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Neighbors septic tank flooded my property

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almondkookies

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My mom lives at the bottom of a hill that has several houses built into it. The septic tank that works for all five houses flooded my mom's house below with the tainted wanter. Under the house and around it was effected. The City, the police, Public Works and the Health Department were called.

So far they pumped out 160 gallons of waste water and used a machine to suck out the smell. My question is....Public Works is telling my mom that they will removed a certain amount of dirt under her house that was flooded with the waste water. What are my mom's rights as a home owner to ask that the septic tank be moved so this does not happen again? How do I know that the 160 gallons of water that sat there for 3 days did not weaken the foundation of the house?

I just want to make sure who ever is responsible takes care of everything and I feel like I need to know what to ask for and my mom's rights.
 
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candg918

Member
For structural concerns hire a Registered Professional Structural Engineer for an assessment.

Whether ahe costs for one can be recovered from insurance or the septic tank owners is for another poster to answer.
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
160 gallons of liquid should not have any affect on the homes foundation , Ive seen plenty of homes with 3 ft of water after a flood in the basements and once they were pumped out and dried the structure was still okay, ( the furnace, dryer, hot water heater, washers were not so lucky but the foundations were fine. Removal of soils that were contaminated since its a crawl space is not a bad thing , Its not likely your mom could force them to move the community septic system for the 5 homes BUT perhaps your mom should push in the direction of a audible alarm to be installed when the tanks pump fails so this way it cannot be ignored the way a red signal light could be.
 

Cedrus

Member
The septic tank flooded ?????? Was there no leach field? Was the leach field clogged up?

I have not heard about one tank for five houses. Is this in fact a "sewage treatment plant". If so, it may have different rules and regs than an ordinary homeowner's septic system. Check this out.

How about a french drain well above your mom's property to divert away another failure. But not diverting to her property.

Sounds like you are in city limits, not outside under County jurisdiction. The state of CA might like to hear about this. Write them if you are not getting any satisfaction from local yokels.
 

almondkookies

Junior Member
Cost of a Structural Engineer?

Thank you all that replied. All replies gave me alot of good ideas and things to consider.

Can you tell me how much a Registered Professional Structural Engineer for an assessment should cost? Or if you can give me an idea if what is average.

Thank you for the idea of the audible alarm suggestion and the french drain guess it could not hurt to ask. To the best of my knowledge it is a septic tank..this is what the officer wrote in his report. It doesn't make sense to me either. I don't know about a leach field or if it was clogged.. but I will ask them now.

A friend told me to ask what caused the manfunction.. the tank itself or becauase we were told no one had checked on it since it was installed....years ago. Also told to find out who's land this tank is on.

Is it better to hire an attorney if things are not done to our satisfaction? Or will contacting our house insurance take care of us?
 

FarmerJ

Senior Member
Shared Wastewater Treatment Systems second paragraph >> Shared wastewater systems are appropriate for environmentally sensitive sites, narrow or oddly shaped lots, where there is an abundance of rock, clay or poorly drained soil, or where a group of seasonal homes will be converted to full time residences. In other words, houses can be built on land with non-permeable soil, such as rock and clay, and the drain field for the shared wastewater system(s) can be located on land that has permeable soil. These systems are applicable for projects ranging from a group of two homes to entire communities.


These types of systems are rather common in my state, I have seen them used by two of the small towns near me, one town has 101 residents 38 homes, another has 65 residents with I think 18 structures, Ive seen this kind of set up near lakes where pre existing lots no matter what just could not meet codes for septic systems any other way. When it is a small community system for sure SOMEONE should be in charge of it so your best bet is to keep on your city and try to get them to require a audible alarm so this way should the main holding tanks fill due to pump failure a audible alarm could be heard by more than just the homes that are using this system.


Other wise a property owner would likely have to go to huge expense hiring a atty and proving in a civil suit that the system has damaged them and needs to be changed.
 

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