Draining water softener brine to septic

[hwy17]

What do you guys think? I'm going back and forth.

The bulk of the info seems to lean towards it being ok, with all the actual educated input stating there should not be a negative effect on the leech field absorption, or could in theory be positive.

My other concern though is our concrete tank is possibly over 50 years old. I believe I understand sodium ions don't directly react with concrete, but of course if it got to the rebar that would be bad.

 

[hwy17]

The alternative is digging a dry well to drain it to. But then I don't love the idea of creating an underground plume of concentrated salinity.

 

[hwy17]

I don't have a water softener yet and never really minded it before (14 grains) but I found out soft water makes much better coffee, so I'm using gallons jugs of bottled water for that now and it would be nice to stop.

 

[RussNM]

Would the salt have a negative impact on the good bacteria that breaks down the waste in the tank?

 

[hwy17]

Would the salt have a negative impact on the good bacteria that breaks down the waste in the tank?

According to some very old studies, no.

https://wqa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2019_SoftenerBrineDisposalSepticSystems.pdf

 

[42OhmsPA]

Mines been dumping into the septic since it was built around 20 years ago. I've had no issues since closing in 2014.

Many times I've thought about re-routing it to dump out into the stone driveway, the salt might also help the weeds die...

Biggest benefit I see would be reducing the cycles of the septic pump overnight while the softener is regenerating, it would also take some load off the inverter while the well pump is hammering it.

 

[aenyc]

This area of florida that i have been visiting most houses have a well/septic setup, and many with water softeners and full house RO systems. I am pretty sure they are dumping both into septic with no apparent issues (That i know of)

 

[hwy17]

Many times I've thought about re-routing it to dump out into the stone driveway, the salt might also help the weeds die...

I initially thought about using gutter drains to take it out to the driveway, where the rain would eventually carry it away in surface water. But then I imagined driving through the brine in the morning. That's not how we keep our California cars rust free!

 

[fpgt72]

I always operated under the thoughts unless you would eat it or have ate it, don't put it in your septic tank.

If you go back and read your different posts on this you know that stuff is flat nasty, no matter what anyone says you would not put that in your body.

Personally I would not do it.

 

[hwy17]

I always operated under the thoughts unless you would eat it or have ate it, don't put it in your septic tank.

If you go back and read your different posts on this you know that stuff is flat nasty, no matter what anyone says you would not put that in your body.

Personally I would not do it.

Yeah but I don't eat toilet paper either.

 

[marionw]

The issue is whether the brine inhibits bacterial breakdown of the wrinkled nose brown trout. Some folks won't even use bleach or bleach products where it will end up in the septic tank. Bacteria breaks down the solids including wrinkled nose brown trout which in turn means less pumping of the septic tank.

 

[hwy17]

I do use chlorine bleach for laundry on the septic, and I don't worry much about that myself. My experience with pools tells me 4000 gallons of poop bacteria will laugh heartilly at a half cup of bleach.

 

[fpgt72]

Yeah but I don't eat toilet paper either.

Then go for it if you think it is just fine.

 

[aenyc]

Technically I would agree with fpgt72. I too would think twice about it.
However, as with the case with Florida place - everyone around you is already doing it (because how else, to be honest).
And then salt is a tiny issue compared to something like this: (Will anyone make MIC answer? Rhetorical question)

Trial opens in Acreage cancer cluster lawsuit, more than 10 years after it was filed

At issue: Did Pratt & Whitney contaminate the water and soil in The Acreage through its handling of radioactive waste? A jury will decide.

www.palmbeachpost.com

 

[Recovering EE]

This area of florida that i have been visiting most houses have a well/septic setup, and many with water softeners and full house RO systems. I am pretty sure they are dumping both into septic with no apparent issues (That i know of)

Florida has notorious issues with inadequate grounding. Sandy soil seems to contribute to it. Can a portion of the brine be routed to the house's grounding rod area? The ions might help get a good ground.

When I was an R&D engineer, I traveled to Florida. When I was in the field with some telco locals, they had me pee on the ground rod (instead of using the PortaPotty) serving a remote building. They claimed that they used to have grounding problems, but not since they started doing this.