Hurricane Season Tips For Homeowners with Septic Systems

Preparing your home for hurricane season is a yearly ritual that homeowners with septic systems have become accustomed to. The process of protecting your home from storms isn’t just about what’s above-ground. Preparation saves you money, time, and the stress of repairs. Keeping your septic system safe during a hurricane sounds challenging, but taking certain precautions helps ease those worries. For both new and experienced septic system owners, these tips help avoid disaster during hurricane season.

How to Prepare For a Storm With a Septic System

Learn About Your Septic System

The first step towards protecting your septic system is becoming knowledgeable about its components and location. The first way of familiarizing yourself is through documentation or a map from the previous homeowner or from an inspection. Your local septic service provider also offers septic inspections to assist with this. Knowing where the pipes, tank, and drainfield are is crucial for the next few tips, as well as for general septic system maintenance. 

Prep Your Yard

Although your septic system is located underground, multiple things in your yard are dangerous during a storm. Trees are normally not an issue most of the year—aside from their roots growing through pipes—but when they’re at risk of falling from strong winds, they pose a major risk to your septic system. During hurricane preparation, consider cutting any large trees that are within range of your septic tank. Tree branches commonly puncture or crush septic tanks, making them dangerous to leave up.

Protect Against Flooding

When a storm floods your yard, it’s possible that your septic system is negatively affected. Any entry points including manholes, inspection ports, or tank covers need to be sealed. Leaving it ajar or open risks your system being overloaded with water. When speaking with a septic service provider, ask about how to ensure that any power source going to lift stations is waterproofed and has a backup. 

Schedule Septic Services Early

Before the storm hits, it’s important to continue septic maintenance. The health of your system depends heavily on regular maintenance, regardless of storm preparation. A week or longer before a hurricane, schedule a tank pumping to empty your tank and lower effluent levels to a safe level. Keeping some effluent in your tank protects it from collapsing or floating from excess water caused by the storm.

Hurricane season leads to many homeowners scheduling septic services, so be prepared to contact your local septic provider early.

When in doubt about best practices for how to prepare for a storm, contact Wind River Environmental. Wind River Environmental serves over 16 states on the east coast, with knowledgeable and helpful technicians to guide you through prepping your septic system for hurricane season. If you’re looking to schedule a service, call us at 1-800-499-1682. If you have any questions about keeping your septic system safe this year, don’t hesitate to contact us today!