A homeowner may look at a wide-open part of the backyard and see the perfect place for a pool, garage, or addition. I may look at the same area and ask where the septic drainfield and repair area are.
I’m John (Ivan) Rusev, Co-Owner and Operations Manager at Rock Solid Septic & Excavation. We work throughout Spartanburg, Greenville, Cherokee, Anderson, and Pickens Counties, and one of the first things I want to know before construction starts is where the entire septic system sits. Knowing the tank location is not enough. The drainfield may extend much farther across the property, and another area may need to remain open for future repair or replacement even though there is nothing installed there today.
If a proposed structure sits over the drainfield or the designated repair area, the plan needs to change. Sometimes the building can move. Sometimes the septic system has to move instead.
A septic tank gets most of the attention because homeowners can usually identify the lid or remember where the pumping truck stops. The drainfield is easier to forget because most of it disappears underground. That field is where wastewater is distributed into the soil for treatment and dispersal. The soil has to remain capable of accepting that flow. Heavy traffic can compact it, and construction can damage the components underneath even when the surface still looks normal.
I see this with equipment more often than people expect. Semi-trucks, trailers, excavators, and other heavy loads driven or parked over a drainfield can create problems, especially when the soil is wet. Clay is particularly vulnerable because compaction changes how readily the soil accepts wastewater. Once the field stops working properly, homeowners may start seeing wastewater surface in the yard or back up toward the house.
A building creates another problem because septic systems eventually need service. Even if the drainfield works perfectly today, a garage slab or swimming pool over it can make future repair or replacement extremely difficult.
South Carolina Regulation 61-56 requires a new site to have a usable repair or replacement area equal to at least 50% of the original system area. During the site evaluation, SCDES looks for enough suitable space to preserve that future option. There may be no pipe in that section of the yard. The grass may look completely ordinary. It still cannot be treated as automatically available for permanent construction if the property depends on that space for a future septic system. That is why I tell homeowners not to judge the layout from the tank lid alone. You need the existing tank, the actual drainfield, the repair area, and the proposed construction shown together before you know how much usable space you really have.
South Carolina also establishes minimum separation distances for septic components. Under Section 200.6 of Regulation 61-56, the listed statewide minimums include 5 feet from a building, 5 feet from a property line, 15 feet from an inground pool, and 75 feet from a private well. Other site conditions and system components can bring additional requirements, so those numbers are a starting point rather than a substitute for the property-specific evaluation.
I would begin with the septic records if they are available. SCDES may have the original permit or installation drawing, particularly for newer homes. Those records can show the tank, drainfield, system capacity, and repair area.
I still would not treat an old drawing as proof of exactly what is underground today. A system may have been repaired, extended, or relocated since the original installation. The records give us somewhere to start, but the field conditions still need to match them.
At Rock Solid, we can often recognize signs of where a tank is located and use septic camera equipment when a system is difficult to trace. Some properties require a separate locating specialist. What matters is finding more than the lid. The drainfield lines and repair area need to be understood before somebody starts staking out a garage or pool.
We go through that planning process, South Carolina setbacks, repair-area requirements, and relocation steps in more detail in our full guide to building near a septic drainfield or repair area.
Once we know where the septic system is, I compare that layout with the proposed construction. The simplest solution is often moving the pool, garage, driveway, or addition. A project does not have to sit directly on top of a trench to create a problem. Excavation access, heavy equipment, drainage changes, and construction close to the edge of the field can also affect the system. If shifting the building works, that may be much easier than relocating the septic system. If it does not, then we have to determine whether another suitable drainfield location exists.
I would never promise that a drainfield can simply be moved to any unused corner of the property. The new area still needs acceptable soil, enough space, the required setbacks, and sufficient capacity for the system. A small backyard with a house, driveway, property lines, and a planned pool can become very tight once all those requirements are considered.
A drainfield does not have to fail before relocation becomes necessary. Sometimes it works perfectly well but happens to sit exactly where the homeowner wants to build. That does not make the relocation informal work. A new septic system requires a Permit to Construct from SCDES, and a property owner or authorized representative has to notify the department before relocating or replacing an existing system or component. SCDES determines which approval process applies.
We usually become involved after the permit is already in place, but we can assist with permitting when needed. From what I have seen, that septic permit process can take roughly a week and a half to three weeks, depending on the application and site evaluation. That timing does not include installation or any additional final approval period.
The septic approval is also separate from local construction permits. A pool, garage, or addition may have its own county or municipal requirements. Getting permission to build the pool does not automatically mean the septic conflict has been resolved. That coordination needs to happen before excavation begins. A pool contractor arriving with equipment is the wrong time to discover that the drainfield occupies the same part of the yard.
If the project adds bedrooms or otherwise increases wastewater flow, the existing system capacity may need review. The tank size is only one part of that. The drainfield and overall disposal capacity matter too. This becomes especially important when the actual use of the house no longer matches the septic permit. If a property is permitted as a three-bedroom home but has effectively become a five-bedroom home, the original septic sizing may no longer reflect the way the property is being used.
Under South Carolina Regulation 61-56, alterations that increase wastewater flow or change wastewater characteristics require an application and Permit to Construct before the alteration proceeds.
Based on projects I have priced at Rock Solid, relocating an existing drainfield generally falls around $6,500 to $10,000, although individual jobs can land outside that range. The Moore project came to $10,550.
Property layout, soil, equipment access, excavation, drainfield size, and the new piping route all affect the final number. A relocation estimate should also explain whether permitting assistance, excavation, materials, connections, inspection coordination, backfilling, grading, restoration, and handling of the old field are included. That is why I would not compare two prices without comparing the scopes behind them. One contractor may include restoration and additional piping while another leaves those items outside the initial quote.
The most useful way to control that expense is to identify the septic conflict before the construction design becomes difficult to change. Moving a proposed garage twenty feet during planning is very different from discovering after plans, equipment, and schedules are committed that the septic field has to be relocated first.
Homeowners planning construction around an existing septic system can see more of our septic installation, repair, pumping, and locating work at Rock Solid Septic & Excavation.
The Stone Magazine (TSM): John, what is the first septic question you ask when somebody tells you they want to build a pool or garage?
John (Ivan) Rusev (JR): I want to know where the whole septic system is. A lot of people know where the tank is, but they do not know where the drainfield runs or where the repair area is.
TSM: Why is finding the tank not enough?
JR: Because you can move the building away from the tank and still put it right on top of the drainfield. The tank is only one part of the system.
TSM: Can you build over the repair area if there are no pipes there?
JR: No. That space is there because the system may need a replacement area in the future. If you build something permanent there, you may remove the place where that repair is supposed to happen.
TSM: What kind of damage do vehicles cause to drainfields?
JR: Heavy equipment can compact the soil and damage the trenches. Wet clay is especially bad for that. You may not see anything on top, but the soil underneath can be affected.
TSM: What happens if a proposed pool overlaps the drainfield?
JR: First I would see whether the pool can move. If that does not work, then we look at whether the drainfield can be relocated to another approved area.
TSM: Is any open area of the yard suitable for a new drainfield?
JR: No. The soil has to work, the setbacks have to work, and there has to be enough usable area. You cannot just pick the corner that looks empty.
TSM: Does relocation require a permit even if the existing field works fine?
JR: You still have to go through the applicable SCDES process because you are changing where the wastewater is treated and dispersed.
TSM: What does drainfield relocation usually cost?
JR: From the jobs I have priced, around $6,500 to $10,000 is a useful range. Every property is different. The Moore job was $10,550 because of the limited usable area and the larger drainfield option.
TSM: Can an addition create a septic problem even if the foundation is nowhere near the drainfield?
JR: Yes. If you are adding bedrooms or increasing wastewater flow, the system capacity may need to be reviewed too. Location is only one part of the septic question.
TSM: When should homeowners involve the septic contractor?
JR: Before the construction layout is final. Find the tank, drainfield, and repair area first. It is a lot easier to adjust the plan on paper than after the excavator shows up.
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