Septic & Well Services in Harleysville, PA

Areas covered on this page: Lower Salford Township, Upper Salford Township, Salford Township, Franconia Township, Harleysville, Sumneytown, Salfordville (Montgomery County).

Upper Salford: receipts are due every three years

Upper Salford's Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 2011-1 on March 1, 2011. It sets up a maintenance program for every on-lot sewage system in the township. Each system must be pumped at least once every three years by a pumper/hauler registered with the Township (Upper Salford: Submit Septic Receipt).

The Township stresses that it's up to the owner to send the receipt, because most haulers don't. The receipt must show:

• the registered pumper/hauler's name
• your name and address
• the number of gallons pumped
• the service date
• the pumper's signature

Send it by email, by mail to 1441 Salford Station Road, Harleysville, or drop it off at the municipal building. If the company you'd like to use isn't registered, it can register with the Township for free.

Lower Salford's on-lot program

Lower Salford Township's code sets up an On-Lot Sewage Management Program. It requires septic tanks to be pumped at least every three years, and more often if an inspection finds solids or scum above a third of the liquid depth. Receipts go to the Township (Lower Salford Code, Article IV). In Salford or Franconia, ask the township office what applies.

Protecting your system between pump-outs

• Spread laundry over the week instead of doing it all on one day
• Keep roof drains and sump pumps away from the tank and drain field
• Don't drive or park over the absorption area
• Call a provider early for slow drains, odors or wet spots. Small problems cost less to fix.

Private wells around Harleysville

Montgomery County requires an Office of Public Health permit, an inspection of the grouting and an approval to operate for every new drinking water well (OPH). Once a well is in service, testing is up to you. PA DEP recommends testing every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH (PA DEP). Test again after a pump or pipe repair, or if the water changes. The DEP Southeast Regional Office, which serves Montgomery County, sells bacterial test kits.

Who issues permits

In Montgomery County, the Office of Public Health (OPH) issues on-lot sewage permits under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537). The process starts with soil probes and a percolation test, then a system design, then an OPH sewage enforcement officer inspects the installed system. OPH also requires a permit for every drinking water, irrigation and geothermal well before it is drilled, followed by a grouting inspection and an approval to operate. If you need the permit for an existing septic system, OPH says its records cover permits issued after 1991; older permits may be held by your township (OPH FAQs).

Before you call a provider

• Find your last pumping receipt and, if you have it, your septic permit or system drawing. It shows the tank location and size.
• Ask whether the pumper's truck is licensed by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and whether they will file or give you the receipt your township needs.
• For a home sale, ask whether the inspector is PSMA-certified and what the written report covers.
• For a well, note the pump age, the well depth if known, and what you are seeing (pressure, color, odor, no water).