When the Utilities Extension Project reaches your street, connecting stops being optional and the tank is on a deadline.
The two clocks people get wrong
Separate deadlines. Missing either is a code problem:
- 180 days to connect. Timed from the date printed on the Notice of Availability, not the day you opened it, per City Code Chapter 19, Section 2.5(e).
- 90 days to abandon. Starts at connection.
- 1
Notice of Availability
The City mails it when sewer reaches your street. The clock runs from the date printed on it.
- 2
Connect to city sewer
within 180 days
A plumber runs the line from the property line to the house. The route and site conditions determine the work involved.
- 3
Pump the tank out
This is the part we do
A licensed septage hauler empties it and takes the septage to a DEP-approved facility. Nothing else can happen first.
- 4
Crush and fill
The tank stays in the ground, collapsed and backfilled with clean sand so it cannot hold water.
- 5
DOH-Lee inspection
The contractor calls 239-690-2100 to close it out. Confirm current City permit requirements before work begins.
Two clocks, not one. 180 days from the letter to connect. Then 90 days from connecting to finish steps 3 to 5.
Deadlines per City of Cape Coral UEP guidance.
What septic tank abandonment involves in Cape Coral
Nobody hauls the concrete away. Tanks do not have to be removed, but one left watertight fills and collapses. The sequence is fixed:
- Pump it out. A licensed septage hauler empties the tank to a receiving facility approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Our piece.
- Break it open. A hole at least twelve inches across through the bottom plus a marker pipe above grade, or collapsed sidewalls.
- Fill it. Clean sand or other suitable material.
- Get it inspected. The contractor calls DOH-Lee at 239-690-2100.
What we do, and what we do not
We handle the pump-out. Mandatory, and first.
We do not crush your tank. Under the City of Cape Coral’s UEP guidance, the tank must be pumped out by a licensed septage hauler before it is destroyed, and the destruction itself, and the abandonment permit, may only be handled by the property owner, a licensed septic system installer, or a licensed plumbing contractor. A pumping company covers the pump-out. Unless it also holds installer or plumbing licensure, it cannot legally do the crush-and-fill, and it should tell you so rather than take the whole job.
Ask who is responsible for each step before work begins.
Where your neighborhood sits in the UEP queue
Your phase decides whether this is a this-year or a this-decade problem. Pine Island Road is the practical line, with utilities reaching nearly everything south of it.
North 2
Construction completedConstruction started in November 2017 and installation was essentially finished around 2022. Homes here are on city sewer, and any tank still in the ground should already have been abandoned, though stragglers still turn up.
North 1 West
Notice of Availability letters already sentContractors have been issued substantial completion and every Notice of Availability letter has gone out. Most of those 180-day connection clocks have already run, so what is left here is the tail: households still finishing a connection or an overdue abandonment.
North 1 East
In constructionNotice to proceed was issued to contractors in December 2025, with roughly two years of construction expected and completion projected around the end of 2027. Notices of Availability have not gone out yet, so this is the next wave rather than the current one.
North 3
DesignAbout 3 square miles of northwest Cape Coral bounded by Burnt Store Road, Bonefish Canal, the Spreader Waterway and Kismet Parkway, covering roughly 1,900 improved parcels. The City has projected construction starting around late 2026 or early 2027 and finishing around 2028, but those dates have already moved. These homes stay on septic for years yet.
North 5 and North 6
StudyNorth 6 covers about 5 square miles and roughly 8,700 parcels, and in February 2025 the City moved its timeline up by five years to an anticipated 2030 completion after water-use restrictions tied to low Mid-Hawthorne Aquifer levels. Owners who assumed they had a decade have a shorter runway than they think.
Every date above is a City projection that has shifted once already. The "Find Your Future Utilities Extension Area" lookup gives the phase for an address. UEP hotline: 1-833-227-3837.
Who handles each part of septic tank abandonment
| What | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| UEP assessment | The City, for utilities to the line |
| Plumbing connection | Your plumber, line to house |
| Septic pump-out | A licensed septage hauler. Us |
| Abandonment permit | The City; owner, installer, or plumber pulls it |
| Crush and fill | A licensed installer or plumber |
Call with the property address and Notice of Availability date so the correct phase and next step can be identified.
If you are not converting yet
North 3, North 5, and North 6 are years from a Notice of Availability, and a tank you keep using still needs pumping on schedule. See septic pumping, or drainfield repair for wet spots.