Replacing Your Septic

Some people are eager to remodel their kitchen or buy a boat to cruise around the lake at sunset. My obsession has been to replace my septic system. 

Why? Because I assumed it was very old and might not be good for the water quality of Roaring Brook Lake. I worry about this in general, that there are scores of old tanks leaking into the ground, sending contaminants into the lake. That said, I swim regularly and happily in the lake. I just wanted to do everything I could to make the water as clean and as healthy as possible. 

Here’s the big reveal: When they pulled out my old metal tank, which had been deemed “fair” when it was pumped out last year, I could see that it was riddled with small holes that allowed liquid and scum to seep into the groundwater just over 100 feet from the lake. Yuck! 

My interest in septic systems began last year, when I attended an information session hosted by the Lake Peekskill Civic Association. They had arranged for Pat Tyndall of Tyndall Septic Systems to speak about enhanced septic technology being produced by the Japanese company FujiClean. It had recently started distributing its CRX model, which removes most of the nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater. I’ve been schooled often enough in RBL history to know that those are the two worst nutrients contributing to our lake water’s degradation. FujiClean’s products also require a much smaller leach field than traditional systems because you are putting a miniature waste treatment plant in your yard; the effluent that is emitted after the processing is essentially clean water.

It seemed fitting that a Japanese company would be producing this enhanced septic technology. Land is scarce and rocky there, with lots that are often too small for regular-sized leachfields. The company has focused like a laser on septic treatment systems since 1961, installing more than two million of them worldwide. It is the brand of choice on Long Island, where the focus is removing nitrogen from wastewater and where the state is heavily subsidizing the installation of these enhanced systems. Tyndall described the company’s exhaustive testing process in a way that gave me confidence in the manufacturer. Of course, that’s his job. He’s the only FujiClean distributor in this area. But I reviewed all of the company’s literature, read widely on the internet and became a true believer.

The permitting was quick and simple since Putnam County had already approved FujiClean’s products for use. The entire installation took about three days. For half of one of those days, I was unable to use my indoor plumbing, so you definitely need to plan ahead for that. A silt fence needed to be installed to prevent any soil runoff caused during the excavation. Tyndall’s team had to get a mid-sized excavator to come down a slight incline into the area where my old tank was located. Breaking up the rock they encountered was harder than they expected and took extra time. But they were eventually able to pull out the metal tank, put in the CRX and refill the hole with gravel and dirt. An electrician then followed up by installing a control panel and alarm system on a short wooden pole nearby. Although the cost of installing a CRX will vary by the contours of each landscape, the total cost of my project was $14,460.

Tyndall says that if I had gone with a traditional tank rather than the enhanced technological system I installed, I would have saved about $7,000. And if I had gone with a simpler FujiClean unit that only removed nitrogen, but not phosphorus, as several homeowners on Lake Oscawana and Lake Peekskill have done, I would have saved about $4,000. To me, the extra expense was worth it. A second RBL homeowner is about to install a CRX.

Several people have asked me about maintenance. Tyndall will do an annual check-up of the system for about $200. After enough sludge builds up, he will also need to pump out the system, but he says that will happen less frequently than with traditional septic tanks and that he will only charge for the pumping at that point, not the check-up.

I sleep better now knowing that I have set up my home for the next few decades with a system that won’t harm the lake, or my neighbors and my use of it. And though I have no intention of selling my house, if and when that ever happens, I’m convinced its value will be higher because of my investment.