Question
I recently installed a new cesspool (May) regrew a new lawn where they'd dug up.During the heavy rains of July 18th, the street drains on my block became overwhelmed placing a four foot lake on my front lawn.

This is where the rest of my tale becomes conjecture: with no where else to go, the water found it's way into my new cesspool and back into my basement through the pipe! Six Inches of Wastewater in my basement, and countless hours of cleanup later, I want to ensure that I can grow grass and that this type of sinkhole likely won't occur again. Do you have any ideas or comments on what I should do?

Answer
On the cesspool situation, trust me I have been there done that.  Pretty much anyone with a cesspool has been there done that.  And although I can't advise you on how to handle the plumbing, I can tell you that Grass LOVES Cesspools, especially when they overflow.

I learned this way before I bought a house, back when I talked to the wife of a landlord of mine.  She pointed to the back yard.  The cesspool was backing up into my ground floor bathroom shower.  It stank to high heaven, not to mention the yuck factor of having to clean the shower before using it with Bleach every day.  We were standing out in the yard at one point and she described the precise location of this underground sewage compartment in the yard.

'How do you know?' I asked her.

'See the grass?  See how green the grass is?  It's right there.'

Sure enough, the Lawn was thick and lush despite the dappled shade and root system of the large fir next to it.

As long as the rainwater drains somewhere -- into your basement, the ground floor shower, wherever -- the roots will get sufficient air and the Grass will THRIVE with occasional cesspool treatments.  Sorry, but that's the facts.

Now, if you have a sinkhole over the cesspool, you have to fill that area in and re-plant Grass.  Sounds like the soil settled there.  Just don't plant it too soon.  Wait until the weather cools down in a few weeks to give your new Grass a good start.

If you're growing vegetables or tomatoes this year, make sure it was not exposed to the overflow from any cesspool wastewater.  E. coli is not something you want to pick up.

Sorry to hear about your situation.  But we all have these troubles sooner or later when we have cesspools to deal with.  Thanks for writing.