Anyone have experience with either methods of dealing with septic systems? Opinions on either?
If anyone has drip system, do you have issues with pooling or the ground being too wet to play with kids in your yard?

"Pooling" has everything to do with absorption rates (permeability) of the soil and length of drip lines.
Heavy, dense clay soil requires much longer leaders than sandy soil.
Also depends on whether or not on a hill or low area and relationship to water table.
Many factors. Drip is usually much cheaper.
Aerating with pump and spray can be smelly as well and require maintenance over time.
Water conservation efforts typically limit the amount of "water" that can be sprayed as well.

Best friend rented a place(outside of Beaumont) with the sprinkler system. Ground stayed wet, mosquitoes thrived but no noticeable sewer odor...outdoor activities were not possible with that combination!!! The water going through the pump was sink, tub and clothes washer waste only. Landlord told her a dishwasher was prohibited because of the increase of "on" time of pump and amount of water discharged...don't know if that would be possible in a dryer/sandy environment.

I have the sprinkler on mine - no issues with pooling, but you shouldn't have that problem anyway. If you do, you don't have enough heads on your discharge line installed.

We have enough room that the sprinkler heads are behind the fenced in part of the back yard, so no impact on use of the fenced area for me. No issues with mosquitos or any of that nonsense.

The only maintenance is the occasional addition of chlorine, the once a year cleaning of the air filter for the aerator (will have this regardless of what type of discharge system you have on an aerobic septic system) and the rare occasion you may need to change a sprinkler head out. I've changed out 1, because it was set a tad too high and it got clipped with the lawn mower. I've since fixed that and have had zero issues.

If you keep your free chlorine levels where they need to be, you don't get a septic smell when the sprinklers go off. If you are getting a sour type smell, you need to check your system - just like with any other septic system.

The biggest concern I would have with any drip type system is wear and tear on the pump - it's going to need to run a lot longer to empty out the finish water tank versus with a sprinkler system. I'd assume a different type of pump is used for this application, but I don't know for sure either.

[This message has been edited by schmellba99 (edited 11/15/2013 4:41p).]

Check with your county first. Some counties require aerobic systems for new installations and existing anaerobic systems are grandfathered.

Chuck,there is a lot of half correct information following your post. First drip is not cheaper than sprinklers. A 1000 ft roll of tubing is $300+ versus $60 for three sprinklers and there is a huge labor difference in the installation of the two. Drip being the labor intensive one. Secondly, pooling could be caused by several different things and is usually case specific. Like sprinklers there is an application rate that controls the sqft of area needed to disperse the effluent on your drip or spray system. So, depending on other information you may be willing to provide on your specific situation I may be able to help you. Otherwise, some of the causes may be design related (wrong application rate), effluent quality related, site related (drainage issues), and/or age of product issues.
There are other causes but the above listed ones are the main ones.

SCHEMELLBA99 Properly maintained and operating aerobic systems should never have a strong odor associated with them. A musty to earthy smell is normal without the presence of chlorine. Chlorine is used for the disinfection process not the treatment process. However, a poorly operating aerobic system may have some odors and through the disinfection process the requirement of the chlorine to first oxidize solids before a break-point is achieved may offer some additional treatment to effluent whereby a reduction in the odors may be noticed. This being said if there is not an increase in the chlorine to meet demand, to reach the break-point and to achieve a long term chlorine residual there will be limited disinfection of the effluent. Typically, chlorine should be added on a very regular base to the septic system. Most tablet chlorinators work better with one to two tablets every two weeks. Regular Chlorine in = regular disinfection.

Wear and tear on a pump should not be a concern if the drip system is properly designed and the pump is:1.) used in the correct application, 2.) sized/matched with the pump curve to the flow/pressure requirement of the drip system, 3.) properly maintained and serviced

AGGIE95 Aerobic systems are not required by counties/local jurisdictions unless stated in their local order with TCEQ. Most aerobic system requirements are wrote into the deed restrictions of subdivisions and are not a requirement of the county in most cases.