[R-390] Building Standards

[rbethman]

William,

I made reference to the drain field because - (here we go again with 
varying codes!) - 1) Tisha built her house TEN years ago.  I know as 
late as FIVE years ago, in Georgia, drain fields were STILL being used.  
2) You are in Texas.  3) Tisha is in Alabama  4) I am here in Virginia, 
and to MY knowledge, septic systems with drain fields are STILL used in 
the county.  In the City you MUST use the sewer system.  It is obviously 
of NO use as it is PVC to the street.

This is one of "those" issues that can vary widely based on what codes 
are being used and where.

It is just like the ENTIRE topic of grounding.  NEC does a poor treatise 
on it in terms of OUR applications, except to say "all will be tied 
together." 

We all live in different places.  I know of NO single solution that fits 
all.

Bob - N0DGN

William J. Neill wrote:
> A comment about the septic system and "drain field".
>
> Over here in the Great Dismal Swamp of South Texas, we do NOT have 
> drain fields and instead have aerobic systems wherein the effluent, 
> purified in a manner of speaking by being passed over chlorine tablets 
> prior to entry into the holding tank, is sprayed onto the yard daily 
> in the wee hours of the morning.
>
> Drain fields per se are now illegal given that they contaminate 
> aquifers.  We have enough problems with chemical plumes from 
> long-plugged oil wells and waste sites.
>
> Has worked very well for us in the eleven-plus years we've been here 
> and even in times of heavy rains and hurricanes, the system has never 
> flooded out and malfunctioned.  We have it pumped out about every 
> three years just for maintenance purposes.
>
> Bill Neill
> Conroe, Texas