Overland Park allows three types of septic systems to be installed:
- Gravity system:
- Simplest and least costly.
- Requires excellent soils.
- Costs anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000.
- Repairs range from $3,000 to $4,000.
- Low Pressure Systems:
- Involves a pump tank and can allow a lateral field to be put uphill to get the system into moderate soils.
- Price ranges from $7,000 to $10,000.
- Repairs range from $3,000 to $7,000.
- Mound System. This is a very complicated system where sand is mounded in the yard for drainage and covered with sod. It involves a pump tank and specialized design. Price range from $13,000 to $25,000. Repairs are expensive.
A septic system is designed for residential sewage disposal when sewers are not available. It normally consists of a 2 compartment tank used for settling the solids and then this distributes to a system of trenches that allow the remaining fluids to be neutralized of contaminates by your yard soil. Gravity or a pump system can do this distribution.
Usually the tank can be located down slope from where your waste line exits your home. It should be within 5 to 20 feet of the house and anywhere up to 24" deep. A probe will need to be used to find it if there is not a manhole visible. All pump tanks should have a visible accessible manhole cover. Lateral trenches may be seen as green lines in your yard during dry summer months. Otherwise the gravel in them will also need to be probed to locate them. Usually if your home is new (less than 10 years old) the City will have records on microfilm showing the location of your septic system. If your home is older, you will probably need to hire a septic contractor to locate your system for you. Look in the yellow pages under SEPTICS.
A septic tank needs to be pumped regularly because solids and scum build up in your tank over time. Bacterial degradation cannot keep up with the input of solids. If the levels of solids or scum become large enough to flow around the protective outlet baffle on your tank, they can be distributed out into your lateral lines, blocking them and failing your system.
System failure is usually determined by sewage backing up in your home, coming out of the top of the tank, or pooling in your lawn over your laterals. If you have a pump and the pump alarm goes off, immediately contact a septic contractor to fix the problem before it escalates. If it is not a pump problem, septic contractors or City Health inspectors can assist you in determining the problem and possible solutions. If your property line is within 400 feet of an available sewer and your system fails, you will then be required to connect to County sewers.
Probably the most common reason for failure on a newer system is homeowner misuse of water. These systems are designed for certain amounts of water usage spread throughout the day and often they are flooded. Please see the section on septic care to help prevent the misuse of your system.
Older systems (over 25 years old) used materials and designs that are now prohibited and often the system has deteriorated or been blocked by solids or tree roots.