BajaNomad

Tidiana and Abraham septic build

BajaBlanca - 8-18-2020 at 04:16 AM

This project has taken on a life of its own! Moving so so so fast!
























Abraham is an amazing worker. He will make a good project manager one day! You give him the tools and he just takes off from there.

Pretty amazing! Thanks to all who helped with this. Stay tuned for the raffle pledge I am putting together to get funds for the house! A La Bocana fishing vacation with tons of fun activities. Coming soon!

Bob and Susan - 8-18-2020 at 05:00 AM

currently legal septic tanks are required to be plastic or fiberglass...

no one should use this as an example

BajaBlanca - 8-18-2020 at 05:07 AM

Really? In Baja????

I will investigate but someone forgot to tell the construction guys.

RnR - 8-18-2020 at 08:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan  


no one should use this as an example


x2

Appears to be a simple cesspool rather than a properly designed and built septic system.

BajaBlanca - 8-18-2020 at 08:20 AM

So, I asked my husband about this and he says that to use the plastic or fiberglass would then entail someone to clear the tank out periodically. Is this correct?

BajaTed - 8-18-2020 at 09:00 AM

Usually there is a wall partition to with one part being deeper and bigger than the other. An opening in the wall allows liquids to flow into the percolation portion. Contain the solids in the other portion with a lid to allow pump out when needed.
Don't forget the NO parking sign over the whole thing.:o

bajaric - 8-18-2020 at 09:49 AM

The posters above are referring to an American-style septic system, where the tank has 2 chambers, and overflows to a leach field (A series of trenches filled with gravel with a perforated pipe) This design is used in areas of relatively high population density, where people have water wells on their property. And yes, the tank needs to be pumped out periodically. Also the leach lines must be 100' away from the nearest well. This is a proven system. However, it is meant for places where people have water wells for their drinking water.

I'm not familiar with the building codes in Mexico, but in a sparsely populated area with an arid climate, sandy soils, where the ground water is not used for drinking water or any other purpose, because there is no groundwater (e.g. the Vizcaino Desert) concrete block cesspools work just fine. The waste soaks into the soil and does not appear on the surface, which is basically all you need to protect human health. There are thousands and thousands of them all over Baja.

The exception is in areas subject to inundation (arroyo bottoms) or very near the ocean or other areas with high groundwater and wet climates. So, in a place like Sayulita, near Puerto Vallarta, where it rains a lot and the water table is a few feet from the surface, people build hotels and put in cesspools, which then overflow on to the beach, treating their guests to the experience of flushing their toilets and a few minutes later swimming in their own excrement. But I do not think that is much of a concern in this case.


[Edited on 8-18-2020 by bajaric]

pacsur - 8-18-2020 at 10:03 AM

Most tanks that I’ve seen and built over the years here are partitioned into 3 tanks, first and second tank are separated by a wall that stops 8”-12” from the top, same thing for the wall between the second and third tank except they leave the floor dirt for drainage.

[Edited on 8-18-2020 by pacsur]

SFandH - 8-18-2020 at 10:03 AM

I don't know anything about this subject, so I'm wondering how the septic tank will be topped. I suppose there is access for cleaning if need be, right?

Bob and Susan - 8-18-2020 at 02:59 PM

the rules are the rules...

if you dont comply you could face large fines if the "stuff" is uncovered later...

2 chambers work
3 chambers are better

the grey water flows into a "leech line"
then filters into the soil

cement and block leaks and is no longer approved for septic systems

contact seranap for assistance and current regulations

mtgoat666 - 8-18-2020 at 03:29 PM

some of you commenters appear to imply that septic tanks require cleaning, and cesspools don't. wrong.
cesspools and septic tanks both require cleaning every 5 or 10 years or so (depending on use)

AKgringo - 8-18-2020 at 04:01 PM

Forty plus years ago, my dad had the cesspool that served this 1937 built house replaced with a cast concrete septic tank. It has been pumped once, about twenty years ago!

After discussions with the pumping contractor, he took out the garbage disposal, and made the commitment to never flush anything but essential t.p. down the drain.

I dug out the access covers about eight years ago to check the condition, and the way things are going, I will not need to have it pumped again in my lifetime.

BajaBlanca - 8-18-2020 at 05:39 PM

This septic will indeed have 3 partitions. The building contractor from Santa Rosalia is doing the exact same septic on a brand new 3,000 square foot home he is building here in La Bocana.

Our water, as does the water for Bahia Asuncion and Punta Abreojos, comes from an underground reservoir in Vizcaino. It seems that every other week there is an issue with the system .... broken pipes or broken pumps. We definitely have our woes with water!

BajaBlanca - 8-18-2020 at 06:49 PM

El Dorado septic

PaulW - 8-19-2020 at 08:10 AM

How it is done here abouts
Cinder block with plastic painted coating and bricks for evaporation of fluid which replaced the leach field I was familiar with.



P3020048.JPG - 61kB

BajaBlanca - 8-19-2020 at 08:54 AM

Plastic painted coating? Does anyone know if this exists here in Baja Sur?

Lencho - we love that the water is now piped in! Much better service than back in the day when we had our own water desalination plant here in town. That was a nightmare since if the driver was sick, no water. If the truck broke down, no water. If the equipment needed fixing or a part, no water for a long time!

del mar - 8-19-2020 at 08:57 AM

what are you folks doing with the grey water?

del mar - 8-19-2020 at 09:39 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Much better service than back in the day when we had our own water desalination plant here in town.
La Bocana had its own desal plant? :wow:

Was it reverse osmosis? What happened to it? And they trucked the water from the plant to your individual cisternas?

I can sure understand the current convenience, but do feel uneasy about total dependency on distant infrastructure for something so critical as water...


Abreojos had a de-sal plant also.....it can't still be operating can it?

msteve1014 - 8-19-2020 at 12:14 PM

The de-sal plant was/is old and run down. The water always had rust and dirt in it by the time the truck pumped it in to your tank. Now we have nice, clean water, but not all the time. What can you do? I have bigger worries.

Casey67 - 8-19-2020 at 12:34 PM

I went the same way for septic the first time but having seen the speed at which the poor quality cinder blocks down here degrade I'd go another way for the next. Recently saw an ad for a Rotoplas tank system that looks right on the money. Available in several sizes and probably cheaper than blocks, cement, labor in the long run.

Do a google search for: rotoplas septic system

PaulW - 8-19-2020 at 12:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Plastic painted coating? Does anyone know if this exists here in Baja Sur?
==
Food grade coatings , epoxy and other, for this purpose as well as cisterns are sourced in Mexico. Contact your local paint or hardware store.

[Edited on 8-19-2020 by PaulW]

Bob and Susan - 8-19-2020 at 01:47 PM

you cant paint a septic tank

geeezzz

you need to coat cement with a cement with hardner in it

then it will still crack and leak...thats the problem with block

a correct tank would be poured ,,,no block

a rotoplas tank is finished in one day

dig a hole...with a backhoe...drop it in....lay the leech line...
cover it up

mtgoat666 - 8-19-2020 at 02:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan  
you cant paint a septic tank

geeezzz

you need to coat cement with a cement with hardner in it

then it will still crack and leak...thats the problem with block

a correct tank would be poured ,,,no block

a rotoplas tank is finished in one day

dig a hole...with a backhoe...drop it in....lay the leech line...
cover it up


re cracks,... out of sight, out of mind; dont worry, you will still be happy. as long as you cant smell it, and it doesn't back up into the house, then your chit is golden

concrete block must be cheaper than buying/delivering/placing a pre-fab HDPE septic tank, eh?

BajaBlanca - 8-19-2020 at 07:25 PM

Boy, lots of info for this clueless woman. What I can say is that we had the option of choosing a cheaper block but went with the better quality ones.

MSteve is right, we are so happy with what we have now. When there is a problem, it is fixed asap and our water is really better than the desal was, and less expensive too.

bajaric - 8-20-2020 at 11:38 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Much better service than back in the day when we had our own water desalination plant here in town.
La Bocana had its own desal plant? :wow:

Was it reverse osmosis? What happened to it? And they trucked the water from the plant to your individual cisternas?

I can sure understand the current convenience, but do feel uneasy about total dependency on distant infrastructure for something so critical as water...


Lencho, you do realize that most of Baja is desert, and the infrastructure is not quite the same as in developed countries, right? Have you even even been to Baja?
For what it is worth, the entire population of Southern California is dependent on two large concrete aqueducts, sort of the same idea on a larger scale.