On Feb 17, 10:55�pm, MC wrote:
I purchased a house with a 15 year old 1500 gallon concrete septic
tank. The home inspector found that the level of fluid in the tank was
6 inches lower than the outlet pipe, suggesting a leak in the tank,
since the tank had not been pumped in 2-3 years. Only 2 adults and one
child live in the house with a septic sytem capacity built for this 4
bedroom house. Baffles were normal. The leech field was in excellent
condition.

A contractor for the seller pumped out the tank and inspected it
revealing some cracking next to the gasket joining the upper and lower
halves of the tank. He repaired this with hydraulic cement, but felt
that the crack did not seem significant. He also said that there was
very little mortar left around the collar of either the outlet or
inlet pipe (can't remember), and also repaired that with hydraulic
cement.

My question: Do the findings of the contractor reasonably match the
severity of the problem (water level 6" below outlet pipe)? In other
words, is the low level of water usually in your experiences due to a
HUGE problem, or sometimes just due to small fixable cracks, like I
described above?

THANKS!

I don't know a whole lot, but I'll add my 2 cents. Without being
there, was the house sitting empty for a period of time? If so, a low
level maybe normal. If people lived in the house when the water level
was checked, where did all the water go? Is it wet aroung the tank? If
it isn't wet around the tank, and more than one person lived there,
there may be another escape route for the water. Look around, check
for wet spots in and around the yard/septic system. You can also get a
dye and put it down the drains, then run lots of water. The dye will
appear somewhere. Then you can decide what problems, if any, you
have.

Your local health department may give you the dye, or come out and
check it out at now cost to you. But, you may be in for major repair
bill if they find something.

Good Luck,

Hank