What causes i've got a tree growing over my septic field?
Species and distance, in that order. The fast, water-seeking trees do most of it — willow, silver maple, poplar and cottonwood, elm, sweetgum — and their roots routinely travel well beyond the drip line. Older systems built with clay tile or unglued joints are far more vulnerable than modern solvent-welded PVC. The standard origin story is a small tree planted twenty years ago at what looked like a safe distance from a field the owner could not see and had no map of.
What you'd see
A strip of lawn over the drain field that is greener and taller than everything around it and stays green through drought while the rest browns off. Soggy ground or standing water over the laterals, odor, slow drains or backups indoors, and lines of lush growth tracing exactly where the pipes run. On the tree side: roots surfacing near the field, and a tree noticeably more vigorous than its neighbors on the same lot.
Related
- I've got a tree growing over my septic field — what should I do?→
- Is i've got a tree growing over my septic field an emergency?→
- Can i've got a tree growing over my septic field be fixed without removing the tree?→
- How long can I leave i've got a tree growing over my septic field before it becomes dangerous?→
- How much does it cost to deal with i've got a tree growing over my septic field?→
- The bark is falling off my tree — what should I do?→
- Is the bark is falling off my tree an emergency?→
- Can the bark is falling off my tree be fixed without removing the tree?→