Four place names, at least three kinds of sewer arrangement, and one rule: find out which system a house is on before anyone aims a jetter hose at a pipe. In south Hillsborough County that is not a pedantic question. It decides what can be cleaned and what cannot.
A note first. In the public record we found, low-pressure sewer and grinder pumps are documented in Ruskin and Wimauma, and septic in Gibsonton, Ruskin and Wimauma. Riverview itself is served by county Water Resources, and no public source shows which individual Riverview streets are sewer and which are septic, so this article does not guess.
Four Arrangements, and What Each Means for Cleaning
| Arrangement | Where the county documents it | What we can and cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Gravity sewer to a county main | Most of the county, including Riverview in general | Clean and camera the house line |
| Septic tank and drainfield | Most of Gibsonton; about 2,000 properties in Ruskin and Wimauma | Jetting, if used, only on the line from house to tank; never the drainfield |
| Low-pressure sewer (LPSS) | About 1,500 properties in Ruskin and Wimauma | A tank and pump unit sits on the lot; do not jet blind |
| Vacuum sewer | Gibsonton conversion; Ruskin and Wimauma plans | House-side line only; the county's vacuum system is its own |
Gibsonton: Most of the Area Has No Central Sewer
The county says it plainly: most of the Gibsonton area has no centralized sewer and is served by septic systems. The county is converting it in four phases. Phase One, at about $61 million, started in early 2025 and targets mid-2027; Phases 2 through 4 are in design and depend on funding. The project boundaries are the Alafia River to the north, Bullfrog Creek to the south, I-75 to the east and Tampa Bay to the west, and Phase 1A includes a vacuum pump station at Gibsonton Elementary.
The design is a closed vacuum system with no lift stations or manholes: wastewater flows by gravity from the house lateral to a valve pit, then the vacuum main takes it. The county also says ground saturation makes septic systems fail and can back waste up into homes. Gibsonton is low, about 10 feet in elevation with 17.1% of its area water, and 1,846 of its 6,739 housing units, or 27.4%, are mobile homes, which tend to have short, small-diameter drain runs.
Ruskin and Wimauma: Septic, LPSS and a Conversion Budget
On the county's program page, Ruskin and Wimauma together have about 2,000 septic properties and 1,500 on low-pressure sewer. The conversion initiative is budgeted at $94.5 million over four to five years. The county says LPSS, built starting in the 1980s, are prone to failures and overflows, which means a backup there is not automatically a clog. LPSS properties connect at no additional cost; septic properties pay a cost set by the Board of County Commissioners. A vacuum lift station is planned at 4th Avenue SW and 7th Street SW in Ruskin, and Wimauma's Area 1 conversion includes a pump station on 7th Street.
What We Do and Do Not Do on These Properties
- We clean and camera house-side lines and traps with the right tool for the pipe.
- On septic, we work only on the line between the house and the tank. EPA guidance is clear that jetting is never for the drainfield.
- On low-pressure and grinder systems, we do not jet blindly. Under county policy, on single-family lots served only by grinder pumps the owner maintains the system, and the obligation is recorded on the deed. That applies to specific lots, not every property.
- We do not pump tanks, service pumps or touch the county's equipment. Those go to a septic or pump specialist or to the county.
How to Find Out What You Have
- Call Water Resources at (813) 307-1000 with your address and ask which service applies.
- Check your closing documents and any home inspection report.
- Walk the lot: a tank lid, or an alarm panel and control box, suggests something other than gravity sewer.
- Ask the seller or a neighbor what they know, but confirm with the county.
During a conversion, a slow house can have three different causes: a household drain clog, a tank or drainfield issue, or a new lateral. A sewer camera inspection on the house line, $150 to $300, separates the first from the other two, and drain cleaning handles the first when that is what it is. If you are comparing companies for any of this, our guide to choosing a hydro jetting company covers the questions to ask. Local detail is on our pages for Gibsonton, Ruskin and Wimauma.
Not sure whether the house is on a tank, a pump or a main?
Do not guess and do not let anyone aim a jetter at it blind. Call with your address and what is happening; we will tell you what we can safely clean and where a septic or pump specialist belongs.
CALL 813-733-7188Septic and Pumped-Sewer Questions
Riverview is served by Hillsborough County Water Resources, but public sources do not say which streets are sewer or septic. Call (813) 307-1000 with your address and ask, or check county parcel records and your closing documents.
No. EPA guidance says jetting, where it is used at all, is for the line from the house to the tank, never the drainfield. A drainfield is soil, and high-pressure water does not belong in it.
It is a sewer where each property has a tank and a pump unit that pushes wastewater into a pressurized county main. The county says LPSS are prone to failures and overflows, so a backup is not always a simple clog and needs the right specialist.
Per the county's program page, low-pressure sewer properties connect at no additional cost, and septic properties pay a cost set by the Board of County Commissioners. Confirm the figure for your address with Water Resources, since it can change.