Smith Mountain Lake is a resource of great importance to Franklin County and the surrounding region.  Franklin County is doing its part to assure that the lake remains an economic and recreational benefit to its citizens through various programs and planning initiatives.  Read here about Maintaining your Septic System.

In recent years there has been concern about malfunctioning or poorly maintained septic systems and the adverse effects they may have on lake water quality.  In an effort to reduce the risk of sewage contamination reaching Smith Mountain Lake, Franklin County has adopted an ordinance requiring the inspection or pump-out, every five years, of any septic system that is located within 500 feet of the shore of Smith Mountain Lake.   For a copy of the ordinance, click here. The Mandatory Pump-Out Program became effective in July of 2006.

To assist those affected by the new program, the county is mailing information/registration packages to owners of land parcels that lie within 500 feet of the edge of Smith Mountain Lake.  To register your septic system, you are asked to document the location of your septic tank and drain field, provide the last verifiable pump-out date and submit a $35.00, one time, registration fee to the Department of Planning and Community Development, 120 East Court Street, Rocky Mount VA, 24151. For a Septic System Registration form, click here.  Acceptabledocumentation to verify previous pumping of your septic tank includes a receipt from the company that provided the service or a canceled check written to the service company.

When registered, your septic system must be pumped or inspected within 5 years of the last verifiable pumping date or, for new homes, within 5 years of the date of the certificate of occupancy.   If your septic tank has not been pumped in 5 years or you are not able to verify pumping that may have occurred within the last 5 years to the counties satisfaction, you must have your septic tank pumped as soon as possible.

Once your septic tank has been pumped, you must forward a copy of your receipt to Department of Planning and Community Development.  You will then be responsible for having your system pumped at 5 year intervals from the last verified pumping date. 

You may contract with any septic service company provided that they are certified by the Virginia Department of Health to pump and inspect septic systems.  A number of area service companies can be found in the yellow pages of your phone book.

If you need assistance in locating your septic tank you may contact the Virginia Department of Health office located in Rocky Mount at 540-484-0292 or call an approved septic system service company. 

New septic systems associated with new construction in areas meeting the ordinance criteria must also be registered.  Those septic systems will be registered as part of the land use permit application process.

The $35 fee is to cover the cost of administering this new program.  Approximately 5000 letters will be printed, mailed, and processed over the next 12 months.  The fee covers the cost of paper, envelopes, ink, postage, new computer software as well as the cost of additional staffing needed to handle processing of the registrations, customer service calls and site visits.

If you have received a registration package from the County but you believe that your septic system does not meet the criteria for inclusion in this program, you must provide satisfactory documentation that will show your system is greater than 500 feet from the water at full pond.
 

Accepted forms of documentation indicating the location of a septic system include but are not limited to:

To view your land parcel in relation to Smith Mountain Lake please visit the counties GIS web site.  You can use the ruler in the tool bar to get a rough measurement. 

In some instances a site visit by department officials may be required to verify the distances once your septic system has been located. 

If your septic system falls within the Gills Creek Watershed you may be eligible for cost-share assistance through the TMDL Implementation Program.  Click here for more information.  

For additional information or guidance regarding this program, please contact the Department of Planning and Community Development at 540-483-3027, or you may visit our office at 120 East Court Street in Rocky Mount.