Finding the Tank, the Field, and the Fault
An independent, licensed plumbing contractor. Not affiliated with Denver Water or the City and County of Denver.
Septic locating establishes where the tank, the lines, and the drainfield physically sit on a parcel, and troubleshooting establishes which of them is causing the symptom. Both happen before any excavation, because digging to find something is the most expensive way to find it.
- Tank and lid location marked on the surface.
- Line tracing from the building outward.
- Drainfield extent identified where records are missing.
- Symptom traced to a specific component.
- No exploratory digging.
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Why Nobody Knows Where the Septic System Is
Parcels change hands, tanks get buried deeper during landscaping, and lids that were once at grade end up under a foot of fill or a patio. The county file, if one exists, may show a system that was moved during a later repair. So the practical starting point on most properties is that the location is unknown.
That matters for more than convenience. Heavy equipment parked over a drainfield compacts the soil and reduces its ability to absorb effluent, and a machine breaking through an old lid is a serious accident. Marking the system out is a safety step as much as a diagnostic one.
(720) 935-6221When locating is the right first call
- Buying or selling a property with an unsewered parcel.
- Planning a driveway, addition, shed, or fence.
- Repeated backups with no known tank position.
- A pumping contractor who could not find the lid.
- Wet ground of unknown origin in the yard.
- Preparing for excavation anywhere near the system.
How We Diagnose It
How We Trace a System With No Drawing
We start at the building cleanout and push a camera with a locating sonde down the line. The sonde is tracked from the surface, which gives us the line path and depth as a marked route across the yard rather than a rough direction.
The route ends at the tank inlet, which fixes the tank position. From there we probe carefully to confirm the lid, and the outlet side gives us the direction of the field. Where the field extent matters, we combine surface evidence, probe results, and any county record into a marked area.
What locating produces
- Marked line route with approximate depth.
- Confirmed tank and lid position.
- Direction and rough extent of the drainfield.
- Identification of the restriction if one exists on the line.
- A clear area for equipment access that avoids the field.
How a Locate and Troubleshoot Visit Runs
- 1
Review what exists
County records, old permits, and anything the owner has. Often that is nothing, which is fine.
- 2
Camera and sonde the line
The building sewer is run with a camera carrying a locating sonde so the route can be tracked from above.
- 3
Mark the surface
Line route, tank position, and field direction get painted or flagged on the ground.
- 4
Report the fault
We tell you which component is causing the symptom, and what fixing it would involve.
What Denver Customers Say About Working With Us
“Denver Sewer and Water was a great experience. We had been out of water due to a water main leak into the house for 2 weeks. They came out, gave a go”
“We had an underground water valve break on a Saturday. No fun and expensive to fix regardless of the repair company. Nevertheless, greatly apprecia”
“Very direct and to the point. Extremely efficient and professional.”
What a Locate Saves You
Locating is a small piece of work relative to what it prevents. Exploratory digging on a septic parcel routinely opens several holes before finding the tank, and each of those holes is surface that has to be restored.
It also prevents the expensive category of accident: equipment across a drainfield, a trench cut through an outlet line, or a lid failing under a vehicle.
We quote locating as its own scope, and if the work continues into repair the findings carry straight into that quote. Call (720) 935-6221.
Frequently Asked Questions
Diagnosis and Access Work
Septic Video Inspection
The camera work that produces the locate and the line condition.
Explore Septic Video InspectionSewer Line Depth and Locating
How depth and route are established on any buried line.
Explore Sewer Line Depth and LocatingSeptic Repair
Fixing the component the troubleshooting identified.
Explore Septic RepairSeptic Excavation
Opening access once the position is confirmed.
Explore Septic ExcavationHydro Excavation
Exposing buried components without striking them.
Explore Hydro ExcavationProperty Purchase Inspection
What to establish about a septic parcel before closing.
Explore Property Purchase InspectionSeptic Systems Overview
The three stages and how each one fails.
Explore Septic Systems OverviewEmergency Septic Repair
When the locate needs to happen today.
Explore Emergency Septic RepairOur Family of Companies
For related services, see our sister company partners in the same family of companies:
Do not know where your septic system is?
We trace it from the building and mark it on the ground before anyone digs. Call (720) 935-6221 or request a free quote.