Cesspool & septic repair on Long Island

Concrete rings and domes can crack or give way with age, heavy loads or shifting soil. JET excavates around the damage, removes the failed sections and sets new rings or a new dome.

Sinking ground over a cesspool is a warning sign of collapse. Keep everyone off the area until it has been checked.

A cover that is cracked, sunken or missing is a fall hazard and lets rainwater, soil and debris into the system. Septic tank lids crack too. Replacing a cover is usually one of the simpler repairs, and it makes future pumping easier.

The pipes between the house, the septic tank and the leaching pools can crack, sag, separate at the joints or fill with roots. JET clears or replaces the damaged section. When the trouble is farther up the building sewer, a sewer line camera inspection can show where the break is before anyone digs.

Baffles are the fittings at a septic tank’s inlet and outlet that keep scum and solids inside the tank. When one breaks or falls off, solids can flow into the leaching pools and clog them. Replacing a failed baffle protects the pools behind the tank.

Many problems can be repaired, and JET checks for that first. A cracked ring, a broken line or a clogged inlet is usually a repair. A pool that has failed completely, or keeps flooding even after it’s pumped, usually needs replacing.

Suffolk County doesn’t allow a failed cesspool to be swapped for a new cesspool: since July 1, 2019, the minimum replacement is a septic tank ahead of a leaching structure, and replacements need Suffolk County Department of Health Services approval. Homeowners replacing a system may qualify for Suffolk County’s Septic Improvement Program, which offers grants of up to $20,000 per property toward an approved I/A (nitrogen-reducing) system; New York State’s program can add up to $25,000. Check eligibility before counting on either.

See cesspool and septic installation for how replacement works, or read Are cesspools legal?

• What failed. A baffle or short pipe section is a smaller job than replacing rings or a dome.
• Depth and access. Deep pools, and pools under driveways, decks or landscaping, take more digging and restoration.
• Number of pools. Many properties have two or more connected leaching pools.
• Whether replacement is needed. A replacement involves county approval and a new system design.

The technician may pump the system to see the damage clearly, then explains what failed and the options, including whether a repair is likely to hold.