Freezing septic systems have owners at wit’s end.
Ah, country living. Fresh air. Expansive views. Singing birds. The ratta-tat-tat of a jackhammer uncovering your ice-clogged septic tank.
“It’s been a tough winter for people,” said Cindy Nickerson of Nickerson’s Septic Cleaning in Turner.
“It’s been horrible,” added Kathy-Rae Emmi of Lewiston-based Maine Septic and Pumping. Septic system woes have been “epidemic,” says Emmi.
Blame Mother Nature, said Ron Butensky of Roto-Rooter Plumbing Service of Lewiston.
“Cold weather and a lack of snow,” he said, have combined to give rural homeowners septic system headaches like they haven’t had in years.
“I’ve been working here for 18 years,” said Sharon Smith of Belgrade-based Pat Jackson Septic, “and I’ve never seen it so bad.”
Her company has had crews working on 20 and 30 jobs a day in every corner of central Maine, she said.
Most winters, ground-insulating snow slows the hammer of sub-zero temps from driving spikes of frost into septic lines, tanks and leach fields.
Not this year. Frost has reached down four feet, said Murielle Laverdiere of Able Power Rooter in Lewiston. Her company’s crews are also out straight thawing frozen lines and related problems.
It’s a costly problem.
Simply thawing a frozen septic system line can easily cost $400, said Butensky, and more if the freeze-up is severe. That’s just for his end of the job. Getting things ready for him to work his magic can cost a lot more.
This year, some companies are telling their callers they are too busy to clear access to the septic tanks. That has forced homeowners to hire a crew or rent equipment themselves to remove the ice, snow and frozen sod covering their tank openings.
Then, septic tanks sometimes have to be pumped to give workers access to the lines. That also provides adequate space for the jet-powered hot water used to thaw the ice plugs.
All of that doesn’t include the cost to repair any lines split by the frozen effluent.
Adding to the headaches, there are the delays caused by the flow of calls. While Butensky said Tuesday he was between jobs, that could change with a phone call. A five- to seven-day wait is not unusual currently.
In the meantime, Emmi said, homeowners are dealing with things as best they can. Those waiting to be thawed are using their facilities sparingly, hoping they don’t need their septic tanks pumped more than once or twice before the ice plug is removed. Others have moved into motels, or in with friends and relatives.
If a homeowner senses a frozen line, Emmi said the first thing they should do is turn off the pump that sends waste water from the tank to the leach field. Otherwise the pump will keep running, eventually burning out.
“That’s another $600 or so” added to Mother Nature’s tab for country living, she said.
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