Serving Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Abita Springs, Madisonville, Folsom, Lacombe, and surrounding St. Tammany Parish communities — where roughly a third of homes run on an on-site sewage system instead of a municipal sewer line.
Independent referral service — we connect you with local licensed contractors and don't perform the work ourselves. Availability and pricing are confirmed directly with the contractor.
Routine maintenance pumping and same-week emergency pump-outs when a tank backs up.
Cracked tanks, broken lines, root intrusion, and drain field problems.
Maintenance, aerator repair, and troubleshooting for aerobic systems, which need more frequent attention than a conventional tank.
Replacement systems and new construction, sized and sited to St. Tammany's soil and lot requirements.
Standing water, soggy yard patches, and slow drainage over the field.
Inspections for property sales, refinancing, or the parish's Sewerage Inspection Permit program.
Louisiana law requires septic installation and repair work to be performed by a contractor licensed through the Louisiana Department of Health's On-Site Wastewater Program. See our Resources page to verify a license before hiring anyone.
A conventional septic tank uses gravity and naturally occurring bacteria to separate solids from wastewater before it flows out to a drain field for final treatment by the soil.
An aerobic treatment unit (ATU) actively pumps air into the tank to speed up bacterial breakdown, producing cleaner effluent. ATUs are common on smaller lots or where soil conditions won't support a standard drain field — which describes a fair amount of St. Tammany Parish's clay-heavy, high-water-table ground. The tradeoff is that ATUs have more moving parts (an aerator, sometimes a disinfection unit) and need more frequent professional maintenance than a conventional tank.
St. Tammany Parish's Sewerage Inspection Permit (SIP) program requires inspection of on-site sewage systems, including at property sale. If you're buying, selling, or just unsure whether your system is compliant, our Resources page has the direct parish contact and application link.
Inspection requirements, fees, and application processes are set by St. Tammany Parish and can change without notice. Confirm current requirements directly with the Department of Environmental Services — contact details on our Resources page — rather than relying solely on this summary.
Typically a few hundred dollars for a standard residential tank, depending on tank size and access.
Ranges widely depending on the issue — a simple line repair costs far less than a drain field rebuild.
A full system replacement is the largest expense, and cost depends heavily on soil conditions and system type (conventional vs. ATU).
These are general ranges to help you plan a conversation with a contractor, not a quote — actual pricing depends on your specific tank, soil, and system. Request a quote for pricing on your property.
If your system was properly sized for your household when installed and you're keeping up with regular pumping every 3–5 years, a pump-out is usually all that's needed. Frequent backups despite regular pumping can indicate the tank or drain field is undersized for current household water use, which a licensed inspector can assess.
No. Septic pumping and any work on an on-site sewage system in Louisiana must be performed by a contractor licensed through the Louisiana Department of Health.
Under St. Tammany Parish's Sewerage Inspection Permit program, an inspection is generally required for property transfers and other triggering events. Skipping a required inspection can delay a real estate closing or lead to parish enforcement action. Requirements and processes can change — always confirm current rules directly with the Department of Environmental Services (contact details on our Resources page) rather than relying on this page alone, and loop in your real estate agent if a sale is involved.
What it means and what to do right now.
What to expect during a pump-out.
Common repairable issues.
What drives the price up or down.
How aerobic treatment units work and signs one is failing.
What to flush, what to never flush, and everyday habits that protect your system.
What to do at closing, and how to find out what system you have.