Septic Tank Pumping
Septic tank pumping and septic tank cleaning for homes across Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. Call or text, and we look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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Most of Fort Lauderdale is on city sewer, but some homes still drain to a septic tank in the yard. Those homes cluster in small pockets, mostly in the southwest of the city. The ground there is sandy, and the water table rises in the wet season. When a tank fills with solids or the ground stays soaked, drains slow down and toilets back up.
Jojo Septic works across Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie Counties, and Fort Lauderdale is part of that area. Here we handle septic tank pumping and drain field repair for homes still on a tank. Call or text (561) 239-5838 and tell us what the drains are doing. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Tell us about the septic problem and where you are. We will look at the job and put the quote in writing.
The state's water inventory, built from city utility records, lists only a few hundred residential parcels here as septic. Nearly all of them sit in ZIP 33312. Small pockets show up in Riverland Woods, Riverland Manors, Shady Banks and Riverside Park. Those city records date from 2016 and 2018.
The city's 2020 Advance Fort Lauderdale plan aims to move every area from septic tanks to sewer. The stated reason is to protect groundwater. The city's own wellfields draw drinking water from the Biscayne Aquifer. The Public Works Department runs the city sewer and can tell you whether a line serves your street.
Census estimates put the median year built for the city's housing at 1973. About 6 in 10 homes and apartments went up between 1950 and 1979. On a lot that never moved to sewer, the tank and drain lines can be as old as the house. When an older tank or drainfield fails, we handle septic tank repair.
USDA soil ratings mark nearly every rated soil in the city as very limited for septic drainfields. The top reasons listed are seepage and a shallow saturated zone. The soils under Riverland Woods and Shady Banks carry the same rating.
Most of Tarpon River and about half of Riverside Park map as Immokalee sand, rated poorly drained. Immokalee soils hold a high water table 6 to 18 inches down for 1 to 4 months in most years. State rules require the wettest-season water table to sit at least 24 inches below a drainfield's bottom. On a low lot, that can mean a system built up on fill.
When the ground stays soaked, a drainfield has nowhere to send the water. The National Weather Service called the April 12, 2023 flash flood here that year's most significant flood event. The Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport gauge logged more than 113 inches of rain that year, a record. FEMA maps put about half the city inside the high-risk flood zone.
Septic permits for Fort Lauderdale come from the Florida Department of Health in Broward County. Its offices are in the city. The state program moved to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on July 1, 2021. The county health office still issues the permits and does the inspections.
State law says no one may build, repair, modify or abandon a septic system without a permit. Routine septic tank pumping is not a repair under the state rule, as long as the drainfield is left alone. A repair application lists the soil and the water table in the wettest season. Broward's packet also asks for the property's page from the Broward County Property Appraiser.
Parts of Fort Lauderdale sit inside a state-mapped area covered by a 2023 nitrogen law. There, a new system on a lot of one acre or less must be a nitrogen-reducing type. The law applies where sewer is not available, and the county health office decides for each lot. Where a lot still needs a tank, we handle septic system installation.
On a sewered lot, the sewer line on private property is called a sewer lateral. The city asks owners not to plant trees or shrubs over those lines. Roots can damage the pipes and cause leaks. The city also asks owners to replace broken or leaky sections on their property.
Fort Lauderdale's land development code covers large trees whose roots damage a septic system. The city may deny a permit to remove such a tree. That can happen when trimming or canopy reduction could fix the problem but was not tried.
The EPA advises planting trees far enough from a drainfield to keep roots out of the system. It also says to keep cars off the drainfield and to keep roof drains and sump pumps away from it. Florida's septic rules keep vehicle traffic and roof drain runoff off a drainfield site too.
Communities and areas we serve around Fort Lauderdale: Riverland, Riverland Manors, Riverland Woods, Shady Banks, Riverside Park, Melrose Manors, Tarpon River, River Oaks, Edgewood, Lauderdale Manors, Victoria Park, Coral Ridge.
Fort Lauderdale ZIP codes served: 33301, 33304, 33305, 33306, 33308, 33309, 33311, 33312, 33315, 33316, 33334.
Fort Lauderdale is part of our service area. We can look at the septic job and put the quote in writing.
(561) 239-5838 Septic tank pumping and septic tank cleaning for homes across Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. Call or text, and we look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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We install new septic systems for homes across Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. We look at the lot first and put the quote in writing.
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Slow drains, gurgling pipes, a sewage smell or a soggy yard can mean the septic tank needs repair. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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Soggy ground or a sewage smell over the drain field can mean it is failing. We find the cause and put the repair quote in writing before work starts.
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A septic tank inspection shows the condition of the tank and the drain field. Call or text before you buy a home or when trouble shows up, and we put the quote in writing.
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Emergency septic service for a toilet or drain that backs up into the house. Call or text (561) 239-5838, and we put the quote in writing before work starts.
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Hydro jetting washes roots and grease out of the lines that serve your septic system. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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When a lift station pump fails, the alarm sounds and wastewater has nowhere to go. We repair floats and replace failed pumps, with the quote in writing first.
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We clean and replace septic tank filters across South Florida, and add one where a tank has none. A clean effluent filter keeps solids in the tank and out of the drain field.
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A broken or buried septic tank lid makes every pump out harder. We replace septic tank lids and add risers that bring the lid up to grade.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Fort Lauderdale. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us about the septic problem and the town the home is in. Call or text (561) 239-5838 or send the form, and we will set a time to look at the job.
Tell us about the septic problem and where you are. We will look at the job and put the quote in writing.