Septic Tank Pumping in Smith County, TX

• Requests are taken county-wide: Tyler, Lindale, Whitehouse, Bullard, Troup, Arp, Winona, Overton, Noonday, Hideaway, New Chapel Hill, and rural communities such as Flint, Gresham, and Mount Sylvan.
• Lake Tyler, Lake Tyler East, and Lake Palestine lots are covered. Name the lake in your request, since inspection and permit rules differ there.
• Mark a backup or an aerobic alarm as an emergency on the request form. Which providers are free varies by area and day.
• Routes run along I-20, US 69, US 80 and US 271, with rural roads off each.

• Routine pump-outs on conventional systems across rural Smith County
• Annual septic inspections by an OSSF-qualified inspector for Lake Tyler and Lake Tyler East lots
• Aerobic maintenance contracts once the two-year initial service policy runs out
• Aerobic alarm calls and component checks between scheduled maintenance visits
• Repairs on lots near Lake Palestine permitted through the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority
• Locating and pumping older rural tanks on land and home sales

• System type. TCEQ notes aerobic systems need more maintenance than conventional ones. After the two-year initial service policy, the owner has to keep a maintenance contract on file unless a single-family owner maintains the system personally.
• Texas A&M AgriLife lists conventional system installation at $2,000 to $6,000, depending on soil type and house size.
• Ironstone and clay. Redsprings and Kirvin soils carry ironstone gravel over red clay within the top foot, which slows hand-digging to a buried lid or a repair trench.
• Lake-lot paperwork. Lake Tyler lots need an inspection report every year, and repairs in the Lake Palestine zone go through the water authority, whose OSSF guidelines list a $150 residential permit fee.
• Distance. Smith County covers 932 square miles, and the trip out to far rural roads or lake subdivisions can figure into the price.
• Texas A&M AgriLife puts conventional septic maintenance at about $75 a year on a 3-year pump-out schedule; more frequent service costs more.
• Method: pump-out cost uses Texas A&M AgriLife's published upkeep figure, scaled to how often your tank needs pumping, and local repair costs add the permit fees below.

• Step 1, find your permitting office. Smith County's OSSF program office (3800 Paluxy Dr., Suite 230, Tyler; 903-630-4234) is TCEQ's authorized agent for the unincorporated county, Tyler, Hideaway, and the Smith County side of Bullard; TCEQ lists permit-office hours of 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on weekdays. Noonday's permits go through the same office. For cities TCEQ doesn't list, such as Lindale, its lookup says to contact the county.
• Step 2, check the lake zone. Within 525 feet of Lake Palestine's 355-foot take line, the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority (210 FM 1892, Frankston; 903-876-2237) is the permitting agent. Its OSSF guidelines require a recorded certification and maintenance contract for aerobic systems.
• Step 3, know what needs a permit. Under TCEQ's rules (30 TAC 285), a permit is needed to construct, install, alter, extend, or repair an OSSF, and the work must be done by a licensed installer. An emergency repair can start first but must be reported in writing within 72 hours. Pumping isn't on that list; the truck hauling septage has to be registered with TCEQ as a sludge transporter.
• Step 4, budget the fees. Smith County's amended OSSF fee schedule, effective October 6, 2026, lists $400 for a standard single-family septic system, $400 for a single-family aerobic system (affidavit filing included), and $200 for an alteration of an existing system. The commercial or multifamily standard-system fee rose from $400 to $600, and the contractor pays $200 for a failed or repeat inspection.

• Smith County is the type location for the Kirvin, Lilbert, Redsprings, and Elrose soil series. NRCS describes Kirvin as very fine sandy loam with ironstone gravel over red clay from about 11 inches, and Elrose, described near Lindale, as a well-drained soil formed in glauconitic marine sediments.
• Bowie soils, whose NRCS description cites lab data from Smith County, have moderately slow permeability and a perched water table 3.5 to 5 feet down in winter and spring. A drain field that seems sluggish only in the wet months may be meeting that water.
• Smith County says a septic lot needs to be at least half an acre unless it was platted before 1989, and that owners of septic and aerobic systems must maintain them and have them inspected.
• On Lake Tyler and Lake Tyler East, the City of Tyler requires an annual septic inspection on every lot. Reports were first due October 1, 2026, with a one-time grace period through January 1, 2027, and any corrective work must be documented by March 2, 2027. Lake Tyler leases won't renew without the report, and the City of Tyler says failing to submit the inspection report and use fee may result in a $500 fine.

Tyler · Lindale · Whitehouse · Bullard · Troup · Arp · Winona · Overton · Noonday · Hideaway · New Chapel Hill · Flint · Gresham · Mount Sylvan · Lake Tyler area · Lake Palestine area