Hi gang ,
Just discovered a sinkhole in my yard . Looking in the hole i realized what it was . Its looks to be about 10′ across at the base and is built of concrete block and is at least 10′ deep . My questions are 1) Should this have been filled in when the property was connected to public sewer 2)Did the top collapse or is there some kind of H2O causing problems 3) The block is cantilivered as it rises does the cantiliver just continue to the top ? The house is vintage 1960 . Also is this tank or did the tank pull double duty and drain both solid and liquid as its position is within a couple feet of a very steep slope and i cannot see how a drain field could connect to it .
Thanks,
Nick
P.S. just had at least 3″ of rain
Replies
Could be a septic tank, but it's hard to say without seeing it. Does it have an inlet and an outlet pipe?
If so, it is likely that the top did collapse. The gas in sewage can corrode concrete, and site built tanks built of concrete block tend to be of lower quality than pre-cast tanks. Some areas require that septic tanks be filled when they are abandoned, some don't, but it is always a good idea to do so.
The drainfield could be some distance from the tank, especially if it is downhill or deep.
Call a couple of the old timer septic guys in the area till you find the one with records on your lot.
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When my parents' house was connected to the city sewer system in the late '60s, there was no requirement to fill the tank in. My father connected the downspouts at that end of the house to the tank. I'm pretty sure they're still connected to it, but the carport slab went on top of the tank in the late '80s.
That was Knoxville, TN.
George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
I suspect it is a septic tank with creosoted concrete walls and the top was probably 4x12 creosoted cedar.These tanks were a pretty good design for cleaning with a shovel and the tops were good for 30-40 years.If you're still using it for storm water just unearth the top and use two layers of pressure treated 2x12's to rebuild it.If using it for septic take some photos and measurments and build the top so part of it is easy to remove for pumping.
fill it with sand and forget about it
A nearby neighbor had this happen a few years back during a rainy season. Tank was a cesspool pit, still full of nasty gunk. He quickly had a few truckloads of coarse gravel dumped into the gunk, displacing it and eliminating the drowning hazard.
When the rain stopped, he covered the gravel with topsoil and planted grass. This was a nightmare, but nobody got hurt and it is now stable and attractive. There is also a very healthy flowering tree taking advantage of the nutrients that remain.
Bill
Sounds like a covered cesspool from that era. Uncap it and fill with sand or gravel, not clay
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This doesn't sound typical for a 60s house -- septic should be a solid concrete tank. More likely it's either a cesspool from an earlier farmhouse, etc, or an old storm sewer manhole.
You should ask the city utility folks to come out and make sure it's not theirs. If not, it should be filled with sand, after knocking a hole in the bottom (if it seems to be holding water).