Your Septic System Specialists
This picture is from a system that the builder installed himself with NO SAND it obviously didn t work. We had to dig between the
gravel trenches and install the sand between them, overall it DOUBLED the cost of doing right it the FIRST TIME!
Sand Connectors are only used in recently reclaimed strip mine soils
Some of the mine soils we have that have been reclaimed after 1980 are heavily compacted sometimes as much as 6 feet deep.
With this kind of compaction a septic system will not work at all. To overcome this problem we dig through the compaction and then
add State Spec. #23 sand in the trench to bring the trench bottom within 3 feet of the surface. Once we have the sand in place and
firmed up we can then install the traditional components of a trench system. This practice is called a Sand Connector System since
the sand provides a porous connection to the uncompacted soil.
So why not just put the system in the bottom of the deep trench? We still need the system within 2 feet of the surface to allow
oxeygen to penetrate the soil to the effluent so the anearobic bacteria can thrive, anearobic bacteria need oxygen.
This system is your ONLY option on these soils.
This system WILL be Flood Dosed and as of now can only use a Gravel Field Bed
These soils are most commonly encountered South and East of Elberfeld (Ayrshire Mine)
You will see this type of soil East of Paradise (Blue Lake and Victoria area) and
Many other recent mine sites mainly in Warrick, Gibson, Pike, Dubois and Spencer Counties,,,,
THE COAL BELT!!
***Spec. #23 Sand is required by State Rule***
Some contractors will use cheaper "fill sand" to cut costs but this sand will
NOT perform properly with the system and WILL cause trouble, EXPENSIVE trouble.
Some contractors will even ignore it and install the system with NO SAND AT ALL!!!
How does this happen? The sand presence or type is never inspected or verified by the County and installers know this.
We should be required to show load tickets as proof but we're not so,, Good Luck if you use one of those contractors.
The cost of the sand and the time to install it along with being Flood Dosed drives the cost of a sand connector system
substantially higher than a traditional system, so if you are looking to build on one of these lots you may check the cost of
the system first and expect $12,000 or more.
This is one of the Buckets that dug at AMAX mines. My wife is circled in Red, the bucket took 175 cubic yards of dirt and stone each
scoop that's about 525,000 pounds of dirt and stone. This is the bucket attached to the Drag line at the top of the page, this machine
and a 150 cubic yard machine dug at Ayrshire Mine. It was the 2nd largest in the world the largest was in Ohio and used a 220 cubic
yard bucket. All 3 machines have now been cut up for scrap metal.