A Texas aerobic maintenance contract is a legally required agreement between the homeowner and a licensed maintenance provider that covers a minimum of three inspection and service visits per year for the life of the system. Each visit checks the aerator, chlorinator, pump, alarms, and spray or drip disposal, and the provider files a report with Hunt County. Skipping the contract puts your system out of compliance, hurts resale value, and lets small problems turn into expensive failures.
Why the contract exists in the first place
Aerobic systems are small wastewater treatment plants sitting in residential yards. Unlike a passive conventional septic system, they depend on electricity, mechanical parts, and chlorine to produce effluent clean enough to spray on the surface. When something fails, the output stops being treated and can end up on the ground or in surface water.
TCEQ, under 30 TAC Chapter 285, requires every aerobic system to be under an active maintenance contract from a licensed provider so the state and the county have some assurance the system is actually working.
How many visits per year does the contract cover?
At minimum, three inspection visits per year, spaced roughly every four months. Some systems and some counties require more frequent visits during the initial warranty period, typically the first two years after install.
Hunt County follows the state minimum in most cases. If your provider is doing fewer than three documented visits per year, you are out of compliance regardless of what your contract paperwork says.
What actually happens during a service visit
A proper visit is not a drive-by. Your maintenance provider should verify the aerator is running and pushing enough air, check the chlorinator and refill or replace tablets, clean or replace the effluent filter, test the pump and float switches, cycle the alarm to confirm it works, inspect spray heads or drip emitters for clogs, sample effluent for basic clarity, and note the sludge level in the trash tank.
You get a written report and the same report is filed with Hunt County Environmental Health so your compliance record stays current.
What the contract does not cover
The contract covers inspection, adjustment, and consumables like chlorine tablets. It does not usually cover major repairs such as replacing a failed air pump, a burned-out effluent pump, a cracked tank lid, or a saturated spray field. Those are separate repair invoices, and any honest provider will tell you that up front rather than sneaking them into a bloated contract price.
See our septic repair page for how we quote those when they come up.
What happens if you let the contract lapse
First, the county is notified that your system is uncovered. Second, small issues that a routine visit would have caught (an empty chlorinator, a clogged filter, a weak aerator) go undetected and compound into bigger repairs. Third, the biology in the treatment chamber can die if the aerator fails silently between neighbor-noticed problems.
Then, when you go to sell, the buyer's inspector flags the missing contract and the county has no recent compliance reports on file. Reinstating is straightforward but it is much cheaper to just keep the contract current.
Switching providers without a service gap
You can change maintenance providers whenever you want. The new provider files a new contract with the county and picks up the schedule. There is no penalty for switching, and there is no gap in your compliance record as long as the paperwork is filed promptly.
If you inherited an aerobic system from a previous owner and are not sure who holds the current contract, we can look it up.
How the contract affects resale
A file drawer full of quarterly reports going back years is one of the best things you can hand a buyer. It proves the system has been maintained and it satisfies the buyer's lender. Homes with lapsed contracts get more scrutiny, longer option periods, and more price negotiation.
For more on the closing side, see our post on selling a house with septic in Hunt County.
How to sign up or take over a contract with us
Call the number on this page or submit the form. We confirm what system you have, when the last inspection was, and start the contract with a first visit within a few weeks. If you are switching from another provider, we handle the paperwork with the county so nothing lapses.