Septic Tank Pumping in Ocean County, NJ

• Coverage includes Jackson, Plumsted, New Egypt, Manchester, Lacey, Forked River, Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor, Berkeley and Stafford.
• Crews run the Garden State Parkway, US 9, I-195, Route 70, Route 72 and Route 37 across the county.
• Other New Jersey counties on this site: Salem County.
• Before you call: know whether the system has pressure dosing; the county prices those permits differently.

• Routine pump-outs on Pinelands and inland homes
• Pumping and inspection before a sale
• Repairs under a county repair application
• Pressure-dosing system service
• Locating tanks and adding risers
• Pumping before a renovation review

• What pumping runs: HomeGuide's national pump-out figures are $300 to $700, based on 30 to 70 cents per gallon of tank size; most Ocean County ranch homes have 1,000-gallon tanks.
• County fees from the Ocean County Health Department schedule: $160 for a new or altered system, $200 with pressure dosing, $100 for a repair, $50 for a reinspection and $75 for a revision.
• The Ocean County Health Department schedule also lists $310 for a combined new septic and well application, or $350 with pressure dosing, including the final inspection and water analysis.
• Method: HomeGuide's per-gallon range scaled to your tank, plus the county fee schedule. Sandy access roads and seasonal traffic near the shore add local cost.

• Step 1, apply: the Ocean County Health Department takes septic applications; its schedule lists $160 for a new or altered system and $200 with pressure dosing.
• Step 2, repairs: a repair application with final inspection is $100 on the county's schedule.
• Step 3, rules: systems follow New Jersey's Standards for Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems, Chapter 9A of Title 7 of the Administrative Code (N.J.A.C. 7:9A); its Table 4.3 sets 50 feet from a septic tank and 100 feet from a disposal field to a well.
• Step 4, maintenance: N.J.A.C. 7:9A-12.2 says maintenance includes inspecting the tank, distribution box and field and scheduled pump-outs.
• Step 5, renewal: the county lists $75 to renew an application; the schedule is dated 2005, so confirm current amounts.

• Pinelands sand: much of the county has coarse, fast-draining sand with a high water table, which passes effluent quickly toward groundwater; New Jersey's code lets distances grow in excessively coarse soils.
• USDA NRCS soil survey data rate 79.4% of the Ocean County survey area (NJ029) as very limited for septic absorption fields, with 20.6% not rated, mostly developed or water areas.
• Low ground near Barnegat Bay and the Toms River and Metedeconk River floodplains sits close to the water table, which limits field depth.
• Census ACS counts about 296,357 housing units with a median year built of 1981.
• Hurricanes and nor'easters flood low areas near the bay; after a storm surge, have the tank checked before using the system heavily.
• Reading the soil: sand near Barnegat Bay and along the lagoons in Berkeley and Lacey sits only a few feet above the water table, while the Pinelands sands toward Jackson and Manchester drain fast and leave little time for treatment. In the north of the county, around Plumsted and New Egypt, loamy soils with more clay slow percolation and change how fields are sized.
• Pinelands rules also apply to much of the inland county, and the Pinelands Commission's standards can affect what kind of system a lot may use.

Jackson · Plumsted · Manchester · Lacey · Barnegat · Little Egg Harbor · Berkeley · Stafford