Sewer & Drain · Nashville, TN
Septic Services in Nashville
Tanks, fields and grinder pumps for homes off the city sewer or sitting below it, from the first inspection to a new system.
Estimate request
Tell us which drain is backing up
Sent straight to us, day or night. We respond immediately.
Septic Services in Nashville, Tennessee
Tanks, fields and grinder pumps for homes off the city sewer or sitting below it, from the first inspection to a new system.
For septic services, Nashville's Sewer and Drain works across Middle Tennessee — licensed, insured, with the price in writing before the work starts. Drain and sewer crews who clear the stoppage first, then put a camera down the line and show you what caused it.
Why homeowners call
Signs that bring people to us for this
- Sewage coming up a floor drain
- Every drain in the house slow at once
- Gurgling toilet when the washer drains
- Sewer smell in the yard or basement
- A soggy, sunken strip over the sewer line
- Roots back in the line every year
- Sump pump running and running
What is included
What our septic services work includes
- Tank located and lids exposed
- Sludge and scum layers measured
- Baffles, effluent filter and lids checked
- Field walked for wet ground and odor
- Tank pumped when the measured levels call for it
- Grinder and effluent pumps tested with their alarms
- Permits handled with the state or county program
- Tank size and field layout kept on record
How Septic Services goes, from cleanout to final pass
Large parts of rural Williamson, Wilson, Sumner, Rutherford, Cheatham, Robertson and Maury counties have no public sewer, and plenty of houses a few miles from a city line still run on a tank and a field. Those systems work for decades with basic care and fail expensively when nobody knows where the tank is.
Which septic service a house needs comes out of the first visit. Slow drains and a smell with a sound tank point toward the field or the line to it, which is repair. A house being sold or bought gets an inspection. No system at all, or a field that has failed past repair, means a permitted installation. A house that sits below the sewer main needs a grinder pump.
Septic work in Tennessee is permitted by TDEC’s Division of Water Resources through its Ground Water Protection program, or by the county’s own office in the counties that run that program under contract with the state. A new system or replacement field lines need a permit and are inspected before they are covered.
Most household tanks need pumping every three to five years, depending on the tank size, how many people live there and whether a garbage disposal feeds it. Measuring beats guessing: when the bottom of the scum sits within six inches of the outlet, or the sludge within twelve inches of it, the tank is due.
Septic Services
The septic services we do, one page each
Septic Inspection
The tank opened, its levels and baffles checked and the field walked, for a sale or because the yard has started to smell.
Learn moreSeptic System Installation
A new tank and field laid out to the soil and the state or county permit, sized for the bedrooms in the house.
Learn moreSeptic Repair
Broken baffles, cracked lids, crushed lines and saturated field lines repaired once the cause is known.
Learn moreGrinder Pump Installation
A grinder pump and basin for a house that sits below the sewer main, wired with a high-water alarm.
Learn moreAlso available
Other sewer, drain and septic work
Trenchless Sewer Repair
Lining or bursting a failed sewer lateral through a cleanout or a pair of small access pits, so the lawn, driveway and trees above it stay where they are.
Learn moreDrain Cleaning
Kitchen, bath, laundry and main line stoppages cleared at the cause, with the camera brought in when the same drain keeps coming back.
Learn moreSewer Line Repair
Bellies, offset joints, root intrusion and collapsed sections repaired after the camera has shown where and how deep they are.
Learn moreSewer Camera Inspection
A camera run the length of the lateral, recorded, with the distance to every defect read off the cable counter.
Learn moreEmergency Sewer and Drain
Sewage coming up a floor drain or a tub, or no drain in the house that will take water, answered day or night.
Learn moreSump Pump Services
Sump pits, pumps, check valves and discharge lines for basements and crawl spaces that take water in a hard rain.
Learn moreService area
Sewer and drain calls we take across Middle Tennessee
Our trucks reach Nashville and 100 more towns in 12 counties, and we take sewer and septic calls anywhere within about an hour of the city.
FAQ
Septic Services: what people ask first
How often does a septic tank need to be pumped?
Every three to five years for most households, though the right interval depends on the tank size, how many people live there and whether a garbage disposal is used. Measuring the sludge and scum at each visit gives a better schedule than the calendar does: a tank used by two people can go longer than one serving a family of six.
How can I tell if my house is on septic or city sewer?
Check your utility bill first: a sewer charge on it usually means a city connection. Houses on septic have no sewer charge and may show a tank lid or riser in the yard and parallel green stripes where the field lines run. County property records or TDEC’s septic permit files can also confirm whether a system is there.
What are the warning signs of a failing septic system?
Slow drains throughout the house, gurgling, sewage odor outdoors, and wet or unusually green ground over the tank or field are the common ones. Sewage surfacing in the yard or backing into the lowest drain means the system is already failing. An inspection tells whether the cause is the tank, the line between them or the field.
Can I park or build on top of my septic field?
No. Weight compacts the soil around the field lines and can crush them, and a slab, deck or driveway over the field keeps the soil from drying out. Keep vehicles, pools, sheds and paving off the tank and field, and plant only grass over the lines, because tree and shrub roots grow into them.
Free estimate
Book septic services with our crew
Call or write to Nashville's Sewer and Drain with what the drains are doing; we clear the line first and price any repair from the camera footage.