On 10/11/2011 1:06 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:40:50 -0400, Brian Lawson wrote:

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:14:09 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

SNIP
....... One acre minimum lot size. Five
acre minimum for a septic.

Steve

Hey Steve,

Can't answer your question (my usual state for replies), but the post
does bring up a question for me...Why 5 acres to have a septic system,
and what do you require for waste if you have less than that?? Is it
the local strata?

We are situated on 27 feet of sand, and have a 120' X 160' lot, and we
are on septic as is the whole town (poupation 1,000 people, approx. 450
homes).

Either the soil is really, really impermeable, or whoever sets the local
building codes are a bunch of d***heads.

AFAIK sand is about the most delightful stuff to have for septic -- in
fact, in Oregon when you have really impermeable soil the required
solution is often to dig out a huge chunk of the clay soil and replace it
with sand, into which is laid ones leaching field.

They call 'em "sandboxes".

Tim, here in Central Oregon much of the land is solid rock, so the
septic solution is a big pile of sand over the top of perforated PVC
pipe leach field. We see them all over here at Crooked River Ranch. Many
of the systems have to be pumped to the drain field. One place we looked
at had the liquid pumped up over a hill and then gravity took it down to
a drain field.

Personally, we are lucky, as the first owner spent the money to excavate
the hardpan and lay in a proper drain field. The sand and gravel
backfill lets the liquid evaporate within 20-25 feet of the septic tank,
as indicated by rank green grass.

We have about 18 inches of volcanic ash and rock rubble, here. Under
that is million year old same stuff, but locked together into concrete.
Only penetrable when wet.

Paul