Drain/leech field damage?

[Treeaddict]

How wrong is it to drop a trunk onto a drain field of a septic system? Can the impact really damage a pipe 3’ below the earth?

I understand that if the customer has a septic issue 20 years later, it’s the tree guys fault scenario.

 

[SeanKroll]

You can bridge the leach field with log. The impact will be outside the drain lines.

A 6"x 30' spar is one thing; a big tree can break pipes.


I've been working in a local neighborhood where I learned a long time ago that because you can fit it doesn't mean you should. I could fit a big old maple spar, a good 5' diameter, in part because it was hollow, into the drop zone, and the customers knew they were going to have filling and lawn repair to do. I still had to buck the big old log nestled in the big old ditch I made. Terrible.

When it's not a drop and leave job, putting down pieces you/ crew will be happy to process on the ground can make sense.

A climber can quickly dump a piece that the ground crew could spend 20 minutes cleaning up, while the climber does nothing. Working together, they may or may not be able to piece it out smaller and process it on the ground in 10-15 minutes.

 

[gf beranek]

Fell a Douglar fir once, early 1970s, and broke a 4" steel sched 40 water main that served a small hillside development called Camp Meeker. That pipe was buried under 4 feet of loose hillside slope.

As I recall, during lunch, a water geyser suddenly erupted from the ground.

The HOA was on it like flint. They shut the main. The hole to fix the break in the pipe, for the most part, was already excavated by the water pressure.

Never charged us a dime. Good old days.

Septic systems? Like egg shells.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yeah. Bad JUJU to crush a septic. We used wood chips one one particular large one. About 3' deep. Like Sean said, logs work. And some leech fields are diffusers instead. those are pretty shallow all things considered. Even one limb through the system could ruin your day and take your money.
At about 8:10 you can kinda of see the chip bed.

 

[Altissimus]

Some of the Wisconsin Mound systems here , $30,000 ...

 

[Altissimus]

Did a job long time ago , backyard of an old ski house .... we took down some Spruce and Balsam , forwarded the tops and limbs to the chipper around front was our task. I think we left the logs there logs in four footers for the excavator who was next in. Guy drove in with the machine , right on top of the septic , completely failed the old steel container (full at the time) , was a mess and it cost.

 

[flushcut]

Some of the Wisconsin Mound systems here , $30,000 ...

That’s because you are out of state. Only 18,000 here.

 

[flushcut]

Best not to dump anything on a septic system. I heard a story where they were felling a four foot oak spar between two houses in early mid spring. When the log hit the ground the hydraulic shock blew out one of the basement walls. It was a block basement but still that energy goes places.

 

[Altissimus]

Had an old Sugar Maple on the hillside next to my house , 30+"DBH probably 80'H with big spread tops. Grew in just below the Container ... we pumped and removed the old steel 500 G and replaced it with a Fiberglass 1000 G a few years back. Clearly saw and noted the location and connection to the original leacheate outflow pipe at the the time , a codominate so half of it leaned right over that spot. Been meaning to remove it for years since the new tank went in without breaking anything. Smartest way was to piece and lower everything which led to me putting it off. Two winters ago with 3' of accumulated snow on the ground I headed out there with a shovel , saw , axe , and Wedges ... took my chances , shoveled out the butt , falling cuts above the union , and fell the lead whole , landed it fairly gently considering and it worked out no problem.

 

[Cobleskill]

Frozen ground works. Neighbor had his roof done. Contractor had shingles delivered. Drove 2 pallets of shingles over septic tank with one of those 3 wheelers. Brown spot on lawn pretty much easy to see tank. Got away with it.

 

[murphy4trees]

I won't even put a pick-up truck or the stump grinder on a drain field. NO WAY and no chance I would ever drop a tree on one.. find another way...

IN the northeast I've never even heard of anyone breaking a water line in a suburban setting. Water lines are 3' deep or more to clear the frost line.
I didn't realize the same is not true of water lines below the Mason-Dixon line... Dropped a big oak against the side lean at a school in South Carolina after Mathew...
I had the video camera out, all proud of myself, getting ready to show the hinge when one of my guys yelled "look down"... Water was gushing out of the ground Hit a 4" main ging into the school.
We had to run out and buy the tool to shut it off. By that time the adjacent yard looked like a little pond. That sucked! Lessons learned the hard way.

 

[chris_girard]

Yup, like others have said here, never, never drop trees on septics.

 

[Altissimus]

That’s because you are out of state. Only 18,000 here.

.... probably Shipping Costs

 

[flushcut]

Logistics are a nightmare!

 

[treebilly]

If it’s some what dry and you can get it to land flat you should be ok depending on the system. Are you dropping parallel or perpendicular to the drain lines? That can make a difference in how you crib it if you decide to do that. Depending on the spar size, I’d probably birds nest a brush pile to land it on