New Septic Systems for Johnstown Properties
Whether you are building a new home in Johnstown or replacing a system that has reached the end of its life, septic installation is a project that starts with the soil. The right system depends on your lot, your soil and the size of your household.
Request a call and a local septic company that installs systems in Johnstown and Milliken, Berthoud, Mead will explain the process from site evaluation to final inspection.
The steps of a new septic installation
Expect five stages: site and soil evaluation, system design, permit approval, construction, and inspection before the trenches are covered. Weather and permit review times affect the schedule more than the digging itself, which often takes only a few days once everything is approved.
Types of septic systems
Conventional systems use a tank and a gravity drain field and suit lots with good soil. Where soil is poor, shallow or wet, options include pressure distribution, mound systems, chamber systems, sand filters and aerobic treatment units. Your soil test and local rules decide which types are allowed on your lot.
What the permit process involves
Most permit processes include a site and soil evaluation, a system design, plan approval and final inspection. Fees and timelines vary. Starting the process early, especially for new construction, keeps the project on schedule.
What you are paying for in a new system
A new system quote covers the soil evaluation and design, permits, the tank, pipe and field materials, excavation and backfill, and the final inspection. Ask whether site restoration such as grading and seeding is included, and whether the quote assumes a conventional system or an engineered one.
The first years with a new system
Keep the design drawing and the final inspection report somewhere safe. Pump on the schedule your installer recommends, use water steadily rather than all at once, and keep vehicles and new structures off the tank and field. Let grass establish over the field before heavy use of the yard.
Choosing an installation company
Look for experience with the soils and systems common around Johnstown and Milliken, Berthoud, Mead, clear written quotes and a plan for permits and inspections. A good installer explains tradeoffs between system types rather than pushing one option.
Scheduling a septic installation
Start early if you are building or replacing a failing system. Book the soil evaluation first, since everything else depends on it. Ask your installer how long permits are currently taking with the Weld County health department, and plan for weather, especially if the work falls in winter or a rainy season.
Mistakes to avoid on a Johnstown installation
The most expensive mistakes happen before the digging starts. Skipping the soil evaluation, choosing a system on price alone, or placing the drain field where future driveways, pools or additions will go all lead to trouble later. Undersizing the tank for the number of bedrooms is another common one. Ask your Johnstown installer to walk you through the site plan and explain why each part sits where it does.
Planning a new system near Johnstown
A new septic system near Johnstown starts with a site visit and a soil evaluation. Those results decide the system type, the tank size and where the drain field can go. Weld County reviews the design before work begins and inspects it before it is covered. Planning early keeps the project from holding up a closing or a build.
What Johnstown's soil means for a new system
Soils around Johnstown range from good to very limited, so the system type depends on the results of the soil test on your lot. Johnstown gets about 18 inches of precipitation a year, so water table limits are less common, though your soil test still decides the design. About 3 months below freezing mean pipes and components must sit deep enough or be insulated, and installation is usually easiest outside winter.
Local conditions in Johnstown that affect septic installation
Among the mapped soils within about two miles of central Johnstown, the USDA soil survey rates 24% as very limited for septic absorption fields, 44% as somewhat limited and 32% as not limited. The most common drainage class is well drained. Conditions vary from lot to lot here, so a site evaluation is the only way to know how well a particular yard will handle a drain field.
Johnstown averages about 18 inches of precipitation a year, and May is usually the wettest month. Average temperatures stay below freezing for about 3 months a year, with December averaging 29°F, so tank lids and shallow lines benefit from a layer of snow or mulch rather than being cleared bare.
Sources: USDA NRCS Soil Survey (SSURGO), Soil Data Access; NASA POWER long-term climatology. Soil ratings describe mapped soil types near the city center and do not replace a site evaluation of your property.
What the soil around Johnstown means for septic installation
By drainage class, the USDA soil survey maps the land around Johnstown as 93% well drained, 3% excessively drained, 3% poorly drained. Most of the soil here drains reasonably well, so a conventional trench field is often possible where the lot allows, but the soil test still decides.
Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey (SSURGO), Soil Data Access
Septic companies near Johnstown
These are the septic companies in our directory closest to Johnstown, with straight-line distance. Call any of them directly, or send one request and we will pass it to the best match.
- Sullivan Septic, Mead, CO, 6.8 mi
- Urgent Services LLC, Greeley, CO, 8.8 mi
- B & J Septic Service, Loveland, CO, 9.6 mi
- Trans-Colorado Excavation LLC, Greeley, CO, 10.8 mi
- Front Range Grease Removal Inc, Fort Lupton, CO, 17.1 mi
- A1 Septic Service, Brighton, CO, 21.4 mi
Septic Installation in nearby towns
We also cover septic installation in these towns near Johnstown:
About Johnstown, CO
Johnstown is in Weld County, Colorado. About 19,511 people live there, across 15.4 square miles of land (about 1,264 per square mile).
Septic Installation questions in Johnstown
- How long does septic installation take?
- Installation itself often takes a few days to two weeks. Soil testing, design and permit review can add several weeks, so plan ahead.
- What is a mound system?
- A mound system raises the drain field above the natural soil using sand and fill. It is used where the soil is too shallow, too wet or too slow draining for a conventional field.
- Can a replacement system go in the same place?
- Sometimes. It depends on the condition of the soil in the old field and local rules. Many replacements use a new area of the yard.
- Is SepticTank.com the installer?
- No. SepticTank.com connects you with an independent local septic company that serves Johnstown. That company designs, installs and prices the system.