Planting on Your Septic System

Tree roots are the most important consideration when planting on your septic system. Tree roots can can be damaging to septic systems. This is because the leach field contains perforated pipe, and the tree roots can get into the perforated pipe and plug it up. You will want to be particularly careful planting trees such as willows and poplars which thrive in wet conditions. In general, you should never plant anything on septic systems that has wooden roots, stick to things like grass. If possible, you should keep trees 100 feet from your septic system. Trees with aggressive roots, such as willows, should be planted even further away. Deep-rooted and water-loving trees such as willows, cottonwoods and poplars are particularly risky choices for planting on or near your septic system. As you may know from researching this topic, failing septic systems are a major financial and environmental problem in this country. Expensive septic repairs can often run from $5,000 to $20,000 or more and a large number of systems are failing throughout the country. For more information on how to properly maintain your septic system, go to: http://www.laundry-alternative.com/septic_system_maintenance.htm