emme's old kentucky home: Eureka - the septic tank is found

For those of you unfamiliar with the ongoing saga of the septic tank...I guess it really started 6 years ago when we bought our Old Kentucky Home - emphasis on old. One of my new co-workers said - you don't want to buy in Deacon Hills - they're on septic and you will have problems. As predicted, about 2 years ago we became aware that the septic system was not working so well. Thus began the search for the septic tank. We eventually hired a firm that pumps septic tanks. They sent out two workers who walked around our yard with a stick poking and digging in places and said they needed to come back with a backhoe and dig up the yard. As it turns out, this is what happened in the long run but with a more competent person. Anyway - they left our yard full of holes and rocks and a bad impression of their work ethic. For this pleasure we paid $90. We ourselves set out to find the tank. After about another year or so of intermittent searching we found what we thought was the opening to the septic tank. We called a different sewage company and the gentleman who came out informed us that we had not found the tank, we found a distribution box (For those of you who are curious or have way too much time on your hands http://simplesepticsolutions.com/howseptic.htm and http://www.epa.gov/owm/septic/pubs/homeowner_guide_long.pdf). Further more, he said that judging by the state of the distribution box, our septic tank had failed and needed at least fixing or at worst replacing. He then refused to charge us for this information and instead gave us the name of a great fix-it guy. Of course he will be back soon to empty the septic tank so it can be fixed. Today Joe (the fix-it guy, not my husband) and his son came out and dug up the tank which we had made easier to find by uncovering the first of probably seven distribution boxes. We have to wait until next Tuesday for the sewage guy to return to pump it out. Photos of the process...more to follow I am sure.