Septic guides

Signs of septic trouble

• Slow drains. Especially when several drains are slow at once, or the lowest drains in the house.
• Gurgling. Toilets or drains that gurgle after water runs.
• Odors. A sewage smell near the tank, the drain field, or inside.
• Wet ground. Spongy soil or standing water over the drain field when it hasn’t rained.
• Extra-green grass. Lush stripes of grass over the lines can mean wastewater is surfacing.
• A pump alarm. On systems with a pump, the alarm means the water level is too high.

Septic dos and don’ts

• Do pump on schedule. The EPA says most household tanks are typically pumped every three to five years.
• Do spread out laundry and fix leaking toilets and faucets.
• Do keep roof gutters and sump water directed away from the drain field.
• Don’t flush wipes, paper towels, feminine products, grease, or medications, even ones labeled “flushable.”
• Don’t drive or park on the tank or drain field, or build over them.
• Don’t plant trees or large shrubs near the lines, where roots can grow into them.

More on pumping.

Buying a home on septic

A standard home inspection usually doesn’t include the septic system. Ask the seller for the county septic permit and any pumping records, and schedule a septic inspection early in your due diligence period. The permit shows the approved system type and how many bedrooms it was designed for. In Onslow County, permit records are kept by Environmental Health.More on inspections.

After a flood or hurricane

When the ground is flooded or saturated, a drain field can’t absorb wastewater. Use as little water as possible until the water goes down, and don’t pump the tank while the ground is still flooded, since an empty tank can shift in soggy soil. Once things dry out, have the system checked if drains are slow, the tank was underwater, or a pump system lost power.

Jacksonville soils and water

Jacksonville and the rest of Onslow County sit in the lower coastal plain. The county’s land use plan describes nearly level land where water drains extremely slowly, poorly drained soils, and a high water table, and it rates many soils as having severe limits for septic systems. It also notes septic failures across the county, with some systems more than 60 years old. Wet soil like that is why the drain field is the part of the system to protect.

Hurricane Florence in 2018 dropped 20 to 30 inches of rain across the area, with more than 30 inches in Swansboro, and flooded homes in Jacksonville. If your system was underwater, have it checked.

Want to know what septic work costs? See our septic tank cost guide.

For local details, see the pages forHolly Ridge, Piney Green, Sneads Ferry, Richlands, and Swansboro, and our other service areas.