# Need help making a drainage ditch



## jenoble99 (Dec 1, 2008)

*Drain*

With all the effort put in the ditch you could have connected it to the existing house waste system. Why not do it the right way so you don't have to worry about it at all? Is the house on a crawlspace/basement? If so it would be relatively easy to hook up.


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## Colchicine (Jan 2, 2009)

I agree with connecting it to the septic tank. If it were me, I'd be concerned about violating some sort of water discharge law, although I am unfamiliar with Texas laws. Somehow I doubt that discharging untreated laundry water to roadside ditches (and therefore to public waterways) is permissible. Sometimes roadside ditches are claimed as jurisdictional wetlands by the Army Corp of Engineers, thereby complicating the issue to the federal level.


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## keybrdcowboy (Jan 6, 2009)

How would I go about connecting it to the main house drainage? The septic tank is on the other side of the house. Also, I have heard/read that putting laundry discharge in the septic tank kills the bacteria levels? Any truth to that? Thanks for any help....


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## Colchicine (Jan 2, 2009)

Unfortunately, with a retrofit project like this, it make take it out of the DIY realm of possibilities. Hooking it up to the septic CAN be done, it just may need a plumber to do it properly. 

Regular laundry discharge isn't really an issue. Millions of people are sending their washing machine water to septic tanks. As long as you aren't dumping gallons of bleach into it, and are still flushing #2 into the tank, you'll be ok. If laundry water was a big issue, then all of the ridiculous amounts antibacterial hand soap would be an even bigger issue.


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## sunthas (Dec 29, 2008)

The ditches along the side of the road have one of two purposes, they are either irrigation ditches for farms & pastures that existed before the houses these are often still used for that purpose, or its a barrow pit, meaning it was created when they built the road to give place for water to go and to use to actually build the road. 

If its irrigation, all the people around you and the irrigation district would be quite upset. If its a barrow pit, I guess its not really harmful, but laundry water as other posters stated isn't necessarily water that should just be dumped into the nearest ditch.


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## DUDE! (May 3, 2008)

to tap into the septic, you need to find the main sewer pipe and go from there, hopefully the system was designed to hold the amount of water you want to add to it. People learn right quick how many loads of clothes a day they can do with septic system. Least of your concerns is killing bacteria. If the water is just sitting there on top of the ground, doesn't say good things about soil condition., You have your hands full.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,...

The Easiest way to cure this Issue is to install a Dry Well, between the house,+ the ditch....


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

Bondo has it, but the soil in SA is not real amenable to a dry well. It would have to be pretty damn big. What part of San Antonio?


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## 4just1don (Jun 13, 2008)

just remember doing 15 loads on saturday is NOT an option any more


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## keybrdcowboy (Jan 6, 2009)

I live in the south west part of San Antonio, close to Lacost and Atascosa.

I'm not sure what a drywell is, so I'll have to do some Googling on that one.

I was thinking I could dig the ditch out to about 3 or 4 feet deep, fill the bottom with some kind of rock or gravel, lay perforated pipe down the length of the ditch, and then put sand on top of that. Is that not a good idea?

I don't think the ditch is connected to anything besides my yard. Obviously, the ditch doesn't take the water anywhere, and if you look back past where the pipe enters the ditch, the ditch kind of disappears.... so I don't think it would be a big issue with laundry water going into someone elses fields or anything.... thanks for everyone's replies....


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

That is a dry well.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,...

That's a Concrete Dry Well....

The simplest type would be the rock filled hole you talk about,...
But,...
The rocks take up valuable Space, especially if you have Low Perk Soils...


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

He has low perc soils.


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## keybrdcowboy (Jan 6, 2009)

Does that mean my idea won't work? Should I use something else instead of the rock?


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> Should I use something else instead of the rock?


Ayuh,...

A Concrete or plastic Dry Well.....

Google it,.. That picture I found googling isn't showing up...


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