How to Find a Septic Tank

Locating a septic tank can be a 2-hour job or a 2-day job, depending on where and how your tank was buried. Your lawn may give you clues on where to start your search, but if there are no outside clues available, you may need to start your search inside.

Instructions

1. Locate where the main waste line leaves the house. It will be 4 to 6 inch pipe located in a basement or crawl space that will connect underground to the septic tank line.

2. Go outside the house to the point where you found the main waste line exiting. This is where your search should start.

3. Scan the yard for possible septic tank locations usually 10 to 20 feet from the house. Indications of possible septic tank sites include: depressions in the soil, areas of either more or less grass growth, or oddly placed stones or stakes used by builders or previous owners to mark the tank.

4. Use a metal pipe, several feet long, to poke the ground in the suspected septic tank location. If you cannot find the tank in this location, start probing the ground at the waste line exit point until you hit the pipe. Probe every couple of feet to find the direction the pipe is headed until you hit the tank.

5. Probe the ground around the tank until you have found the approximate edges of the tank.

6. Start digging in the middle of the tank to find the tank cover. There is no guarantee that this is where the cover will be, so you may find yourself doing a whole lot of digging.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you have found the septic tank, be sure to mark the tank cover location for future pumping and septic tank maintenance.

• If you are unable to find your septic tank on your own, you may want to consider hiring a contractor to find your tank. Most contractors have specialized equipment that can locate your septic tank, however it will cost you much more than finding it yourself.