Septic Repair
We repair cracked lids, broken baffles, crushed lines and tipped distribution boxes on existing septic systems. We also tell you when a repair is enough and when the job needs more.
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Lake City, a Florence County city of 5,903 people at the 2020 Census, sits where US 52 meets US 378. Inside town, the city runs the sewer lines. Out on the farm roads, a new home usually needs its own septic system, and the ground is often wet. That makes septic system installation in Lake City a soil question first.
Lake City is part of our service area, which runs about 50 miles around Summerton. Levelset2 installs new conventional septic systems for homes and mobile home lots around town. We also repair failing systems, and we clear the lot first when a job calls for it. Read how septic system installation works, then call or text (803) 478-2620 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at it and put your free quote in writing.
Inside the city, the Combined Waterworks and Sewerage System of the City of Lake City runs the sewer. When a new sewer line reaches a property in town, city code gives the owner 90 days to connect. State rules from SCDES, the state environmental agency, point the same way. Where public sewer is accessible, SCDES will not permit a new septic system or the repair of a failing one.
Out in the farm country, the picture changes. Florence County 2032, the county's long-range plan, says its open rural areas typically lack central water or sewer. It finds pockets of this open country throughout southern Florence County, where Lake City sits. The plan says lots there typically run an acre or more, so a well and a septic system both fit.
SCDES says to call the local government about water and sewer before you buy land. With no sewer, you need a state septic permit first, and the county cannot issue a building permit without it.
Federal soil maps show why the soil evaluation matters here. Within five miles of downtown, Coxville and Lynchburg soils cover more than half the ground. Both stay wet near the surface for part of the year. On about three quarters of it, the water table rises within 18 inches of the surface at its yearly high.
The NRCS soil survey rates about 94 percent of that ground as very limited for septic drain fields. That is a broad map rating, and the state's own soil evaluation on your lot makes the call. Drainage canals such as the High Hill Drainage Canal run near town. SCDES wants a septic system at least 25 feet from a drainage ditch.
An SCDES inspector takes at least two soil borings where the drain field will go. The soil's color shows how high the water table gets at the wettest time of year. When the ground is too wet, SCDES may hold the evaluation until it dries. Lake City sits below the Fall Line, so the state does not require backhoe pits here.
US 378 crosses the Lynches River a few miles northeast of town. Upstream at Effingham, the October 2015 flood crested at 19.7 feet. That is the third-highest crest on record there. The National Weather Service puts major flood stage at that gauge at 18 feet.
Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 both pushed the Lynches past moderate flood stage there. The weather service reported 2,500 residents of southern Florence County evacuated from Lynches River flooding during Florence. On the Great Pee Dee, that storm brought the second-highest crest on record at the Pee Dee gauge.
Floodwater soaks a drain field and can leave silt in the tank. SCDES says to hold off on water use while the ground is flooded and keep machines off a wet field. If silt clogs the field, the state says a new system may have to go in. Our drain field repair page explains the usual fixes.
Lake City's housing runs older than the county's. By Census estimates, about two of every three homes in town were built before 1980. A home past the sewer lines may still use the septic tank it was built with. When that tank or field fails for good, septic system replacement brings it up to today's rules.
Mobile homes make up about 3 percent of homes in the city and about 18 percent across Florence County. State rules say a mobile or modular home cannot move onto a lot until its septic permit is issued. Our mobile home septic systems page lays out the order of work with the dealer.
A wooded lot may need work before the soil evaluation, since state rules can require clearing underbrush for the inspector. We handle lot clearing on homesites up to about five acres, then set the tank and the field. We call SC 811 before any machine digging. 811 does not mark private lines, such as a well line, so tell us where yours run.
Communities and areas we serve around Lake City: Scranton, Coward, Olanta, Cades, Effingham, Greenbriar Estates, Wren Village, Moore Crossroads, Lee Crossroads, Ron McNair Boulevard, Olanta Highway, Turbeville Highway.
Lake City ZIP codes served: 29560.
Lake City is part of our service area. Call or text, and we look at the job and put your free quote in writing.
(803) 478-2620 We repair cracked lids, broken baffles, crushed lines and tipped distribution boxes on existing septic systems. We also tell you when a repair is enough and when the job needs more.
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A soggy yard over the drain field or a sewage backup can mean the field has failed. We re-lay failed lines in new trenches and replace a cracked distribution box.
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When an existing home's septic system is past repair, we replace it with a new tank and drain field. Call or text for a free estimate and a written quote.
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Septic systems for mobile home lots, set clear of the home's pad and the drive. We plan the work with the buyer and the dealer around the state permit.
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We install septic systems for small subdivisions of up to about 25 units, and for churches and businesses off sewer. Bigger flows get larger tanks and more drain field, set to the state permit.
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We clear homesite lots up to about five acres for a new home, a mobile home or a septic field. Trees, brush, stumps and debris come off the build site and the drive.
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We take down houses, mobile homes, outbuildings and storm-damaged structures across the east side of South Carolina. Debris removal is part of the job, and the free written quote comes first.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Lake City. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the lot is and what you plan to build, or what is wrong with your system. Call or text (803) 478-2620, or send the form for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at it and put your free quote in writing.