Excavation reveal sewer secrets

Sisters is getting a new sewer system. For some home and business owners, it is just in time.

Old installations were ...creative ... and a possible health hazard.

Jim Mitchell of Three Sisters Plumbing noted that there was at least one installation where someone used perforated drain field pipe to hook a building to the septic tank. Raw sewage was free to percolate directly into the soil.

There have also been cases where "Orangeburg" pipe, essentially a tar paper tube, was used. This pipe was banned in California but found its way by the truckload to Oregon, until it was banned here, too.

Roots are a common problem, Mitchell said, finding their way into the smallest leak and clogging pipe.

Richard Bartels, who is hooking up houses on the north side of Cascade, said he hasn't run into too many horror stories.

One home had three families using a washing machine that was not plumbed into the septic tank. It had its own drain into a ditch in the yard.

When the ditch filled up, it backed up into the carport, where layers of wood, fiber board, mattresses, etc. were used to cover it up.

Another homeowner's line exited his house two and a half feet under a paved walk to the septic tank.

One home had several septic tanks. When one filled with roots and became unusable, a previous homeowner would apparently just install another.

Bartels said that he had run into several places where at some point in time, someone had drilled through the hard pan into the sandy layer beneath.

That solved the problem of that particular drain field, but probably wasn't too good for well owners downstream.

Gerry Tewalt, who hooked up the commercial accounts in Sisters, may have discovered the answer to the drill holes.

Tewalt's grandmother had written in her diary that she was having trouble with the "cesspools," at some properties she had, and had decided to "find somebody with a contraption" to dig wells.

A cable well drilling rig was hired to dig a hole. The driller claimed he went down 38 feet and charged her $64. She had the hole measured, and found it was only 33 feet deep. The driller claimed he read the 33 as 38.

There is no word on where the sewage ended up. Fifty years ago, it wasn't an issue.

Other questionable installations include decks, carports, stairwells and even houses built over septic systems.

Tewalt said that in the commercial sector, one high use installation was dumping its effluent into a square hole, 20 feet deep and four feet square.

How did they dig a square hole, four feet on a side and 20 feet deep? "With a guy in the hole sending the dirt up in a bucket," said Tewalt.

City seeks to protect sewer system

Editor's note: The City of Sisters Public Works Department has sent a letter to all sewer users outlining the dos-and-don'ts of sewer use.

All Sewer System Users:

This letter is for all current and future customers using the new City of Sisters sewer system. Our new system has been designed for domestic raw sewage only. We are not allowing septic pumpers or other waste disposal companies to dump into our system. We want to protect your valuable investment to the largest degree possible. One of our most important tasks in operating the new system is to monitor what is being disposed of in the collection system. This will determine how well we are able to treat the waste.

The treatment plant relies on a biological treatment process. Essentially, anything that is not good for the environment is not good for the treatment plant.

There are several unwanted wastes that we do not want to see in the collection pipes. The most important of which is chemical wastes. Chemicals are extremely detrimental to the biological process. These include drain cleaning chemicals, as well as household cleaning products with hazardous warning labels.

Secondly, cooking grease, and lotion products are extremely destructive to the system's piping, and treatment facilities. Nothing will clog a pipe faster than grease, causing necessary repairs at a large customer expense.

Thirdly, women's hygiene products will cause pumping problems, along with being an extra removal expense to the city. We have to dispose of these products at a sanitary landfill.

Other things we do not want in the sewer system are kitchen wastes, such as eggshells, coffee grounds, and any oily food byproducts. These products will not break down and over time will cause operating problems.

Taking time to protect your valuable investment can also help protect your waste piping in your own house or place of business. As a reminder, the property owner is responsible for all maintenance and repairs of sewer and water lines on their property.

Thank you for your cooperation and if you have any questions or would like a tour of the City of Sisters Treatment facilities feel free to call us at 549-6022 ext. 5.

City of Sisters Public Works Department