More Questions...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

How far away from the house can a well a septic tank be? Can the house be uphill from the well?

[NMDemDist2]

1. well or septic? your question confused me

I don't have a well, my septic is about 400 ft from my house

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. Both...

either/or

[NMDemDist2]

3. just remember shit runs downhill

kidding

our well in CA was only a couple hundred feet away from the house IIRC. the further from the house the further you need to pump it.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. no shit! j/k

;)

[Lars39]

4. Depends on county and/or state regulations.

There are pumps that can be used to pump water uphill.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. Sorry about the typo in the Original Post. It should read:

1. How far away from the house can a well and a septic tank be?

2. Can the house be uphill from the well?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

7. I think that's all about excavation

The house is up hill but the area trenched out for the plumbing underground is going down hill from the house. Your septic tank is also underground ,is it not? I have never plumbed in for a septic system, but I have done my fair share of plumbing related excavation.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. I want to use the original well and septic tank that I currently have

with the trailer. I want to put the new house about an acre away on slight uphill grade. Will that be very cost prohibitive?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

9. Have you thought about contacting a company

in your locality that installs and maintains septic systems ? I am not up on the septic system,however I would think at least some aspects of your system in place will be used or reused,if not all of it. But ,you need a expert opinion on that. Does the company that maintains your system also install septic systems? That would be the first place to make a call.Or do a inter net search on company's that manufacture or install septic systems and get the 800 number so you can get a free consult.I call manufacturers a lot about product installation and manufacturer warranties and customer support for my clients. when speaking as a contractor, they will connect me with a tech. adviser,but anybody can speak to a tec really. They want the contractor behind their product in order to sell more of it. It's like a store is calling!

The bottom line is this, it can surprise you how much information you can get for free over the phone. And if I need tec. manuals, they will send those too, over the inter net e mail.

Make a few calls.

[Kolesar]

10. My deep-well pump was 140 feet down the drilled well

Those pumps can pump with enough pressure to lift water by hundreds of feet. So, if you wish to locate the house (trailer) a few dozen feet uphill, you ought to be ok.

Your situation may be different if you have a "shallow well". In locations where the water table is high, a home can have a well that is only fifteen or so feet deep. A homeowner would not need to buy a deep-well pump for such an application (obviously). There is a different product for pumping from a shallow well: I don't know if the shallow well pump can lift a few dozen extra feet. I have never owned a house shallow well.

Hope this helps. I would recommend that you have the well tested for coliform bacteria in any case (even if you don't move the trailer).

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. I think they hit water about 40 feet iirc. I am pretty sure that I am

over an underground spring.

I am in a trailer and am considering doing a pre-fab House further up the property. Thanks.

[Warpy]

12. When I had one, my house was uphill from the tank

and leaching field, something that helped the whole business function and kept the access door closer to the surface for pumping. If the house is downhill from the tank, the whole business has to be excavated much more deeply and make sure the basement is waterproofed from the outside just in case the plume from the leaching field travels that far.

Local regulations tell you how far a well has to be from a tank and leaching field. In my particular area, a minimum lot size of an acre was required to have both.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. My septic tank will be downhill but, so will the well...therefore

I am more worried about the distance.