Septic System Repair in Thomasville, NC

Septic systems past the Thomasville city sewer

The City of Thomasville runs its own sewer system, which ends at the Hamby Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The city's 2019 wastewater report counted about 227 miles of sewer pipe and 26 lift stations. The plant is rated for 6.0 million gallons a day, and its treated water goes into Hamby Creek.

Davidson County Schools runs Brier Creek, Fair Grove, Hasty and Pilot elementary schools in the Thomasville area. Around communities like those, a home past the reach of the city pipes treats its own wastewater. The tank holds back the solids, and the liquid, called effluent, flows out to the drain field. The soil around the lines finishes the treatment.

A clogged field is choked by biomat, a black layer of organic build-up in the soil around the drain lines. The septic aeration system we install sits inside your existing tank and feeds oxygen to natural bacteria. They digest solids in the tank, then ride the effluent out and digest the biomat in the field. As the biomat breaks down, water soaks in again and a failing field can return to service.

Older Thomasville homes and their septic tanks

The North Carolina Railroad reached Thomasville in 1855, and the town was incorporated on January 8, 1857. The Big Chair, a 30-foot landmark replica of a Duncan Phyfe armchair, sits in the middle of the city. Census figures count 12,167 housing units here, and 979 of them were built in 1939 or earlier. Nearly half went up before 1980, and the median year built is 1983.

A house from those decades past the sewer line may still run on its original tank. Most older tanks were set without riser access, so reaching the lids means digging up the lawn first. We add septic tank risers, the round green risers with lids that bring the tank access up to ground level. After that, a service visit starts at the lid instead of with a shovel.

Older tanks also tend to lack a filter on the outlet, since there was no easy way to reach one. An effluent filter keeps undigested solids in the tank and out of the drain field. Cleaning it is part of every service visit.

Lake Thom-A-Lex, Abbotts Creek and drain fields near the water

Thomasville and Lexington built Lake Thom-A-Lex together in 1957 as their drinking water supply. The lake sits on Abbotts Creek, which starts in Kernersville in Forsyth County. Below the lake, the creek runs on and flows into High Rock Lake near Lexington.

The EPA says filtering wastewater through the soil removes most bacteria and viruses and some nutrients. Sewage that surfaces over a flooded field has skipped that filter. When a system is not working properly, the EPA says contaminants can end up in drinking water. A private well in the path of groundwater flowing beneath a septic system is at greater risk.

A restored field then moves onto a septic system maintenance schedule. Three visits come with the install: about a month after, then at six months and at one year. From year two, we visit twice a year. A stable system moves to one yearly visit with a bacteria treatment.

Davidson and Randolph County septic permits in Thomasville

On the Davidson County side, state septic rules are enforced by the health department's On-Site Water Protection program. The same office looks into septic malfunction complaints. Its Environmental Health permit list includes a Septic Repair application.

Addresses on the Randolph County side, toward the Trinity line, fall under Randolph County Public Health instead. Its Environmental Health staff issue septic permits and say repair permits are required when a system is damaged or failing. For a failing system, the county can mail the homeowner or occupant a written notice of violation by certified mail. They then have thirty days to have the system repaired.

Nothing is replaced or expanded when the in-tank unit goes in, and the drain field is not dug up. Septic Samurai works on both sides of the county line as a North Carolina certified septic installer. We tell you before work starts if your county health department needs to be involved.

Our septic system inspection is diagnostic. It looks for the cause of slow drains or a soggy yard, and whether restoration fits your system. We do not do point-of-sale inspections for a home sale. In North Carolina, those need a state-certified inspector.