Unincorporated and Growing: Drain Work South of Lakeland
Lakeland Highlands is an unincorporated community of about twelve thousand people, south of Lakeland's city limits and north of Mulberry. Its elevation is about 213 feet. The area has grown quickly for more than two decades, and Lakeland Highlands Road is its spine.
Unincorporated is the word that matters for a drain call. Without a city boundary to go on, the first question is not what is clogged but who provides service on that street, and whether it is sewer or septic.
Lakeland Highlands Drain Cleaning: Check the Provider First
Polk County Utilities serves unincorporated parts of the county, and a reclaimed water system serves part of south Lakeland, which is separate from sewer. Whether a given street has sewer from the city, sewer from the county or a septic tank is something we will not guess. Confirm by address with the utility.
Septic parcels are common at the fringe, so read this post on septic and city sewer if you are unsure. We clean the house drain and the lateral to a tank or to the main. We do not jet drainfields.
Lakeland Highlands Services, Newer Subdivisions First
Highlands Creek and Highlands Grace, off CR 540A, are listed with homes built in 2019 to 2021, so expect plastic.
- Hydro Jetting Services — Aimed at wall build-up in plastic lines, the likeliest reason a newer drain slows down.
- Sewer Line Hydro Jetting — Depends on which utility serves the street, so the provider question comes before any sewer-line plan.
- Kitchen Line Grease Jetting — Clears the grease coat that a few years of cooking leaves in a newer kitchen line.
- Root Removal & Line Clearing — Rarely the first suspect in the newest subdivisions, though a root at a joint is possible wherever mature trees stand near the lateral.
- Drain Cleaning & Snaking — Single clogs in bath, laundry and kitchen fixtures, cleared with cable work first.
- Sewer Camera Inspection — The tool for telling a clean line to a full tank from a blocked sewer lateral, and for the sinkhole warning signs.
Hydro Jetting for Newer Plastic Lines South of Lakeland
Most houses in the newer subdivisions here are plumbed in PVC or ABS, so the cleaning problem is usually a grease coat, a wipe mat or a root at a joint. A camera pass takes the guesswork out, and hydro jetting at $350 to $650 clears the wall. Add the camera for $150 to $300 if you want before and after footage.
Scott Lake sits close by, and it has a documented sinkhole history; see Scott Lake for how we handle sudden line changes there. For a single stubborn fixture, drain cleaning is the faster fix. More on pricing is in the cost guide.
Subdivisions and Nearby Areas Along Lakeland Highlands Road
South of the city limits the named communities are mostly gated subdivisions off Lakeland Highlands Road and CR 540A.
- Highlands Creek — Gated single-family community in ZIP 33813 built by Highland Homes, reached from Lakeland Highlands Road by Crews Lake Drive and Dewitt Drive.
- Highlands Grace — Gated, deed-restricted neighborhood in ZIP 33812 off CR 540A, between US 98 South and Lakeland Highlands Road.
- Eaglebrooke — Gated golf community between CR 540A and Clubhouse Road, with a Ron Garl course that opened in 1996; confirm line age by address.
- Medulla — Neighboring community, also the name of an elementary school; confirm by address whether the house is on county or city sewer.
- Scott Lake — Adjoining south Lakeland area with a sinkhole history; see its page for how a sudden line change is handled.
- Mulberry — Small phosphate-era town a few miles further south on SR 37, with its own utility.
Highlands Road, CR 540A and the Polk Parkway: South Lakeland Roads
- Lakeland Highlands Road (CR 37B) — The spine of the area, meeting the Polk Parkway at exit 9.
- SR 570 (Polk Parkway) — Toll beltway with exit 9 at Lakeland Highlands Road and exit 10 at US 98.
- CR 540A — East-west county road along the southern subdivisions, including Highlands Grace and Eaglebrooke.
- US 98 South — Leads to Bartow on the south-east and back toward Lakeland on the north.
- SR 37 (S. Florida Avenue) — Main road south to Mulberry, signed as S. Florida Avenue inside Lakeland.
- Crews Lake Drive and Dewitt Drive — The entrance route to the Highlands Creek gate, turning off Lakeland Highlands Road.
- Clubhouse Road — Road that forms one edge of the Eaglebrooke community; the other edge is CR 540A, per community guides.
- Scott Lake Road — Adjoining road with a documented sinkhole history, closed in 2023 after a sinkhole.
Lakeland Highlands Census, Utility and Septic Facts
- The 2020 census counted 4,917 housing units and 4,677 households in Lakeland Highlands, with 4.9 percent of units vacant. Nearly every home is occupied, so the lines carry daily kitchen and laundry loads, and a grease coat can build on plastic as readily as on old pipe.
- In 2021 Lakeland and Polk County agreed on bulk wastewater service for the county's Combeewood area, through a county-built lift station and force main. City and county systems meet in this part of south Lakeland, which is why the provider for a given street has to be confirmed before a main-line call.
- The Florida Department of Health in Polk County inspects, evaluates and permits all new and repaired septic systems in the county. Some fringe parcels around Lakeland are on septic; we clean the house drain and sewer lateral, and we do not service drainfields.
- The Polk Parkway's exit 9 is CR 37B, Lakeland Highlands Road, and exit 10 is US 98. Both exits give south Lakeland a toll-road link to I-4, which helps place an address when you call.
South of the city limits? Confirm the sewer provider first
Some streets here are on Polk County Utilities reclaimed water and the sewer arrangement varies by address. Tell us your street when you call 813-733-7188 and we will sort provider and plan together.
CALL 813-733-7188Lakeland Highlands Questions: City Limits, Septic and Sinkhole Signs
It is unincorporated, south of the city limits. Who provides sewer or water depends on the street, and some parcels use septic. Confirm with the utility by address. We serve ZIPs 33812 and 33813 either way.
Sometimes. A kitchen line can build a grease film within a few years, and wipes can mat at a bend. For a first slow drain, a cable may be enough. If the clog comes back, jetting is the better value.
We clean the house drain and the line to the tank. We do not service the drainfield, and we will not call a full tank a line clog. If the camera shows a clear line to a full tank, you need a pumping contractor.
Warning signs are drains stopping all at once, a wet or sunken spot above the line, or cracks developing in the slab. Film the line before running more water. If it shows a void or collapse, a repair contractor is the next call.
It shows pipe material, the blockage, roots, sags and joints, before and after cleaning. Jetting clears what is in the pipe, and the camera tells you whether the pipe is sound. Stand-alone inspection is $150 to $300.
South Lakeland Neighbors Along Highlands Road
Scott Lake
The adjoining sinkhole-history neighborhood off Scott Lake Road, where line failures get a camera first.
Mulberry
South on SR 37, a small phosphate-era town with a mix of house ages.
Carillon Lakes
To the west off Drane Field Road, a gated community with 2000s plastic lines.
Lakeland
North across the city limit, where the oldest pipe on our route sits under the downtown districts.