Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/04/2016

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agencies. Contact your local planning and zoning, environmental services or Soil and Water Conservation District about these programs. With all of the new systems being installed around Minnesota to replace old, non -conforming systems, homeowners must learn how to use and take care of them. If people don't learn these things, the system is likely to fail within 3 to 10 years and the owner will get the opportunity to buy another system. The answer to these unnecessary costs is to learn how to use and take care of it! Preventing Costly Drainfield Repair A septic system's effectiveness is greatly influenced by how it's used and maintained. Treatment of disease -causing pathogens and nutrients is done in the soil part of the system. This soil treatment system can be a drainfield, mound, or drip dispersal unit. Overloading it with water and solids can clog the soil. Large amounts of water flowing through your system are damaging; solids might be flushed out before the tank separates them from the water. An example is the washing of many loads of laundry on the same day. Spacing heavy water -using jobs, such as laundry, throughout the day and week helps prevent overloading. Water from roof drains or snow melt flowing onto or collecting in drainfield areas should be avoided. Lack of proper septic tank cleaning can cause biological overloading. By adding "dirty" water to the soil treatment system, a thickened layer called the biomat becomes thicker than desired. The soil's ability to accept water slows. Effective treatment is decreased. Driving heavy vehicles on the drainfield or mound system during or after construction can damage it. Soil treatment depends on natural, uncompacted soil to treat wastes. This is especially important in winter, when a vehicle's weight can drive the frost deep into the soil. This prevents effective treatment from occurring. Nothing heavier than a riding lawnmower should be driven over any part of the septic system. In addition, people should stay off the area in wintertime to prevent freezing. Good vegetative cover, usually grass, is planted over soil treatment systems. Mow it regularly. Mowing is necessary to encourage growth without using fertilizer. The vegetative cover helps remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Do not plant trees or other plants with deep roots within five feet of the soil treatment system. Be sure to keep gophers and other rodents out of the soil treatment area. By following these management practices and others found in the Septic System's Owner's Guide, Extension Publication PC - 06583, you will prevent costly repairs & protect your family's health & environment. For more information, contact your local Extension office. City of Ramsey Notes and Feedback Bolton and Menk General Estimate (shared versus individual system). Assuming there are good soils and a mound system isn't required, a typical system for one house would be about $20,000. There is an economy of scale with 4 homes. A good estimate is $50,000. This assumes all homes connect to one tank and the tank discharges to a standard drain field. There are a few things that could impact this: poor soils, the need to pump to a higher or remote location, and/or unique uses within the homes. Anoka Conservation District (water quality). Lake Itasca water quality is overall good, but we haven't monitored it for a number of years. What's more impressive about that lake is its wildlife. Waterfowl is very abundant and diverse. That pairs well with the trail system. If septic systems are built to code, I'm not particularly concerned about them.