Water Softener drain vs lawn health

[verbalkint99]

OK, so I have a 48k grain softener and a katalox lite iron filter set up, both of which drain into the sump. My other option was into the septic tank which I have read is a big no no.

Over time, a 2 foot diameter dead spot has developed where the sump pump discharge is at the back of the house. I have not been too worried about it as the plan was to put a patio in that location.

Well, now we are ready for the patio, but I did not think about exactly where the drain was going to go. The original thought was to bury PVC pipe under the brick patio and have a pop-up at the end. However that will just have a dead spot develop in the middle of my lawn.

What are my options here? I was just reading up on a dry well, but being in Michigan I will have to put it deep below the frost line. My subdivision is in a former gravel pit so the dirt is sandy and rocky meaning a hole like that will be a pain to dig. Is that still my best bet?

Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

One option is to drain the softener to the septic and the KL backwash to the lawn.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[verbalkint99]

That is not an option. I have read too many studies, articles, and web sites that talk about that wreaking havoc on the septic system. Not to mention the company that pumps our tank (who you would think would want me to destroy the system) and the local municipality are against it as well.

 

[Reach4]

That is not an option. I have read too many studies, articles, and web sites that talk about that wreaking havoc on the septic system.

Care to name a such study from a trusted source? https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/watershed/Pages/GWSofteners.aspx

Of course if it is not an option for you it is not an option. So dig a big dry well. Hire a backhoe with operator.

 

[LLigetfa]

They say the solution to pollution is dilution. Try watering the area before and after the discharge. Both my softener and iron filter discharge into my sump pit where it is diluted with the groundwater before it is pumped out to a shallow slotted drain pipe under my lawn that eventually daylights to a shallow ditch. The chloride never kills my grass but during dry spells where I don't have ground water in my sump pit, the higher concentration affects trees along the ditch.

 

[Treeman]

The effect of discharging softener water to a septic system is very controversial. It seems that more recent 2013 research supports the idea that IF you are running a newer, high efficiency softener correctly (i.e., not 3 times/week), it will not harm your septic system. Here are just 2 articles/research that support this:
https://www.plumbingsupply.com/septic.html
https://www.marlo-inc.com/item/study-suggests-softeners-do-not-hurt-septic-tank-performance

The actual Report: https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/WQRF/ResearchStudy_WaterSoftenersEnvironmentalImpact-ExecSummary.pdf .... newer 2013 research supported with data collected from real world observations. It tends to support the older studies linked by Reach above


My conclusion is that because there is a "chance" of septic disruption IF a softener is operated inefficiently (old, neglected, etc.) , many government boards take a knee-jerk outlook of better to be safe than sorry. I.E., in Michigan state code requires an expensive RPZ style back flow preventer with any water powered sump pump while many states allow a more modest check valve style.

 

[ditttohead]

Correct, a modern softener programmed for higher efficiencies is unlikely to have any negative affect on a septic system. There are always exceptions to the rule but the studies point to the obvious and what has been known for decades, softeners and septic is fine in the vast majority of applications.

 

[LLigetfa]

Correct, a modern softener programmed for higher efficiencies is unlikely to have any negative affect on a septic system.

That might also apply to lawn health but we know it affects the lawn...

 

[ditttohead]

In my 30 years I have seen many times where customers have dumped the softener right onto a beautiful, lush green lawn without a problem. My house... I have a brine diversion system that failed a couple years ago and the softener discharged the salt onto my lawn... almost instant death to the lawn. The good thing is that if it does kill the lawn, you can usually just water the area for a few days to dilute the salts and drive them down but... I would recommend using your septic system. My lawn is too nice to that to it again.

 

[LLigetfa]

I have a brine diversion system

I would like to divert the brine discharge to a holding tank that I could later pump out and dump on my gravel drive to kill vegetation. Whenever I clean out the softener brine tank, it gets dumped on the driveway and does a good job to kill the weeds.

 

[ditttohead]

We make a brine diversion system that diverts only the very high tds for collecting rather than collecting all the waste water. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/124-125