Do I have a natural spring or a leak

Very interesting question. My first thought is that dropping 6 inches in 3 weeks is not really normal in a sealed system, but not a condition to be alarmed about. The goal of any inground leaching system is to exit solid free water to a sandy bed to filter and absorb into the grounds. It is very difficult to determine if you have a crack or breach in your tank without inspecting it when empty and cleaned. Usually my septic subs will drain the tank, clean the bottom enough to look for a displacement crack or root infiltration. It is rare that we go to that extent unless there is evidence of effluent waste water surfacing on the ground. This is evident by soggy ground and a foul smell.

If you do have a minor leak towards the bottom of your tank, it really isn't causing any real harm as the waste water is just taking a short cut. As long as you don't have the symptoms of failure, I wouldn't worry to much right now. Many old systems actually used just a leaky tank without a leach field. This was common on small lots in areas of sandy soils that drained well.

As long as your septic tank is far enough away from a well used for potable water, contamination should not be a problem. If you do use a well, a water test might be a good idea if the tank is in closer proximity than the leach field.

It's nearly impossible for us to diagnose this without being there in person, but typically wet basements are caused by ground water--rather than a leaky window or the like.

The ground water needs to go somewhere. If the soil can't drain, it builds up pressure and looks for a way into your basement--either via the walls or, more often, where the wall connects to the footer at the floor.

Cheaper/easier things to try first:

• Add/fix gutters and downspouts
• run downspouts further away from house
• properly slope the ground away from the foundation around the house.
• install surface drains (such as a dry river bed)
• have gutters/surface drains go to dry wells

More expensive/complex solutions:

• Install internal footer french drains and a sump pump
• dig down exterior to install exterior footer french drains and waterproof exterior

Fixing gutters and such is fairly inexpensive and a weekend project. Sloping the yard and surface drains are a bit more work, but still in the realm of DIY.

Installing footer drains and waterproofing the exterior below grade, however, is not a DIY project and will cost quite a bit.