Septic System Installation
New septic systems and full replacements, conventional and sand mound, installed to the approved design from the soil test pits to the final grading.
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Almost every home in Montague runs on its own septic system. The township has no public sewer, apart from one small community system at High Point Country Club. Everywhere else the tank and the disposal field sit in the yard. Sussex County's own wastewater plan names the two problems here: shallow depth to bedrock and a seasonal high water table.
Sawkill Environmental is based in Milford, Pennsylvania, and we cross the Route 206 bridge into Montague. Septic system installation is the main work we do here, along with repairs on failing systems. We also dig foundations and utility trenches, fix stormwater drainage, and grade the ground around a new build. We are licensed and insured, PA HIC #PA225040, and estimates are free, so call or text (973) 552-8580.
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Montague covers about 45 square miles and holds fewer than 4,000 people. That is under 90 people per square mile, which is farm and woodlot country. Public wastewater reaches one franchise area at High Point Country Club and nowhere else. Every other house, camp and shop in the township treats its waste on its own ground.
The county wastewater plan sets septic density at roughly 4.5 to 5.2 acres per system in Montague's watersheds. Clove Brook, Big Flat Brook, Little Flat Brook and the Montague riverfront each carry their own number. That is why building lots out here get measured in acres. A new system usually has room to sit where the soil test says it should.
Two nearby centers work differently. Sussex Borough sits inside the county utilities authority's sewer service area. Branchville has worked with that authority to bring public sewer to small lots in town. Where a main exists, the house line to it is a lateral, and lateral replacement is its own job.
Kittatinny Mountain runs along the east side of the township, capped by hard Shawangunk conglomerate. High Point sits on top of it at 1,803 feet, the highest ground in New Jersey. West of the ridge the land drops into the Minisink Valley along the Delaware. There the rock turns to softer shale and sandstone, with glacial till spread over the top.
Both of those give a septic design trouble. On the slopes bedrock can sit close to the surface, leaving little soil above it. Down on the flats near the brooks and the river, the seasonal water table rises. New Jersey's rules call those limiting zones, and they decide how deep a field can go.
Rock is the other half of the job here. Digging a tank hole or a trench through ledge calls for a hammer on the excavator. We do that on septic installs and on foundation and utility excavation for new builds. The same machines move the spoil, backfill the hole and compact the ground behind it.
New Jersey septic rules live in N.J.A.C. 7:9A, the state standards for individual subsurface sewage disposal systems. For a house sized system at 2,000 gallons a day or less, the local health authority issues the permit. In Sussex County that is the county Office of Environmental Health. Montague Township points residents to that office from its own construction department page.
The design starts in the dirt with a soil profile pit and permeability testing. That puts the depth to bedrock and to the seasonal water table on paper. Where the design calls for it, a licensed professional engineer signs and seals the plan. We dig the test pits, and we install to the design that gets approved.
When the limiting zone sits high, the field goes up instead of down. New Jersey's standards call those mounded and soil replacement disposal fields, the same idea as an elevated sand mound. Either way the work runs alike: set the tank, set the distribution box, build the absorption area, then grade. New Jersey One Call (811) marks the utilities before any of that starts.
Montague is the only municipality in New Jersey that borders both New York and Pennsylvania. That corner puts it inside our normal range from Milford. We work south into Sandyston and Layton, east into Wantage and Colesville, and out to Sussex Borough and Branchville. Peters Valley, Stokes State Forest and the Old Mine Road corridor sit in that same stretch.
High Point State Park covers more than 14,000 acres on the ridge above town. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area holds much of the river frontage below it. Old Mine Road runs north through that park land toward Route 206 near the bridge. Private building happens on what is left, and much of that ground is wooded.
So a new septic system here often starts with trees. Clearing a wooded lot pulls the brush and stumps off the ground the field needs. Ledge in the way comes out with the excavator, and the debris leaves the site. After that the pad and the finish grade get built to the plan.
Communities and areas we serve around Montague: Millville, Brick House, Duttonville, Four Corners, High Point Country Club, High Point State Park, Clove Road, Deckertown Turnpike, Old Mine Road, River Road, Layton, Colesville.
Montague ZIP codes served: 07827, 07851, 07826, 07461.
Free estimates throughout Sussex County and the surrounding area.
(973) 552-8580 New septic systems and full replacements, conventional and sand mound, installed to the approved design from the soil test pits to the final grading.
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Backups, wet ground over the drainfield and sewage odors mean a part of the system has failed. We dig it up, find the cause and repair or replace what quit working.
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We handle general excavation for homes and commercial sites around Milford: foundation and basement digs, footings, trenches and rock ledge. We run our own excavators and equipment, so the dig, the backfill and the compaction stay with one company.
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We install French drains, curtain drains, catch basins and culverts, and regrade wet ground. Exterior stormwater drainage for homes and commercial properties around Milford.
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We clear wooded lots and acreage for homesites, septic areas, roads and building pads. Trees, brush, stumps and ledge come out with excavators and leave the site.
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Site prep and grading for new homes, barns and commercial buildings around Milford. We build pads, cut and fill, place stone base and put in private roads and access lanes.
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We build block and boulder retaining walls that hold slopes, cuts and fills on hillside lots. Proper base, drainage stone and pipe behind the wall, then backfill and compaction.
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We repair and replace sewer laterals by open trench, from the building wall out to the sewer main. Broken, collapsed, root damaged and bellied lines come out, and new pipe goes in on a graded bed.
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We dig out contaminated soil after heating oil releases and spills. The material goes off to a permitted facility, then clean fill puts the site back.
Learn MoreReal reviews from real septic and excavation jobs on Google.
Great Service and workmanship I would use nobody else to service my grease and septic tanks
Top Notch & Very professional,showed up when was suppose to & it came out better then I could ever imagine… calling them anytime I need there services done
Returned phone calls immediately. Showed up when they said they would… very nice to deal with .. Excellent work
A few of the questions we hear most around Montague. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us about the property and what you need done, and we will come back with a free estimate. You can also call or text (973) 552-8580.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.