Septic systems
Out past the sewer line, the septic system is the thing that decides whether a lot is buildable. We put in new systems, replace failed ones, and repair leach fields, and we handle the county paperwork that has to happen before and after the machine work.
What we install
- New conventional systems: tank, distribution box, and gravity leach field
- Pressure-dosed and mound systems where the soil or the water table demands it
- Tank replacement, including abandonment of the old one to county standard
- Leach field repair, expansion, and replacement lines
- Pump tanks, effluent pumps, alarms, and control panels
- Percolation and mantle testing, coordinated with the soils consultant
- Sewer conversions, where a main has reached your street
How a septic permit works in Butte County
Butte County Environmental Health permits every onsite wastewater system, and the installer on the job has to be on the county's certified installer list. Ask any bidder for their current listing, including us.
The sequence is soil testing first, then a design sized to the soil result and the number of bedrooms, then a permit, then the install, then an inspection before anything is backfilled. Skipping the test and hoping is how a lot ends up with a system it cannot afford.
- Percolation test or a soil profile, depending on what the county asks for
- A design by a qualified professional, sized to the test and the house
- Application and permit through Environmental Health
- Installation, with the trenches open for inspection
- Final inspection, then backfill and finish grade
Signs a system is failing
Standing water or a green stripe over the leach field, slow drains through the whole house at once, or the smell in the yard after a heavy use day. On the Ridge and in older parts of Oroville, a lot of what we replace is a system that was undersized when it went in and has been on borrowed time since.
A failing field is sometimes a repair and sometimes a replacement, and the difference is usually whether there is a second area on the lot the county will approve. We look at that before quoting either.
New construction and rebuilds
On a new build, the septic design constrains the house placement more than most people expect: setbacks from wells, property lines, creeks, and the replacement area all have to fit. Get the soil test done early. It is the cheapest thing on the project and it decides the site plan.
What a septic system runs
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| New conventional system, tank and leach field | $16,000 to $35,000 |
| Pressure-dosed or mound system | $30,000 to $65,000 |
| Tank replacement only | $7,000 to $15,000 |
| Leach field repair or added lines | $6,000 to $20,000 |
| Percolation testing | $1,200 to $3,500 |
| Sewer conversion, lateral and connection | $9,000 to $22,000 |
Unit ranges are what this kind of work has been going for in the Sacramento Valley, put here so you can sanity-check a budget. They are not a bid. Quantities, access, haul distance, and the spec move every one of them.
Questions we get
Two to five days of machine work once the permit is in hand. The permit and the soil testing ahead of it are the long part, often six to twelve weeks depending on the county's queue and the time of year. Start in winter for a summer build.
For a new system, yes, in some form. The county sets whether that is a percolation test, a soil profile, or both. It determines the size of the leach field, which is the single biggest line in the price.
Often, yes, and it is far cheaper. A cracked or collapsed tank with a field that still accepts water is a tank job. We camera or dig to confirm before pricing it that way.
Depends on the street. Where the new sewer has reached, a connection is usually the better answer and sometimes required. Where it has not, a new system goes in to current standards, which are stricter than what most of those lots had before.
Photos are stand-ins until our own job photos are up: public domain images from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service, plus freely licensed photos from Wikimedia Commons (CC0 and CC BY-SA 4.0).
Request a bid: septic systems
Scope, rough quantities, the town, and when the site is available. If there is a bid date on it, put the date and time in and we will confirm receipt the same day.
- The yard
- (530) 555-0142
- Bids and plan sets
- bids@northstateconstruction.com
- Where we work
- Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Colusa, Shasta, Sutter, and Yuba counties
- Yard at 4180 Midway, Chico, CA 95928
CSLB Class A General Engineering · license pending, expected June