As the owner of a house with a septic system, it's important that you take proper care of the tank. Unfortunately for many people, that means leaving the riser and septic cap exposed for easy access. If you are discouraged with the appearance of the septic tank riser, there are things you can do to cover it. If you want to plan some landscape updates for your septic system to cover the cap and riser area, here are some things to consider.

Considering The Dimensions Of The Septic System

Before you start doing any work, sketch out the entire dimension of your septic system on a piece of paper. Mark off the placement of the drainfield and the tank itself so that you can minimize any foot traffic in those areas. In addition, you'll want to have a trench at the edge of the drain field. This will help prevent excess flooding in the area. You'll also want to avoid using any plastic sheeting in your planting.

Covering The Riser

One of the things you can do is completely cover the riser with a feature that is incorporated into the landscaping. For example, you can buy a hollow rock designed to serve as a decoration. They're lightweight, so it won't put pressure where you place it. You could also use a birdbath or another decorative ornament that can sit over the top of the riser so long as it's easy to move when you need to get to the tank.

Camouflaging The Riser

If you don't want to put something over the top of the riser, the other option you have is to camouflage it so that it blends into the surrounding landscape as much as possible. For example, if you have a lot of grass in the area, you can cover the riser with a green paint so that it matches. As an alternative, you can use the riser itself as the base of a planter that you fill with lightweight loamy soil and a decorative plant.

Selecting The Plants

If you decide that you're going to plant any kind of flowering or ground cover plants over the drain field, it's important that you're choosy about it. Opt for plants that don't need a lot of water because the upper layer of soil is usually drier than that of the perimeter of the drain field. In addition, you'll need plants that root very shallow so that they don't grow too far down and damage the infrastructure of your septic system.

Talk to a septic contractor, like Honest John's Septic Service Inc, for more help.