When your septic system is failing, you’ll probably smell it. Common signs of a septic system failure include sewage odors in the home or around the yard, flooding in the yard above the septic tank or in the leach field, and wastewater or even raw sewage backing up into your home’s drains.

Septic tanks and cesspits are both types of sewage and wastewater systems, but they differ in key ways. The main difference between the two systems is that septic tanks separate sewage from wastewater and allow the latter to flow into a drainage field to filter and disperse into the soil. Cesspits don’t have outlets and instead, store sewage until it needs to be pumped by a professional.

A septic perc test is done by drilling a hole into the ground, filling the hole with water, and testing to see how long it drains. While simple, the test itself provides a great deal of information about your yard. The last thing you want to do is skip a perc test only to discover your yard doesn’t drain sewage effectively.

The physical constraints of hand-drilling a well limit the depth you can achieve. Manually digging with picks and shovels may only lead to shallow wells of up to 60 feet in depth. To reach greater depths, you need more specialized equipment. The diameter of your well and the tools you’re using will determine how far down you can dig.