5 Signs Your Drain Field May Need Professional Cleaning

Feeling ready to break ground on a new office space, factory, or other structure to house your new business? Congratulations! However, it’s not a project to take lightly. You need to know everything that goes into making a building work. Waste disposal, or more specifically, sewage is probably one of the least sexy sides of real estate. Most buildings of a certain size require facilities for human beings to “do their business,” so to speak. Such facilities create sewage, and that sewage needs to go somewhere. Here are several septic system placement considerations for commercial areas you must keep in mind.

When Do You Need a Septic Tank?

The first reason one has a septic tank installed is most localities and the EPA mandate it. That said, your commercial property will require a septic tank onsite if it doesn’t have access to a city sewer system, or that system can’t meet your building’s projected sewage output. An ordinary septic tank for a small family’s home could never handle the sort of use a commercial property might experience. A larger commercial septic system is a necessity in such cases.

Which Buildings Need Them?

While commercial properties largely concern themselves with doing business, producing goods, and offering services, other structures qualify for the designation. Houses don’t qualify, but apartment buildings with multiple tenants and hotels and motels with short- and long-term residents do. However, some buildings don’t require constant occupation. Stores, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public buildings, and so forth also require septic systems that can handle an influx of flushing.

Size Matters, and So Does Placement

Still wondering about septic system placement considerations for commercial areas? Your state’s local EPA chapter can help. You’ll need their approval on the placement and type of septic tank for your property. The septic services provider installing the system will calculate the required size based on the number of individuals occupying the property and the number of gallons each disposal will produce according to local and state regulations. Several hundred more gallons enter the equation if the property is to have a restaurant, food court, bar, or similar facility. The waste contents also come into play since some materials demand stricter rules and stronger equipment.

Commercial Septic Tank Maintenance

The average household septic tank requires pumping and cleaning every three to five years. That need increases with commercial septic systems because they face heavier use and have a greater environmental impact. The tank, as large as it is, fills rapidly. The greater amount of sewage runs the risk of overflowing and getting into the groundwater and surrounding flora and fauna. Plants like natural fertilizers, but too much is dangerous. Commercial septic tanks require pumping and cleaning every one to two years. The routine cleaning necessitates special cleansing equipment and detergents to prevent flooding, a broken tank, and increasingly unhealthy levels of bacteria and the like.

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