Report a septic emergency
Use this form only for septic emergencies — sewage backing up indoors, effluent surfacing on the ground, or a pump alarm sounding. For anything routine, contact the board normally.
Your report is recorded immediately and goes to the top of the board's queue. Automatic email alerts are not switched on yet, so if this is happening right now, phone someone as well as filing this.
If it is happening right now
No direct line is published here yet. Call a board member you have a number for as well as filing this report.
If effluent is surfacing on the ground, King County Public Health — Environmental Health must be notified: 206-477-8050
While you wait
- Stop using water. Every flush, shower and load of laundry adds to what is already backing up.
- Keep people and pets away from any surfacing effluent. Untreated sewage carries bacteria and viruses.
- Do not open the tank yourself. Septic tanks hold gases that can render you unconscious in seconds.