and use a crane to put on the top. Bury it.