When a septic field failure caused a pumpkin recall and a PR nightmare, Pond Hill Farm looked to our team fo a solution. What followed was a remarkable turnaround, thanks to a smart and sustainable solution that transformed a disaster into a success.
Pond Hill Farm is a popular stop along the “Tunnel of Trees”. Families come to catch trout in their pond, eat at their cafe, taste their wines and beers, and enjoy produce, especially the pumpkin extravaganza during the fall.
A few years ago, Pond Hill faced a crisis. The public was enjoying sorting through the thousands of pumpkins, but they had been placed right over the septic field. When the field failed and raw waste surfaces, it contaminated the pumpkins and the company had to issue a recall. Talk about a PR disaster.
SludgeHammer® quickly cured the leach field failure with the installation of our Aerobic Bacterial Generators (ABG) in the existing tanks, but the farm was expanding and needed a comprehensive fix. We expanded treatment with extra tanks and more SludgeHammers®, and the prize was the creation of a 3,000 sq.ft. drip irrigation field for the final effluent.
The new drip field grew the finest crop of prize pumpkins, many 500-1,000 lbs. The public can see directly how the nutrient-rich waste went from a disaster to a triumph of eco-friendly sustainable agriculture. The Pond Hill aerobic septic system was a success. When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. When the world gives you pumpkins, make pumpkin pie.
