I've been in my house for 5 years and have had to pump the cesspool twice a year, once things back up in the basement bathroom tub (yuk!). The cesspool is original to the house built in 1950s so it's the old block type, and there is the risk of it caving in.
The previous owners duped us by saying it was a new cesspool -- half right. They put in a new overflow about 3 years previous BUT that pool has never worked. The pipe connecting it to the original pool was not put in correctly and nothing was ever able to flow into it, so it's empty. I hate living with this situation and I'm afraid to have my children play on the front lawn.
We've gotten a few estimates to replace everything and were told we have to put in a septic tank -- Huntington law. So, we are about to cough over approx. $6,000 to fill in the old pools and put in a new tank. If they can salvage the newer overflow and get the pipe working they will use it as a second overflow, but it's unlikely.
The entire front lawn has to be ripped up and my beloved hydrangeas have to be dug out and replanted. We were also informed that it will also likely cause our front porch to collapse since they have to dig under it to get to the house pipe. So, we will also have to have the porch rebuilt.
Sigh. It's a huge investment and upheaval.
My question is this -- are we doing the right thing? I mean, I do not see septic tank covers at all around the neighborhood (they are pretty noticable) and I'm wondering how people are handling these situations. Are people just living with the old cesspools and pumping them? Are you putting in cesspools or septic tanks? If you've put it a new septic tank -- how did it go, who did you use, and how do you like it?
Ahh, life in suffolk county! Still lovingLI but this really sucks!