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Sunday, October 15, 2017

Septic Tank "Basement"

An interesting story turned up while on the Open Studios Tour yesterday. You know how it is, you are looking at art, sculpture, jewelry, and the topic of the sewer comes up. You could be at the grocery store or at Sweet Springs and the topic of the sewer comes up. Not always of course, but what other town besides one beset with sewer woes for lo, these 40 years, and paying through the nose for those delays, and the topic of the full-on sewer tax hitting us now that everything is in, would the sewer topic have come up?

Well, I guess these days, Morro Bay.......... But it is not quite the same comparison, as they have had a sewer for many, many, many years. In contrast, we are in the almost finished process of saying goodbye to our septic tanks, except for those areas in town where they are not forbidden.

The (presumed) owners of one house either: Thought there would never be a sewer; they loved their septic tank so much they didn't want to part with it, so hid it; OR, did not know where it was when they built their living room on top of it. Or maybe they did not care, or thought they could just not bother with a permit? (Our personal wild-wild-west example: We found a whole room built inside of the garage when we bought the house - drywall and everything.)

So....when it was time to hook up, in order to pump the tank, they had to cut a hole in the living room floor. Maybe I am a clean freak, but the thought of the pulsing, stinky, waste evacuation hose snaking over ruined carpet, or maybe shattered tile, or ecologically friendly splintered bamboo flooring seemed kind of gross! I don't know what the requirements were to fill in the tank, cement or gravel, but for sure, it would not be re-used for rainwater catchment!




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