Based in Milford, PA · serving the PA, NJ and NY tri-state corner
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Service Area

Septic System Installation in Middletown, NY

Serving Middletown · Orange County

Septic Systems and Excavation for Middletown Property Owners

Middletown itself runs on public sewer, and the city treats that flow at its own plant on the Wallkill River. Past the city line the picture changes fast. Scotchtown, Circleville, Slate Hill and the roads out toward Westtown sit on private septic systems. Most of that ground is glacial till over shale, with bedrock often ten to twenty feet down.

Sawkill Environmental handles septic system installation in Middletown, NY and the townships around it. We are based in Milford, Pennsylvania, and cross the river on Interstate 84 to get here. Most of that work is a new septic system or a full replacement on a lot the sewer never reached. Call or text (973) 552-8580 and we will come look at the property.

What We Do in Middletown

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Where the sewer ends and septic begins around Middletown

The city of Middletown sits on public sewer. Its public works department runs the treatment plant and keeps up about 65 miles of sanitary sewer line. That service also reaches neighboring sections of the Town of Wallkill, Wawayanda and Mount Hope. Everything past those mains is on a septic system.

The Town of Wallkill covers about 63 square miles and nearly wraps around the city. Scotchtown, Mechanicstown, Circleville, Howells and Crystal Run all sit inside it. Push farther out and you reach Otisville in the Town of Mount Hope, or Slate Hill on US Route 6. Westtown and Unionville lie south of there in the Town of Minisink.

Orange County keeps growing. The census counted 372,813 people here in 2010 and 401,310 in 2020. New houses go up on back roads that will never see a sewer main. Older systems on those same roads reach the end of their run, and some are worth repairing instead of replacing.

What shale and glacial till mean for a new septic system here

Two things decide a septic design around Middletown. The first is how deep the bedrock sits. Studies of this area put the soil over bedrock at roughly ten to twenty feet, with shale and limestone underneath. That depth swings from one lot to the next.

The second is what the soil does with water. A lot of the ground here is glacial till, packed tight under the ice sheet and slow to drain. The Wallkill valley also holds thick glacial lake deposits, and the shale below them is fractured rather than solid. Where a test comes back slow, the design moves up out of the ground instead of down.

That is also why so many yards here hold water after a storm. Till and shale send rain sideways rather than straight down. The same conditions that slow a drainfield put water in a basement, which is where yard drainage work comes in.

Orange County Department of Health permits and the soil tests

New York does not run septic permits through a township officer the way Pennsylvania does. In Orange County the permit comes from the county Department of Health. The rule behind it is state Appendix 75-A. It covers homes and small buildings under 1,000 gallons a day.

The county layers its own design policy on top of Appendix 75-A and the state design handbook. A licensed engineer or architect prepares the design. Health department staff have to witness the deep hole test pits and percolation tests. We dig those pits and open the ground so the tests can be read.

Once the design is approved, we install to it. That covers the tank, the distribution box, the absorption area and the finish grading. The design and the permit belong to the engineer and the county health department. The dig and the install are ours.

Sewer laterals, excavation and drainage inside the city

Inside the city, the septic question turns into a sewer lateral question. That is the line running from the house out to the main in the street. City code puts the cost of installing and connecting that building sewer on the property owner. When one collapses or fills with roots, sewer lateral repair means an open trench and new pipe.

The rest of our city work is dirt. We dig foundations and basements, plus the trenches for water lines and electric conduit. Middletown sits where Route 17 meets Interstate 84, and building follows that junction. Route 17 is slated to become Interstate 86, and the state has sought plans to widen it into Sullivan County.

Call before any of it starts. Dig Safely New York is the 811 one call center on this side of the river. We put in the ticket before the bucket touches the ground. Sawkill Environmental is licensed and insured, holds Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor registration PA225040, and runs its own excavators and equipment.

Communities and areas we serve around Middletown: Scotchtown, Mechanicstown, Circleville, Howells, Crystal Run, Town of Wallkill, Town of Mount Hope, Otisville, Slate Hill, Westtown, Town of Minisink, Bloomingburg.

Middletown ZIP codes served: 10940, 10941.

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Serving Middletown and nearby

Free estimates throughout Orange County and the surrounding area.

(973) 552-8580
Our Services in Middletown

Every Service We Bring to Middletown

Septic system installation in Milford, PA

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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Septic Repair

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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Excavation

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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Perforated drain pipe laid in a trench cut along a house and lawn

Drainage

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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Land Clearing

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

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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Retaining Walls

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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Worker joining green PVC sewer pipe over a stone bed in an open residential trench

Sewer Line Repair

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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Soil Remediation

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.

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Google Reviews

5-Star Rated on Google by Tri-State Homeowners and Businesses

Real reviews from real septic and excavation jobs on Google.

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Great Service and workmanship I would use nobody else to service my grease and septic tanks

Promised Land Inna week ago · Google review

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

Josh Sciabicaa week ago · Google review

Returned phone calls immediately. Showed up when they said they would… very nice to deal with .. Excellent work

Middletown FAQ

Questions From Middletown Property Owners

A few of the questions we hear most around Middletown. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.

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Does Middletown have public sewer, or will I need a septic system?
The city itself is on public sewer, and those mains reach into neighboring sections of Wallkill, Wawayanda and Mount Hope. Outside that, the answer is a septic system. Scotchtown, Circleville, Slate Hill, Otisville and the roads toward Westtown all run on private systems. Your town building department can tell you which side of the line your lot falls on.
Who issues the septic permit in Middletown and the towns around it?
The Orange County Department of Health. New York regulates home septic systems under state Appendix 75-A, and the county reviews and approves the plans. A licensed engineer or architect prepares the design. Health department staff have to witness the deep hole test pits and percolation tests. We do the digging for them.
What drives the cost of a new septic system around Middletown?
Soil and rock, mostly. If the test pits hit shale a few feet down, the design comes up out of the ground. That job takes imported sand and stone. Slow draining glacial till makes the absorption area bigger. Lot access matters as well, along with how far the system sits from the house. We look at the site and give you a free estimate.
My sewer line to the street backed up. Is that the city's problem or mine?
In the city, the building sewer running from your house to the main belongs to the owner. City code puts the cost of installing and connecting it on the property owner. Say a plumber runs a camera and finds a break, a belly or roots. We dig the line up and replace the pipe. We handle the excavation side of that work.
Do you work in Middletown and the Orange County towns around it?
Yes. We are based in Milford, Pennsylvania, a little over 20 miles west of Middletown. We pick up Interstate 84, cross the Delaware and run east into Orange County. Along with septic work we handle excavation for foundations, footings, trenches and backfill here. Call or text (973) 552-8580.
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  • (973) 552-8580 · call or text
  • Milford, PA · serving the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York tri-state area
  • Free estimates · licensed and insured · PA HIC #PA225040

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