What if the soil is too shallow for a leach field?
In most of Ohio, the soil is too shallow to construct a septic system leach field. Many people try to construct a septic system leach field anyway. These systems fail within months, creating a public health and environmental hazard. Untreated sewage either comes to the surface in the yard or moves through saturated soil to pollute nearby wells and groundwater. To keep sewage from surfacing in lawns, some systems are installed with shallow curtain drains placed about 26 inches beneath the soil surface about 8 feet from the leach field. These curtain drains carry pollutants away from the home, but discharge pollutants directly into streams or into ditches or agricultural drainage systems that drain into streams. Shallow curtain drains that intersect untreated wastewater are an important source of nonpoint source pollution in Ohio and should never be used. Sand has been shown by researchers at Ohio State University to be a medium to aid in wastewater treatment. Organic matter (BOD5), tota
