Dig a Pit, Perc Tests, and Why I Can't Have a Basement

Furthering my investigation of whether the lot is buildable, the steadfast septic designers walked the property yesterday and didn't see any obvious wetlands or problems, HOWEVER, they do have a record of a test pit dug (30 years ago) which shows that the water table is 36".

A test pit is a hole in the ground. Okay, it's more than that. It's a hole in the ground you throw money into! 

Okay, it's more than that. It's a hole in the ground that your septic designer or engineer digs to examine the strata of rock and soil and water level. This is very important not only for knowing what your septic will look like, but also your foundation, and whether you're even allowed to have a septic system.

Now, you try and google whether 36" deep water table is terrible, or just fine. I'll wait.

You can't find an answer? Me either. Nobody knows - or at least they're not saying. Maybe it's just not polite to give an opinion about whether someone's water table is too high.

But I did find this article at hunker.com which references how deep a leach field should be. Which, guess what - it's 36" in Maine, and in New Hampshire, according to this immensely useful Septic System Cost Guide by AJ Foss,  "The seasonal high water table (SWHT) determines the bottom of the leach field, which must be between 4 and 2 feet above the SHWT, depending on the chosen type of leach field."

So it sounds like there are still traditional options for the septic... But I'm going to call up the septic designer anyway to discuss fallback plans.