Septic Tank Pumping and Repair in Knoxville, TN

Septic tank pumping in Knoxville

Pumping is the most common septic job. Most household tanks in Knoxville need it every three to five years, sooner with a small tank or a full house. Work out your own interval with the septic pumping calculator, or see what a septic tank pumping visit involves.

Sewer or septic in Knoxville?

Inside the city limits, sewer is KUB's, (865) 524-2911. Septic is still common in the unincorporated parts of Knox County around the city, and on older lots that were never tied in. If you are not sure which you have, KUB can tell you whether your address is a sewer customer.

Who issues septic permits in Knox County

The permit office on Dameron Ave is in 37917, the same ZIP code as our yard on E 5th Ave.

Knox County runs its own septic program under contract with the state, so you apply to the county office, not to TDEC. The rules are still Tennessee's, and a construction permit is good for three years from the day it is issued.

The ground around Knoxville

The Holston and French Broad meet in South Knoxville to form the Tennessee River, which runs through the city as Fort Loudoun Lake. Sharp's Ridge and Beaver Ridge sit to the north, Brown Mountain and Bays Mountain to the south, and the ground climbs from about 800 feet at the river to around 1,000 on the West Knoxville hilltops.

Much of the old city is mapped as urban land, but the open ground left is mostly Corryton, Dewey and Coghill soils. The USDA rates all three very limited for septic fields, mainly because water moves through them slowly. Those are general ratings from the USDA soil survey. Your permit depends on a soil evaluation of your own lot.

What that means for the cost

Slow soil means a bigger drain field for the same house. A three-bedroom house needs about 2,250 sq ft of field on clay (typically $16,000 to $22,000 installed) against 375 sq ft on sand ($5,000 to $6,500). See the full breakdown on septic installation cost in Knox County.

Why the perc test comes first

Under Tennessee's septic rules, a new system is not permitted until the lot's soil has been evaluated, usually with a soil map drawn by a licensed soil consultant. That evaluation sets your field size and your price. Read more about perc testing near Knoxville, or try the numbers below.

How far we are from Knoxville

Knoxville is about 10 minutes' drive from our yard at 801 E 5th Ave in Knoxville, depending on traffic.