Where poop goes when you flush isn’t something you think about. It just goes where it goes, right?
When moving back here and going from city sewer back to septic systems, I’m exposed to things that remind me how different waste removal is for rural properties.
Rural sewage removal systems are visibly different in the following ways:
- Visible access risers
- Fast-growing and green grass stripes
- Huge mounds of dirt
- The smell of poop (sometimes visible) in the ditch
ONE: Here at the barndo, there’s a series of access risers.
Dharma inspects them frequently…
The barndo’s seller explained they spent a lot for the system to avoid the mound — but I don’t know what the system is called. I know from experience it has a pump with an alarm that blares when the power goes out. I also know they attempted landscaping around all but one riser. I’ll be tackling that job soon. 😵💫
TWO: Green grass stripes.
The Villa, (the small house I had built in 1986 and lived in for about 25-years), has a conventional septic system with a series of lateral lines that carry waste out through the drain field via gravity. The grass grows fast along those lateral lines making glorious bright green stripes in the yard.
THREE: Big mounds of dirt.
The house I grew up in has a mound system. Their entire backyard is basically unusable and I’m happy I’m not the one mowing it.
FOUR: The smell of poop.
Taking a walk down this country road there’s one area where the smell of poop is pretty darned overwhelming during hot summer days. The home responsible for the stench utilizes a straight pipe that disperses poop and waste directly to the ditch. (UGH — it’s nasty and something should be done about it.)
Rural sewage systems can have environmental impacts if not properly managed.
I’ll take the smell of poop and put it in the “con” column for country living. I’ll consider it a win that I’m not mowing a mound of dirt or strips of tall, thick grass. And since I don’t mind those access risers here, I’ll put a big fat checkmark in the pro rural living column with the notation “POOP.”
Now you know: In Iceland, males are able to revoke their ex’s rights to their surname.