Septic Tank Leach Fields Leaking Since Storm

Some Ramona residents are finding a mess in their yards and streets as a result of this week's storms. Water from underground septic tank leach fields is leaking out of the ground.

A spokeswoman for Sludgebusters Septic Tank Pumping Service, the only known service of this kind in Ramona, said the company has had double the number of its usual phone calls since the heavy rains.

"All the old systems went down," the spokeswoman said, "because the leach fields are full. There's so much water and nowhere for it to go."

The company is also known as European Sludgebusters Inc. They have about six trucks and all of their crews are busy since the rains.

Another unpleasant problem that can occur with septic tanks when they are overloaded is backed up toilets.

These kinds of problems can create odors.

At least one resident contacted Ramona.Patch.com to mention a sewage odor this week. Rick Crook, who lives near the grasslands, left a comment on the site.

Ralph McIntosh, general manager of the Ramona Municipal Water District, said that if Ramona residents are smelling sewage, it's a septic tank issue and that's a private property owner issue that isn't addressed by the district. He said septic tank pump operators are out in force to help people and that El Cajon Lane in Ramona may have a problem because he has seen several trucks there Friday. Sludgebusters confirmed their trucks were there Thursday.

Septic tanks have two chambers: one collects solids and the other contains the fluids. The fluids then go out via underground pipes to the "leach field" around the tank. Heavy rains can flood the leach field area, causing more of that fluid to be flushed out.