New Septic Systems for Clarkston Properties
A new septic system is a long-term investment. Getting it right means a proper site evaluation, a design that fits your property and a permit approved before any digging starts.
Septic companies that work across DeKalb County can guide you through each step and handle much of the paperwork.
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.
Choosing the right system
The best system is the one your soil and lot can support. Good, deep soil often allows a conventional system. Clay, high groundwater or shallow bedrock may call for a mound, pressure distribution or an aerobic unit. Each has different costs and maintenance needs, so ask your installer to explain them.
Working with local regulators
Septic rules exist to protect groundwater and neighbors' wells. Before installation, plans are reviewed for setbacks from wells, property lines and water. Inspectors typically check the work before it is covered. Ask your installer what approvals are needed in Clarkston and how long review usually takes.
Why installation prices vary
Installation price depends on the system type the soil allows, the size of the house, the distance from the house to the field, how easy the site is to reach with equipment, and design and permit fees. Engineered systems such as mounds and aerobic units cost more to build and maintain.
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.
Questions for a septic installer
Ask who will do the soil test and design, whether they pull the permit, and which system types they recommend for your lot and why. Ask how long the project will take, what warranty they give, and whether the quote includes restoring the yard. Ask for references from recent jobs near Clarkston.
Getting ready for installation day
Clear access for equipment, mark wells, underground utilities and sprinkler lines, and plan where soil and materials will be staged. Your Clarkston installer will call in utility locates before digging. Expect some disturbance to the yard, which is regraded and seeded or restored as part of the job.
Questions that prevent problems later
Before work begins in Clarkston, ask where the tank and field will sit relative to your well, your neighbors and any planned projects. Ask how deep the components will be, how the yard will be restored and what records you will receive when the job is done. Clear answers now save digging up the yard later to find out.
Planning a new system near Clarkston
A new septic system near Clarkston 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. DeKalb 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 Clarkston's soil means for a new system
Soils around Clarkston range from good to very limited, so the system type depends on the results of the soil test on your lot. With about 51 inches of precipitation a year, designers here account for high water tables and runoff when sizing and placing a system.
Local conditions in Clarkston that affect septic installation
Among the mapped soils within about two miles of central Clarkston, the USDA soil survey rates 36% as very limited for septic absorption fields, 64% as somewhat limited and 0% 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.
Clarkston averages about 51 inches of precipitation a year, and December is usually the wettest month. January is the coldest month at about 40°F on average, so freezing is rarely the main concern here. Heavy rain and saturated ground are the bigger factors for drain fields.
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 Clarkston means for septic installation
By drainage class, the USDA soil survey maps the land around Clarkston as 86% well drained, 10% moderately well drained, 3% somewhat poorly drained, 1% somewhat excessively 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 Clarkston
These are the septic companies in our directory closest to Clarkston, with straight-line distance. Call any of them directly, or send one request and we will pass it to the best match.
- Amerisep, Stone Mountain, GA, 7.7 mi
- Doug Clack Septic Tank Service, Lithonia, GA, 10.7 mi
- Tri R Service Septic & Sewer, Snellville, GA, 12.5 mi
- Rylander Septic Tank Service, Morrow, GA, 15.2 mi
- Action Septic Pro LLC, Lawrenceville, GA, 15.2 mi
- Action Septic Tank Service, Alpharetta, GA, 15.9 mi
Septic Installation in nearby towns
We also cover septic installation in these towns near Clarkston:
- Tucker, 3.2 mi
- Avondale Estates, 3.4 mi
- Stone Mountain, 4.1 mi
- Decatur, 4.3 mi
- Chamblee, 5.8 mi
- Brookhaven, 6.5 mi
About Clarkston, GA
Clarkston is in DeKalb County, Georgia. About 14,396 people live there, across 1.8 square miles of land (about 7,803 per square mile).
Septic Installation questions in Clarkston
- Can I install a septic system myself?
- Most areas require licensed designers or installers and inspections. Check with the DeKalb County health department before planning any work yourself.
- 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.
- Do I need a soil test for a new septic system?
- Yes, in nearly all cases. The soil evaluation decides what type of system and how large a field your lot can support.
- Is SepticTank.com the installer?
- No. SepticTank.com connects you with an independent local septic company that serves Clarkston. That company designs, installs and prices the system.