The Surprising Connection Between Bad Septic Tanks and Pollution.

The septic tank you choose for your home impacts more than just how your plumbing system works. So when I was looking for a septic tank, I knew I had to consider more than just what tank offered the best price—and you should, too.

A bad septic tank can cause pollution to both soil and water. Below, I'm breaking down why that happens and steps that all of us can take to purchase better septic tanks and prevent this sort of pollution from happening.

What Are Septic Tanks and What Do They Do?

Let's start with the basics. What is a septic tank, and what is it intended to do? For me, understanding the essential functions of a septic tank—including the process by which it functions—was vital to understanding how it might lead to environmental pollution.

A septic tank is an underground container used to filter waste from your home when you're not connected to a traditional sewage system. This means you'll mostly find them in rural or mountainous areas, as well as homes that are designated for off-the-grid living.

Generally made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic, septic tanks are intended to filter waste out of the home and keep harmful substances from reaching the surrounding environment. This process occurs by allowing the debris to flow into the septic system through pipes, where bacteria begin breaking down and separating the organic material. Heavy solids float to the bottom, and grease and oils settle at the top. Liquid waste is then sent through another set of pipes to a designated septic field, where the remaining waste decomposes and clean water seeps into the ground.

See where things can go wrong? If a septic tank isn't effective at doing its job or is not maintained correctly, waste that's meant to be kept out of the soil and groundwater will find its way there. And that can do a lot of damage.

How Bad Septic Tanks Hurt the Environment

There are many reasons why we need such complicated systems in place to keep waste out of our environment instead of just letting it slowly trickle into the ground and surrounding environment.

Septic tanks play a crucial role in preventing waste pollution, but only if they're adequately set up to do their jobs. If they're not, various types of serious pollutants can seep into the earth and harm the environment and the humans and animals who rely on it. Here are some of the ways.

1. It can harm your water supply. Many homeowners who rely on septic tank systems also rely on well water as a drinking source. A septic tank that isn't working or appropriately maintained or located too close to the well could allow contaminants to make their way into the well, thus making the water undrinkable.
2. It can harm other water sources. It's not just your drinking water that you need to consider. Harmful septic tanks can also contaminate nearby bodies of water, including ponds, lakes, and streams. This can harm the plants and animals that rely on these water sources and make them unsafe for swimming, recreation, and other uses.
3. It can allow pharmaceuticals to pass through. Septic tanks rely on a balance of certain types of bacteria to work. Many types of pharmaceuticals can still disrupt this balance and even kill off the necessary bacteria if counter-treatment isn't provided. This reduces the system's efficacy as a whole and means that those drugs are then entering the soil and water.
4. It can lead to higher nitrate concentrations in the soil. Nitrates are a normal thing to find in the soil, but an overabundance can stifle plant growth. It's why dog urine is a known killer of grass and why farmers carefully monitor their fields' nitrate levels. An improperly functioning septic tank will allow higher degrees of nitrates to pass through, making soil unsuitable for plant life growth.

What We Can Do

Once I understood how septic tanks could harm the environment, it came time to look at solutions. After all, if you can't connect to a standard sewer system, septic tanks are still your best option for eliminating household waste.

When your septic tank system isn’t working correctly, you should be able to see the signs if you know where to look. You might hear pipe gurgling sounds, experience bad odors and toilet flushing issues, slow drains, water backup, or green and spongy grass around your septic tank. To avoid these problems, make sure to have your system inspected every few years, avoid pouring harsh products or household chemicals down the drain, never flush diapers or feminine hygiene products, and try to use soaps and detergents that are low-suds, biodegradable, or phosphate-free.

Here's what I learned: to start, do your research before investing in a septic tank. While your budget is a significant factor, so is durability and usability, particularly for the variety of soil in your yard. Next, find out everything you can about maintaining your system, including how often it needs to be done and how to do it. Even a top-rated septic system will degrade without treatment and maintenance. And finally, test the groundwater in your septic field regularly. If there's a problem, you need to know about it sooner rather than later.

Brooke is a contributing author, environmental activist, and currently works in the digital marketing space.