septic help

Hello,

I have a 25 year-old cape. Septic tank is 1000 gallons and I believe I have a basic drain field. I'm starting to see some evidence of effluent seeping to the surface in one spot (6 square inches) about 25 feet from the tank. It only happens once on a while, but it definitely is effluent as it has "that smell".

I'm currently converting my two toilets to Toto Drake models (the old ones flushed at 3.5 gallons per flush) and we upgraded to a more efficient washer so I know this will cut down on the amount of water that must go through the system.

However, I was wondering if the issue might be the fact that over time the drainpipes, etc. slowly rise to the surface because of frost heave in the same way that rocks are pushed up. There is a definite concave grade from the tank down to the back. I'm wondering if it just might be that there is not enough earth between the pipes and the surface and that all I really need to do is add another 6 inches of topsoil on top and regrade. Any insight is appreciated.

That would most likely be the D box where the overflow from the tank connects to the leach field feeders and unfortunately is also a pretty good sign that the leach field is in failure and will need to be dug up.