Permits and soil evaluation in Summerville, SC | Borings, the water table, and the SCDES application
Nothing gets installed in South Carolina without a permit, and no permit is issued without somebody reading your soil. This is the step that decides what you are allowed to build and therefore what it will cost.
What a soil evaluation actually is
Hand-auger borings at several points across the proposed field area, logging soil texture and structure by depth and looking for the redoximorphic mottling that records how high water has stood historically. That mottling is the seasonal high water table, and it is the number the whole design hangs on.
The regulator changed in 2024
Onsite wastewater permitting moved from DHEC to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services on 1 July 2024. R.61-56 itself is unchanged, and so are the fees and the arithmetic — but the application goes to SCDES and their evaluator does the site visit. Anyone still saying "DHEC" is working from an old script.
What we file
Application, site plan showing house, well, property lines, proposed field and the required replacement area, and the soil log. We meet the evaluator on site rather than leaving you to.
When the answer is no
Sometimes the borings come back and a conventional system will not pass — too little separation, too tight a soil, too small a lot. That is worth knowing before you buy a lot or plan a bedroom extension. We would rather charge you a few hundred dollars for that answer than several thousand for a design that gets rejected.
Permits and soil evaluation FAQs
How much is a septic permit in South Carolina?
The state permit fee is $150 at the time of writing. The soil evaluation and application work are separate and are quoted before we start.
How long does a permit take?
It varies with how busy the regional office is. Plan on a few weeks from application to permit in hand for a straightforward residential replacement, and longer where an engineered system or commercial flow is involved.
Related work
Permits and soil evaluation is part of our our homeowners service, professional rental and investment property and builders and new construction services — call and we'll tell you which one your job needs.
Areas We Serve
We provide permits and soil evaluation across the Lowcountry, including septic tank replacement in North Charleston, Goose Creek septic tank replacement calls, serving Hanahan, septic tank replacement for Moncks Corner property owners, Ladson, septic tank replacement in Walterboro, Saint George septic tank replacement calls, serving Ridgeville, septic tank replacement for Lincolnville property owners, Harleyville and septic tank replacement in Bonneau, and the surrounding communities.
Request Permits and soil evaluation in Summerville
Tell us the property type and the address; the soil evaluation gets booked from there.
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