Septic tank pumping in Conway and Faulkner County
Conway is a city on a municipal sewer system, and a good share of Faulkner County around it is not. The line between the two does not follow the city limits, and it decides whether a house has a tank to pump at all. This page covers what is different about septic in and around Conway: who runs the sewer, who issues the septic permit, what the ground under Faulkner County is like, and how a pump-out works when the tank is on a hillside lot in Vilonia or a flat one near Mayflower. For the general how-often and what-to-ask material, see septic tank pumping; this page is the Conway-specific part.
Where the Conway sewer stops and a septic tank starts
Conway Corporation, the city's utility, runs the water and wastewater systems. Its own description says the wastewater system is maintained through the Tucker Creek and Tupelo Bayou treatment facilities, with a combined daily capacity of 22.4 million gallons (Conway Corp, water and wastewater). Its residential rate page adds a detail that matters here: customers outside the city limits are billed at 1.5 times the inside-city rate (Conway Corp residential rates). So sewer service does reach some addresses outside the city limits, and a house with a Conway address can still be on septic. Do not guess from the mailing address.
The state rule that settles the question is the same one used across Arkansas. Under rule 4.1 of the ADH onsite wastewater rules, a building must connect to a sanitary sewer when one lies within 300 feet of where the building's sewer leaves the structure and the connection can be made without crossing someone else's property. If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, look at your utility bill: a wastewater charge from Conway Corp means you are on the sewer, and no wastewater line item means the tank in the yard is yours to look after. For a house that has never been pumped by anyone you know, finding the tank comes first.
Who permits septic work in Faulkner County
Septic permits here come from the Arkansas Department of Health through the Faulkner County health unit in Conway, which the department's local health unit directory lists. Ask for the Onsite Environmental Specialist. That person can pull the permit for an existing system, and the department's FAQ says the year the house was built, the subdivision and lot number, or the name of the original owner help them find it (ADH onsite wastewater FAQs). A permit drawing is the quickest way to learn where the tank and the drain lines sit before a pump truck arrives. The full process for a new system or a repair is in septic permits by county.
What the ground is like in Faulkner County
Faulkner County straddles two kinds of land, which is why one Conway-area yard drains well and the next one does not. The county's soil survey map units, listed in an NRCS non-technical description for Faulkner County, include the Enders and Linker soils of the uplands and the Moreland and Roxana soils of the bottoms (NRCS Faulkner County non-technical descriptions, a 2002 extract). The official series descriptions say a lot about what a septic designer is up against:
| Soil | What NRCS says | Why a septic designer cares |
|---|---|---|
| Enders | Deep, well drained, very slowly permeable soil on ridges and slopes; clay layers below a thin loamy surface; slopes up to 65 percent | Water moves through the clay very slowly, so the field has to be sized and laid out for it, and steep ground adds its own limits |
| Linker | Well drained fine sandy loam; depth to bedrock 20 to 40 inches | Drains better than Enders, but bedrock close to the surface leaves little room under the lines |
| Moreland | Somewhat poorly drained clay on flood plains; saturated near the surface more than 30 days between December and April; very slow permeability | A wet, tight floodplain clay is among the hardest ground to put a drain field in |
These are series descriptions, not a verdict on your lot. Two yards a hundred feet apart can sit on different soils, which is why Arkansas requires a registered Designated Representative to dig soil pits instead of relying on a map; the reasoning is laid out in central Arkansas soil and septic. For a house that is already built, the practical meaning is that a field on tight clay or shallow rock has less margin for abuse, so a tank that is allowed to fill with solids does damage faster.
Why Lake Conway comes up
People near Conway ask about the lake because of what sits around it. Lake Conway, three miles south of town, was the first lake built by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas records that sewage was an obstacle to building it: Conway's sewage had been going into Stone Dam Creek, which would have emptied into Palarm Creek above the planned dam, so a modern sewage disposal plant was built at Stone Dam before the lake could go forward (Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Lake Conway). The same entry notes that the commission has made it policy to extend its ownership to the land around its lakes, and that the lake was drained in a rejuvenation project it approved in 2023. For a homeowner the lesson is a general one, and the ADH setbacks say the same thing: a septic system within 100 feet of a stream or lake needs the distance, not luck.
Pumping a tank in the Conway area
- Check the license. Arkansas septic tank cleaners must be licensed, must carry the business name, license number and tank capacity on the truck, and must put the license number on the receipt (ADH septic tank cleaner rules).
- Clear the lids first. On hillside lots around Vilonia and Greenbrier, lids are often buried under grass and fill. If you cannot find them, the crew will charge for digging; the permit drawing from the health unit saves that.
- Interval. EPA's guidance is a pump-out about every three to five years for a typical household system, sooner for a big household or a small tank (EPA, how to care for your septic system).
- Ask where it goes. The cleaner rules require waste to be taken to a permitted treatment plant or an approved land site; you are entitled to know which.
- Aerobic systems are different. A tank with an air pump and an alarm is covered by a monitoring contract, not just a pump schedule; see aerobic septic service.
When it is not just a pump-out
If the tank was pumped and the yard is still soft, or sewage comes back up inside within days, the drain field is the suspect; read septic repair for the sequence a contractor follows. Buying a Conway-area house? An inspection checks the tank and field in a way a glance at the yard cannot; see septic inspection before closing.
One call
Call the number on this page, give your town and what the tank is doing, and the request goes to an independent licensed septic contractor who works Faulkner County. We do not pump tanks ourselves, and the contractor quotes the price before work begins.
Questions people ask
- Is my Conway house on a septic tank or the city sewer?
- Look for a wastewater charge on the Conway Corp bill. Conway Corp bills customers outside the city limits at 1.5 times the inside-city rate, so some addresses outside the city are on its sewer and a Conway mailing address can still be on septic. If a sewer main is within 300 feet and reachable without crossing another owner's land, ADH rule 4.1 requires the building to connect.
- Who do I call for a septic permit copy in Conway?
- The Faulkner County health unit in Conway, which handles onsite wastewater for the Arkansas Department of Health. Ask for the Onsite Environmental Specialist and have the year the house was built and the subdivision and lot number ready.
- How often should a Conway-area tank be pumped?
- EPA's general guidance is about every three to five years, adjusted for household size and tank size. Aerobic systems follow a monitoring contract with an assessment at least every six months.
Tell us where the tank is and what it is doing
This site is a referral line, not a septic company. A licensed, independent septic contractor picks up your request, quotes it and does the work. Sewage coming up inside the house? Quit running water and call right away.