Septic System Design
We dig the test holes and lay out a septic system that fits your lot's soil. The design package then goes to RIDEM for approval.
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Septic system repair starts with finding the part that failed. A septic system works as a chain. The house drains into the septic tank, and the tank feeds a distribution box. The box spreads the water through the leach field, where it filters down through the soil.
South County Septic and Excavation Services repairs septic systems for homes and businesses across Rhode Island. North Kingstown sits at the center of our service area. We trace the trouble to the tank, the pipes, the distribution box or the leach field, then fix that part. When a backup turns out to be a clogged main line, drain cleaning may clear it.
Tell us about the septic, sewer, drainage or excavation job and where the property is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
The first signs often show up indoors. Drains run slow, and the plumbing gurgles. Then sewage backs up into the toilets and drains.
Outside, look over the septic tank and the leach field. Standing water or a sewage smell there is a warning sign. So is grass over the field that stays bright green and spongy in dry weather. The EPA lists all of these as signs of a failing system.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) adds a legal test. Its septic rules call a system failed when wastewater rises to the ground surface or flows into a basement. A tank that needs pumping more than two times a year counts as failed too. If sewage backs up into the house, the EPA says to avoid contact with it, because it can carry germs.
A diagnosis starts at the septic tank. We open the tank and check the water level against the inlet and outlet pipes. RIDEM's rules count a submerged inlet or outlet as a failure. A camera sent down the lines shows cracked or crushed pipe, and a locator marks where each line runs.
Inside the tank, a T-shaped outlet keeps the sludge and the scum from leaving, the EPA says. When that tee breaks, or the tank goes too long between pumpings, solids wash out and clog the leach field. We replace broken inlet and outlet tees, also called baffles, and repair damaged tanks.
Past the tank, the distribution box splits the flow among the leach field lines. The state university's extension service says uneven flow can overload one part of the field and make it fail early. We repair or replace the box and the pipes out to the field. A break between the house and the tank calls for sewer line repair.
Leach field repair, also called drain field repair, depends on what failed. A crushed or clogged line in the field can be dug up and replaced. When the soil itself clogs and wastewater rises to the surface, the fix is often a new leach field. On a repair, RIDEM allows galleys, the deep concrete chambers, only when no other leach field type fits.
A new leach field goes through a RIDEM repair application. RIDEM approves the repair plan before the dig, and the permit lasts one year at most. The rules ask a repair to meet the state standards as far as the site allows. Our septic system design work lays out the new field.
Near the salt ponds and the Narrow River (Pettaquamscutt River), the rules go further. Those watersheds are RIDEM's Critical Resource Areas, and most repairs there call for nitrogen-reducing technology. A failed cesspool gets replaced, because Rhode Island's Cesspool Act requires it abandoned within one year of discovery. That job, and any system past repair, is a full septic system replacement.
Call or text for a written quote. We work about 40 miles around North Kingstown across all of Rhode Island.
(401) 474-8926From the first call or text to the finished work, here is how it goes.
Call or text (401) 474-8926 and tell us the town and the job. Photos of the problem or the lot help.
We come out to see the site and how a machine gets in. On a problem call, we look for the cause first.
The quote comes to you in writing, with the work spelled out. A septic design goes to the state for approval before the install.
After a Dig Safe (811) call, the utilities mark their buried lines before any machine digs. Then we do the work the quote describes.
Where we dug, we backfill and grade, and we tell you what we did. A new septic system goes into use once the state issues its Certificate of Conformance.
Common questions about septic system repair around North Kingstown and the rest of Rhode Island. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
We dig the test holes and lay out a septic system that fits your lot's soil. The design package then goes to RIDEM for approval.
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We dig up and replace broken and root-filled sewer lines, from the house to the street or the septic tank. We also lay new sewer lines for homes that tie into town sewer.
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We find and fix leaking or broken water lines between the street or the well and your house. We also lay new water lines for new homes.
Learn MoreWe install conventional septic systems and advanced treatment systems, such as nitrogen-reducing units. The soil and the state's rules decide which one fits the lot.
We take on small residential repairs and large commercial site work. On new construction, we work closely with the builder and the engineer.
We look at the job before we price anything. Then the quote comes to you in writing, and the work starts once you say yes.
Real reviews of our septic and excavation work, 8 reviews on Google.
South County Septic did an excellent job replacing our old septic system and leach-field. Michael surveyed the property, designed a new system, installed and worked with the RI DEM with no issues. I highly recommend this business.
Michael was great! Picked up right away and was able to come within the hour to evaluate. Immediately got into motion additional resources we might need to come that day and solved the problem. Very informative and great to work with. Highly recommend.
Was referred out to Michael after an emergency waterline break that flooded our basement. He was there every step of the way and answered all the questions we had. Michael let us know what was happening during the process and could not have been happier with the outcome. Great price and great customer service! Highly recommend if anyone is in need of their services
Septic system failing in Rhode Island? The warning signs, when a repair beats a replacement, what RIDEM's rules require and published cost ranges.
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Cesspool replacement cost in Rhode Island from RIDEM's own published figures, and why state law sets a 12-month replacement deadline after a home sale.
Read more →Tell us what the job is and which town the property is in. Call or text (401) 474-8926 or use the form, and photos by text help.
Tell us about the septic, sewer, drainage or excavation job and where the property is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.