Wells, Septic Systems, and Water Pressure for Dummies

well vs. septic system

At staff meetings the most common question (besides, "Who ate the last muffin?") goes something along the lines of "Would you let this person do the job he described?" Sure, no one would voluntarily let their plumber pull a tooth or ask their barber to lay a brick wall. Still, hundreds of "communications," journalism, and English lit graduates appointed themselves "freelancers" for Demand Media and pumped out utter bull about home repair for eHow.com, much of which is now at HomeSteady.com – utter bull like the post "Water Pressure in a Well & Septic System," cobbled together by Charles Pearson.

Right up front, we realized that Pearson was out of his depth. There is no such thing as a "well & septic system"; simple sanitation wouldn't allow it (not that Charles ever mentioned "sanitation"). Our candidate, however, breezed right past that to a boilerplate introduction. At least he didn't run to Webster's to define "septic system," but he did seem to need better information, saying that,

"The septic system and the well rely on pressure to move water through the system."

In the first place, only a small percentage of septic systems are pressurized – most rely on gravity drainage. In the second place, the two are separate systems. Always!

Pearson's ignorance crops up in several ways, coming up with such moronic suggestions as

"A lack of water pressure can result from a problem with the piping that brings water to the septic system or well. During the winter, pipes can freeze, preventing water from flowing through the pipes. However, if the pipe receives damage from some source, that pipe might have burst. Listen to the areas where the pipes run for the sound of water..."

...and

"Sometimes the municipality has an effect on the water. If there is something wrong with the municipality's plumbing system, you might have a temporary water shutoff. Also, the municipality might cause you to experience intermittent water..."

before finally "informing" his readers that

"The jet pump in well and septic systems is easier to install than the sump pump. Both can produce a lot of water pressure in the right systems, but the sump pump will last longer..."

Clearly, Charles has no earthly idea what the whole concept of pressure in a well or septic system is all about. He does manage to cobble together some sort of troubleshooting guide about "leakage" and "waterlogged" tanks (waterlogged water tanks???) before signing off. And, frankly, after reading his blather, we're glad our Dumbass of the Day stopped writing – he was giving us headaches!

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