Your “Sanitary Sewer Line” is the sewer line that connects your home to the public sewer system. Wastewater from your toilets, sinks, showers, and washing machine travels through your sanitary sewer line to the public sewer main line which carries it to the nearest wastewater plant for treatment. If your sanitary sewer line is broken or leaking, raw sewage could be seeping into the groundwater. Groundwater passes to your neighbors’ yards, to creeks, to streams, into Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

Blockages are most often caused by excessive buildups of grease (a result of pouring cooking grease and fat down the kitchen sink). When flushed, plastic and other non-soluble materials such as baby wipes, diapers, feminine products, and kitty litter can also get caught in the line and block the flow of wastewater through the system. Tree and shrub roots that have grown into the line are also a common problem. Sanitary sewer lines installed prior to 1980 in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are primarily made of cast iron or clay and can deteriorate or become brittle over time. Roots seek water and will find their way through cracks and holes causing blockages and further damage. Unfortunately, contractors can also cause damage to sewer lines due to inexperience and improper tool usage.

Call A-1 Sewer & Drain to have your sanitary sewer line inspected. A video inspection camera will be fed through your line so you can view the condition of the line; then your line will be cleaned and cleared of any blockages and repairs made if necessary. This helps A-1 provide you with the most cost-efficient way to repair your line. A-1 Sewer & Drain is Long Island’s largest and most trusted sewer and drain cleaning company, and for good reason; all work is performed by experienced and Licensed A-1 Plumbers.

Wastewater flows from your Residence into the septic tank or main cesspool. The organic liquid waste floats at the top and the solid waste and inorganic sludge falls to the bottom. The natural bacteria generated inside the system converts the floating waste into sludge and liquid. The liquid between the “floating solids” and the “sludge” layers flows into the leaching secondary tank where it drains through the sides and bottom in a cesspool or flows out to the septic field in a septic system.

When a septic tank/main cesspool is not properly maintained, solids will build up within the septic tank/main cesspool and eventually push through and into the leaching cesspool(s). This clogs the sand bottoms and can permanently destroy the drainage. Detergents, toilet cleaners, bleach, anti-bacterial soaps, and disinfectants can kill the natural bacteria in the septic system. It is essential to keep the bacteria levels in your system well balanced for optimum performance.

If A-1 Sewer & Drain has determined that the cesspool system is full or requires service, we may elect pumping, aeration and drainage additives as in sulfuric acid to help restore drainage.

The installation costs of an individual on-site septic system typically range from $3,000 to greater than $10,000, depending on the size of home, the site conditions and local ordinance requirements.

The properly installed and maintained system should perform from 15 to 40+ years. Without proper Maintenance the life of the system will start to decrease, repeated water use in excess of the designed flow will also shorten the overall life

• What types of systems are there? How do I know which one to use? There are four basic kinds of septic systems: Cesspools: They are constructed of concrete with drainage holes along the side and is open to the sand below. Trench's: They include drainpipe laid in 1 1/2" Rock, Gravel less Pipe and Chambers. Pressure Beds: They are small pipes with small holes (orifices) in them laid in rock. Wastewater is sprayed into rock under pressure to distribute it evenly across the whole bed area. Mounds: They are a constructed sand hill with a pressure bed system in it. Then covered with dirt and topsoil. A ISTS Designer will make the determination which system type that is needed from the site evaluation that was completed prior to designing your new system.

Treatment of wastewater with a septic system begins with the plumbing in the house. It funnels wastewater to the septic tank. In the tank, solids are separated from the liquids. Some solids float to the top and others settle to the bottom. Natural bacteria in wastewater break down the organic solids. Solids not broken down by bacteria are stored in the septic tank until the tank is pumped. They should be pumped out of the tank through the manhole every one to three years. Septic tanks DO NOT destroy disease-causing pathogens. Septic tanks prepare the liquid for final treatment by the soil. Wastewater from septic tanks is distributed into the soil by a cesspool, mound, drip dispersal system. A layer forms where sewage meets the soil called Biomat. Once wastewater is through the biomat, harmful pathogens are destroyed. When owners don't clean septic tanks often enough, too many solids clog the biomat. Liquids can't pass through. This means the septic system will fail with untreated water coming to the surface or backing up into the home.

A properly designed, constructed and maintained septic system will not contaminate the groundwater (Wells) or your lake they are designed to protect them!

A licensed ISTS Evaluator/Designer will conduct soil borings in the area for the soil treatment system that is within the setback boundary's set by the regulations to protect the groundwater and your well, also the lakes.