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Plumbing
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Septic/drainfield/city approval

5 years ago

Long story short we purchased our home in 2018.

The septic tank was not up to code and the seller was responsible for updating the tank and pump to 1,000 tanks.(2 bed 2 bath home in VA).

Months went by and our drainfield showed signs of failing.

We contacted the city and pulled paperwork to see how large our leachfield is to only find out we only have 150’ of leach-field.


We were told at the time the seller went for inspection there were no signs of failure so they assumed it was fine.


How is a new tank and system installed without the city taking into consideration our leach field was not up to code for this large of a system?


Any legal advice on what to do from here?


Featured Answer
  • PRO
    5 years ago

    I am certainly not an expert on septic systems in your location.


    Around here (mid Atlantic state) the ”rule” is there needs to be 75’ length of drain tile per bedroom. Finding 150 feet for a 2 bedroom house would be normal.


    A 1000 gallon septic tank is not unusual for a small house. A larger tank just means the sewage from the house has more time to stew before being pumped to the drainfield. It wouldn’t increase the amount of wastewater leaving the house and going to the drainfield.






    Comments (8)

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