Lake homes
Septic on Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine
Plenty of houses on these two Arkansas lakes started out as small cabins and are lived in year-round now. The septic didn't always keep up.
Sewer or septic
Is your lake house on sewer or septic?
Could be either. Hot Springs Utilities runs sewer to a lot of the county outside the city, using more than 4,500 grinder pumps. A few lake neighborhoods have their own little sewer plants. Plenty of lake homes on Hamilton and Catherine are still on septic.
There's no public map of which is which, so check your address. Call Hot Springs Utilities at 501-321-6654, or the county health unit at 501-624-3394 for a septic permit.
Lake houses
Why lake septic is its own thing
- Old cabins that are lived in year-round now, often on whatever tank went in back then
- Thin soil over rock, and lots that drop steeply to the water
- Required distances between the system and the lake
- Tanks nobody can find after a deck, an addition or a new driveway
- Long driveways where the truck can't get close to the lid
Where
Hamilton, Catherine and the roads around them
Lake Hamilton has been there since Carpenter Dam was finished in 1931. Lake Catherine goes back to Remmel Dam in 1924. Both are dammed stretches of the Ouachita River, right by Hot Springs, Arkansas. This page covers both lakes, Carpenter Dam Road, Royal out US 270, and Pearcy out US 70.
Free lot check
Check a lake lot
Type the address. See the soil rating, lot size, FEMA flood zone and what the 100-foot lake setback means.
Need septic help around Hot Springs?
Send a short request. A licensed local septic company calls you back. We don't do the work ourselves.