Old Cesspool/Drywell Question

Hey Everyone,

New forum member here. Have a question about an abandoned cesspool that was discovered in my backyard while searching for the current in use one. I want to fill it in, the cesspool is completely dry. Today I was digging around the cover and was going to attempt to get it off when I realized that all it was sitting on was dirt! After digging further it fell down into the empty cesspool.

Before I proceed to order fill dirt however I want to make sure that it's not something called a drywell and used for overflow. I know for a fact that my active cesspool is in my front yard, this empty one is in the back at least 40 feet away. I've had my active cesspool treated before because it was filling up and we had gurgling in the pipes. The cesspool/drywell in the rear never filled or had any water in it however so I'm pretty sure it's disconnected and was probably the original cesspool from when the house was first build back in 1952 (I bought the house about 2 years ago).

It looks very old and has a strange brick laying pattern where the diameter is wider at the bottom and gets thinner towards the top. I'll try to link pictures to show you guys. Please any tips or warnings before filling this thing would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Mike

Picture Links:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6E0XdhnM9LwTkc3QWRReU95T0U/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6E0XdhnM9LwS1NlUmdQR1AyenM/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6E0XdhnM9LwSFE0Nkd6VkZSeEk/view?usp=sharing

I would make sure it isn't a sump of down spouts or something first, It looks to clean to have been used for sewer.

Do you see any pipes coming into it? How big are they? Which direction do they look to be going?
That looks very much like and old water well that has been partially filled in.

JoeD said:

Do you see any pipes coming into it? How big are they? Which direction do they look to be going?
That looks very much like and old water well that has been partially filled in.

Click to expand...

There is a pipe near the top in the first picture.

If you don't have kids, and can protect the area for a season, I would monitor it for a while. See if it is meant as a drywell.

There is a 4" pipe coming in from the north of the cesspool. My house is located to the west of the cesspool. It is about 6 feet deep and 5 feet wide at the bottom. My actual cesspool is located in my front yard even further to the west (this cesspool/drywell is in the backyard.) The reason it looks partially filled in is from the dirt that fell in with the cover when I was digging it up.

What is the function of a drywell if that is what it is, I read it's pretty much an overflow for the cesspool? What signs should I be watching for if I decide to leave it open? Water running in from the pipe during the rain?


To reiterate this was originally found by a cesspool company trying to find my main cesspool. They commented that it was likely an older cesspool that was abandoned, however they never got a good look inside like this. They only saw inside through a small hole they dug with a post hole digger.

One of you commented that it looks too clean to have been used for sewage. If this thing has not been used in 20+ years is it possible for it to appear clean again just due to time?

By inspecting the brick you might find the age and there are people who might help you with that.
http://www.historicalbricks.com/?keyword=reclaimed bricks&gclid=CLSzvdjM2csCFQ5qfgodrtUFBg
I would back fill it with 3/4 crushed gravel so if it is a dry well it will still work.
Leaving it open is dangerous for children and animals.

Boy your photos bring back fond memories of my youth. That thing has 1952 written all over it and it looks just like the one my dad built only his was about 15’ deep. There was no such thing as plastic septic tanks then and most were made from concrete tanks or tubes with 3 of them in a row and water passed from tank to tank at different heights to take out what floats and what sinks and allow what is gray water to pass out to a leach field. That was the town setup. Country people building their own house built cesspools like yours because most guys building a house had no way to move heavy tanks but they sure could build with blocks and they set the blocks sideways so the core holes would let fluid leach out into the ground or gravel around it and then the ground slowly. Most of them that size would last about 10 years if you had them pumped every year. once they plugged up you could build another or build a leach field etc. sometimes homes divide their waste water and sent the bath and kitchen and laundry to one of these and the toilets to a septic tank and that explains why nothing to bad is left in yours.

None of this is allowed by code now and with the new codes in most places now repairing isn’t allowed without inspection etc and when the system failed in some place the last homeowner had to do a new system and as no one would have ever placed one in the front yard back in the day it is now common to find the front yard the last place the soil will perk test so that’s where they put them. Around here a lot of ugly sand mound systems are popping up in front yards and neighbors are complaining about resale values etc. the landscapers have a good thing going hiding them.

Yours would not be that dry if it was in use if you ask me. Fill it in with gravel and put dirt on top followed by grass seed and forget it was there is my recommendation.

Thank you very much for the info Bud. That matches the story that the cesspool guys hypothesized as well. My house is on Long Island in Suffolk county and my lot is very small (only 5000sqft). They said the new cesspool was likely put in the front as there was no way to access the backyard with large digging equipment since the house blocks the rear of the yard almost completely.

They ran a very long pipe from the back of the house where my sewage line exits all the way to the active cesspool in the front yard. I will look into getting gravel delivered and filling it up to the pipe then do the last foot on top in soil and get the lawn back in order.

You could try and run a snake up the pipe and trace it with a metal detector or hire a plumber with tracing equipment to see where it goes. Then you will know for sure.

if it is big enough to utilise , plug the pipe with concrete, give the walls a skim coat of motar

build a shed over it, use it for a root cellar or tornado shelter.

It's right in the middle of the backyard so a shed wouldn't work. Not too many tornadoes in NY and I don't trust the way the thing is deteriorating, would probably be a death hole haha.

fill it in,,plant grass