# Septic System Installation and Replacement in the Denver Area

Septic installation and replacement is the correct answer when a tank has lost structural integrity, when a drainfield has sealed, or when a parcel has no system at all. It is a permitted, inspected, engineered project, and Denver Sewer and Water handles the design coordination, the county process, the excavation, and the restoration.

- New systems on previously unserved parcels.
- Full replacement of failed tanks and fields.
- County health department permitting and inspection.
- Soil and site evaluation coordination.
- In-house excavation and restoration.

## When Does a Septic System Genuinely Need Replacing?

Three findings justify replacement. A tank that has lost structural integrity, meaning cracked walls, a failed bottom, or a lid seat that will no longer carry a lid safely. A drainfield that has sealed, meaning the biomat has closed the soil interface and the field no longer accepts effluent regardless of loading. And a system that is undersized for the building it now serves, which happens after additions and after a change of use.

What does not justify replacement is a single failed component on an otherwise sound system. A cracked lid, a broken baffle, a blocked filter, and a root-bound building sewer are all repairs. Being told that any of those requires a new system is a good reason for a second opinion.

- Structural failure of the tank walls, bottom, or lid seat.
- A drainfield that no longer accepts effluent after loading is corrected.
- A system undersized for current occupancy or use.
- A parcel with no existing system.
- A system that cannot be brought into compliance by repair.

## What Has to Happen Before a System Can Be Installed

A soil evaluation establishes what the ground can absorb, and that number sizes the treatment area. Percolation characteristics, depth to bedrock, and depth to groundwater all constrain both the size and the position of the field, and none of them can be assumed from a neighbouring property.

Then the design goes to the county health department. The permit governs tank size, field size, setbacks from wells, structures, and property lines, and the inspection points during construction. Approval timelines are set by the county and not by the contractor, and any contractor telling you otherwise is managing your expectations rather than your project.

- Soil and site evaluation on the parcel itself.
- System design sized to soil and building.
- County health department permit application.
- Setback verification from wells, structures, and boundaries.
- Inspection points scheduled into the build.

## How a Septic Installation Project Runs

1. **Evaluate and design** Soil evaluation on the parcel, then a system design sized to the results and to the building it serves.
2. **Permit** Application to the county health department, with setbacks and inspection points established before work starts.
3. **Install** Tank set and levelled, building sewer laid to grade, treatment area constructed to the approved design.
4. **Inspect, backfill, restore** County inspection before cover, then compacted backfill and surface restoration.

## What Drives Installation and Replacement Cost

System size drives the base cost, and system size comes from the soil evaluation and the building. Beyond that, the variables are access for equipment, depth, whether an old system has to be abandoned or removed, and whether the soil results force an engineered system rather than a conventional one.

Engineered systems, which become necessary where soils or groundwater rule out a conventional field, cost substantially more and take longer to permit. We tell you that as soon as the soil results indicate it rather than at the point of invoicing.

Call (720) 935-6221 to start with a site visit.

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does a septic installation take from start to finish?**

The construction is usually the short part. The soil evaluation, the design, and the county permit approval typically set the schedule, and those steps run on the county's timeline rather than ours. We give you a realistic window once we know which county and which system type applies.

**Do I have to remove the old tank?**

It has to be properly abandoned, and depending on the county and the situation that means either removal or pumping and collapsing and filling in place. An abandoned tank left intact and full is both a hazard and a compliance problem.

**Can I replace just the drainfield?**

Sometimes, where the tank is sound and there is suitable, permittable area available on the parcel. Whether there is suitable area is a soil and setback question, not a preference. The evaluation answers it.

**What is an engineered system and why would I need one?**

It is a system designed by an engineer to work where a conventional gravity field cannot, typically because of shallow bedrock, high groundwater, tight soils, or limited area. They cost more and permit more slowly, and they are sometimes the only compliant option on a parcel.

**Are you Denver Water or the city?**

No. Denver Sewer and Water is a private, family owned and operated company. We are not Denver Water or the City and County of Denver. A septic system is privately owned infrastructure, and we are the contractor a property owner hires to work on one.

## Related Septic Services

- [Septic Systems in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/denver-co) The full septic lane: diagnosis, repair, replacement, and the excavation behind it.
- [Septic System Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/septic-system-excavation) Machine work to expose tanks, lids, outlets, and buried line runs.
- [Septic System Repair](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/septic-system-repair) Targeted repair of tanks, baffles, lids, and the lines running in and out.
- [Septic System Video Inspection](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/septic-system-video-inspection) Camera work on the building sewer and the tank inlet before anyone quotes a dig.

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Denver Sewer and Water is a privately owned, licensed and insured plumbing contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Denver Water, the municipal water utility, or any government entity. To pay a municipal water bill or reach the public utility, visit denverwater.org.

Source: https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/septic-system-installation-replacement