TWO LUCKY DAYS

We had some remarkable things happen in our family this past week. It goes to show that Heavenly Father is in charge and it's really not necessary to worry. We definitely are being watched over. The first remarkable thing was on Tuesday and happened to Peter. In his words:

My left rear wheel came off on the freeway today and there was basically no damage and I came through the experience safe and sound. I even got the wheel back, after it rolled diagonally through 4 lanes of rush hour traffic and came to rest against the left concrete barrier. A CHP car wove across traffic to stop it, and a highway assistance guy ran out and grabbed the wheel (and a lug nut that was somehow still attached). They both said it was my lucky day.

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Our lucky day was Friday, but thankfully it wasn't life threatening. It just could have been a really big, smelly mess--but wasn't. We got a call Friday morning that Rooter Pro was going to come out that day to install risers on our septic tank. We knew they were coming some time, but it was going to be a big job and they didn't know just when they'd be able to work it in. We had our septic tank pumped two weeks before, so we didn't think there was any great need for them to come any time soon.

It turned out to be ROOTER PRO TO THE RESCUE!

We have a concrete slab covering the top of our septic tank. That gives easy access when the tank needs pumping, but if there happens to be a problem with the lines leading into or out of the tank, the only way to get at them is to dig each time. That's time consuming and expensive. Last year we had to have tree roots dug out of the line from the house to the tank. At that time risers were recommended which would provide easy access to the lines should a problem happen again. So, we've been saving since then to have that done.

Caleb was the backhoe operator. He started digging behind the concrete slab for the place to install one riser, and almost immediately hit water, which was not a good sign. They looked inside our septic tank and it was almost full to the top! He said we were within 24-48 hours of having it back up into the house. As I said, we had no clue there was any problem because we had the tank pumped just two weeks ago. (Usually a pumping will last at least 2 years.)

He also started digging on the other side of the slab for the installation of the second riser. I was really impressed with Caleb's ability to put that backhoe right where he wanted it and apply only the amount of pressure that he wanted to apply. When I commented to him about it, he said he had been driving a backhoe since he was 10 years old so he has had lots of practice. Where he really hit water was when he started excavating the old diverter valve.

The liquid from our septic tank empties into our septic field in the back yard, and the solids stay in the tank until pumped. Our septic field is divided into two parts. We have a diverter valve which makes the water flow into one side or the other of the septic field. Usually twice a year (at general conference time in the spring and the fall) we would switch the valve so the water would flow into the other side. Well, some time ago, the switch on the valve broke, so all the liquids have been going to one side. It became saturated, and started sending the liquids back towards the house. It was all underground though, so we didn't know it was happening.

Here's Caleb's assistant, Cory, trying to get the vertical pipe off the old diverter valve. It wasn't supposed to have been glued on, but it was, so they had a hard time getting it off.

They pumped the water out of the hole, and also re-pumped our septic tank.Here's part of a new diverter valve. They took the innards out of this new one to install in our old valve so they didn't have to dig the old one out.

This shows the new switch in place. They installed a new vertical pipe so we would have easy access for switching the valve.They installed a cover and began filling in the hole. We were given a tool with a long handle for reaching down inside the vertical pipe to flip the switch.

Caleb had a special saw for cutting holes in the top of the septic tank. The air got a bit dusty. In the background you can see two large black pipes which were used to make the risers. Here it got REALLY dusty. I went inside and closed the door. Caleb wore a mask while doing that, but he was still tasting concrete dust afterwards. I gave him and Cory each a drink of our nice cool well water. :-)

This hole was cut on the back side of the tank, right where the pipe comes in from the house.

The hole above was cut in the front side of the tank, where it empties into the leach field. There is a baffle in this hole and a filter which will catch any solids that should happen to escape. We just need to remove the filter when the tank is pumped and hose it off with water.

Here's one riser partially installed.

Each riser has a lid and the lid is screwed down. They are at ground level to make it easy to mow over them. It's going to take awhile for the ground to settle.

Here's the finished product. You can see the lid for one riser. (Kind of ugly, but at least they are green.) If you look really close you can see part of the lid on the second one. Off in the distance is the pile of dirt where the new diverter valve now resides.

We're extremely thankful that Peter didn't have any worse problems, and we're also glad that we didn't have to endure a flood of yucchy sewage invading our house. Our family has been extremely well taken care of.

I think it was Dr. David Jeremiah who said, "The way to prepare for an unknown future is to reflect upon God's blessings in the past." These will definitely be added to our list of blessings!