How to Locate a Septic Field

Locating a septic field can be as simple as looking out your window, or as complex as finding a needle in a haystack. The telltale indicator for a septic field is the vent pipe, which is curved to keep water from entering. A particularly difficult field to locate was on a lot where the home was bulldozed--and the septic field with it. The problem came when the new homeowners sank a well through the old septic field and wondered why the new well was contaminated. Normally septic systems are recorded with the properly deed and/or registered with the local heath department. Here are several methods to locate your septic field, from simple to complex.

Things You'll Need

• Property map with septic field location
• Line ruler
• Tape measure
• Septic vent pipe (septic field locator)
• Shovels
• Backhoe
• Manhole cover locations
• Underground metal detector
• Ground radar system

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain a septic field map. It may be included as an engineering drawing with your septic system. Check and see if it is attached to your property title. A copy may be obtained from the engineer who designed the system or the septic company that installed it. Your local health department should also have a copy, along with the permit and any conditions that apply to the septic system as approved.

• 2

  Measure with a ruler the distance from two convenient points on your map (corners of a building) to a corner of the septic field. Now measure these distances with a tape measure from the two points. Where they cross will be the corner of your septic field. You can measure the entire lateral field from this starting point. Keep in mind that not all septic systems have fields. Some older systems may have stone pits, ponds or lagoons.

• 3

  In the winter months, the field tile lines and the septic tank are usually the very last places to form frost and the very first places to melt snow. This imagery will give you the locations of your inspection ports and clean-out manhole covers on the septic tank and the location of your field by these marks. Make note of them either by measuring the distances or placing markers like colored stakes to record the septic field location.

• 4

  A definite verification of your marked field locations, especially if you are planning a repair, is to dig it up. This is time consuming if you unearth the whole field, but it works as a check on branches of the lateral field. For more extensive work use a backhoe. You can rent a backhoe and operator on an hourly rate to uncover parts of your septic system or your entire field.

• 5

  Sophisticated electronic underground radar systems or metal detectors can be rented, or a specialty company hired, to map your field or your entire septic system. This may be an alternative if the system is quite old and records have been lost. It is more expensive than a copy of the septic system map or an engineering blueprint. However, it will provide actual information on what is down there now--and in what condition. This information might help offset the cost of the equipment and consulting specialists.