UNC Sea Grant College Program Vol. 6, No. 4 April 1979 



Septic tanks - a lesson in designing with nature 



The rain had finally stopped. As 

 David Spencer walked around the pud- 

 dles in his yard the grass beneath his 

 feet squished like a wet sponge. Down 

 the road his neighbor's property looked 

 the same — water-logged. 



"All the land around here has clay in 

 it," Spencer explained. He pointed to 

 his backyard, "You could dig a hole 

 there and put water into it and the 

 water will just sit there until the sun 

 dries it up." 



Four years ago when Spencer 

 bought the land in coastal Hyde 

 County he didn't think much about 

 the clay in the soil or the fact that the 

 water table lies less than two feet 

 below the surface. At the time the local 

 sanitarian had assured him that there 

 would be no problem in using a septic 

 system on his land. 



But last year when Spencer applied 

 for a building permit he discovered 

 that everything had changed. Under 

 new state disposal regulations he could 

 not use a conventional septic system 

 because his land did not have the 

 proper permeability or adequate 

 separation from the water table. With 

 Germantown Bay only 175 feet from 

 the site, the county sanitarian had 

 little choice but to turn the application 

 down. Unless Spencer could install an 

 alternative system, he would not be 

 allowed to develop the property. 



Spencer's story is not unusual. More 

 and more property owners in coastal 

 North Carolina are discovering that 

 poor soil conditions and high water 

 tables make safe disposal of septic 

 wastes a major issue. Though the 

 source of the problem varies from loca- 

 tion to location — ranging from coarse 



Septic tank pollution — how much of a threat? 1 D > 



