It seemed strange when you see your raised mound when it rained hard. It was like a stranded turtle in a vast ocean. You knew that the raised mound should be saturated even during heavy rains as long as it’s functioning correctly. But even if this scene appeared to be a natural thing to you, a question suddenly pierced your mind… Why is my raised mound flooded? Common sense told you that there was a big problem with the raised mound. Immediately, you phone your septic expert to get to the bottom of what was really going on.
The raised mound was installed in your property because of the high water table and the percolation rate of the soil. This system is the alternative to your conventional septic system. It is literally raised above the surface of the soil to accommodate the high water table.
When your raised mound is flooded, it can be caused by several things:
1) Clogging
Clogging or blockages in the raised mound may be brought about by the invasive roots of hardwood plants and dumping of grease and non-biodegradable materials. These hardwood plants have complex root systems that can really be persistent in getting into the nutrient-rich waste water or effluent in the system. Once they penetrate the raised mound, the treatment is disrupted and the waste water overflows instead of continuously flowing towards the soil absorption system as treated effluent. When you dump grease and non-biodegradable materials, the resident bacteria cannot break them down anymore. They just enter the system and clog the flow. As a result, the waste water just backs up or floods the entire area.
2) Killed off bacteria
The bacteria are killed off when you use antibacterial solutions and harsh chemicals. These bacteria are valuable in breaking down the solid waste materials. If they are eliminated from the raised mound system, there is essentially, no raised mound system at all. You should just change what you use into bacteria-friendly and environment-friendly solutions to care for the bacteria.
3) Damaged components
The components of the raised mound system can be damaged by soil compaction caused by the heavy vehicles that run over or the structures built on the raised mound area. Soil compaction crushes the raised mound components and if this happens, the waste water leaks out and floods the system and the surrounding area.
When your raised mound system floods, there are some things that you have to consider:
– Make sure that the raised mound covers are secure and strong because you wouldn’t want to have a fatality when someone falls into the raised mound’s tank.
– Never drink the well water when the raised mound is flooded. Be in touch with your health department for instructions on emergency water sources.
– Stop using the raised mound system until it gets repaired.
– Find a reliable and licensed septic expert to help you with your raised mound flooding.
– When the raised mound backs up into your basement, clean the area and use chlorine to disinfect it thoroughly.
– After the flood, pump the raised mound. Never pump the system out if there is still flooding because you are just going to let sediments enter the system if you do this.
– Never treat the raised mound area as a construction site, a parking lot, or a driveway.
– Make sure that any electrical connections are repaired in the raised mound area before you restore electricity.
– Relocate the trees or hardwood plants that may be over or near the raised mound area.
You made the right decision to coordinate with your septic expert once your raised mound flooded. There are health hazards, safety hazards, and electrical hazards that should be considered before you deal with the raised mound flooding. When waste water overwhelms the property, immediately turn off the power supply to the raised mound system; make sure to rope off the area of the flooded raised mound to avoid anyone falling into the system; and avoid getting in contact with the waste water and the fumes to avoid acquiring respiratory and skin diseases. Why is my raised mound flooded should never be a question you should have to ask.