This is in followup to my previous review regarding an unfortunate experience with River City Environmental. Since then, the company reached out and offered to reimburse for the technician's time spent cleaning up the leak. I'm grateful. read more

I had a bad experience with River City, I called Affordable septic about my issue with my septic system and the lady that answered the phone stated that maybe all i needed was a pump out as it wasn't pumped out in almost 20 years, River City came out the next day. I told the driver I called Affordable and the driver said they were a sub. I told the driver the lady from affordable told me all it may need was to be pumped and the driver told me she didn't know what she was talking about she just answers the phone. The driver looked at the system then suggest that the drain lines be cleaned and made a call then said they could be out the next day, So my septic didn't get pumped that day. The next day the driver came back with another crew ( I(was paying $200.00 an hour for their services). The driver then pumped the tank and while pumping they checked for location of distribution box. The diver said the distribution box was 4 feet deep and they could only dig 3 feet deep. so the excavation crew would need to do the work. I looked at the drainpipe and it wasn't quite 3 feet deep, and I couldn't figure how he got 4 feet. In any case the tank was pumped. The driver then sat in my drive way blocking the other crew for over a half hour so they couldn't leave (running up my bill ) I went out to the truck and asked him why he was sitting there he said he was doing paper work. They finally left and then I see the other crew parked on the out side road. I could have been pumped out a day earlier and I was scammed to have this crew come out. I was then sent an estimate for a $4,000.00 to do additional work. I did not call River City for service, nor will I call them in the future. read more

Do not use this company unless you like to get screwed over and throw your money out the window. None of their employees are properly trained and/or certified for the work that they are performing. Please take your business elsewhere. read more

My landlord and I have had horrible experiences with plumbers- she connected with River City and booked an appointment. Jesse was able to diagnose the problem and fix it - pretty dang fast. My landlord wants folks to know that he was nice and polite. He also explained things so she could understand. Price was great too! Will call them again- for sure. read more

I just want to say a huge Thank You to the people of River City. We are so blessed having businesses like this that truly care about their neighbors. We were displaced due to the fires and are in our RV parked at an emergency station. Just prior to the fires our truck was taken in to the shop. We have no way to tow our RV to a dump station so their service of emptying is amazing. My wife is handicap and on oxygen 24/7 as well as other issues its vital to have water and bathroom. ThankYou again so much. read more

River City Environmental - The smoke from fires made the sky turn scary colors. - Plumbing Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Scheduled striping with River City, the crew was very professional very quick and organized they for sure know what they are doing . Did an amazing job at my property I really recommend them read more

River City Environmental - Striping - Plumbing Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I called River City to repair my septic system in Tillamook. After a very rainy January, my shower and toilet were backing up due to too much water in the drainfields. Chad with River City recommended proceeding on a "time and materials" basis, since the location is a ways out of Portland - he could diagnose the problem and repair in one fell swoop over 2-3 days. River City required a 5000 credit card hold prior to proceeding, and in looking over the rates list I signed, I didn't expect the bill to be much more than that. Fast forward 3 months: the shower and toilet is backing up again much worse: sewage including feces in the shower. My entire yard is a swampy mess with up to 14" of standing water in many places, including behind the house where they created a sort of pit through their excavation where surface water can't flow out of. Water is visibly infiltrating into my garage, and could be seeping into the lower level of my house as well which is at the same elevation. My underground rain drain pipe was crushed during construction. Every square inch of my yard was dug up and is too muddy to walk on, and there is Styrofoam "poly aggregate" (basically artificial gravel which looks like packing peanuts) mixed in with the soil all over the yard. My renters, who have 2 dogs, have not been able to use the yard since January. The price tag for this was $17,690.25. The state of my property is much worse, and everything that was done to divert water needs to be redone likely exceeding that amount. I have hired a local contractor to excavate and replace the crushed rain drain and to clean up the poly aggregate. I hired another septic company to siphon the standing water behind the house that is not draining, and drain excess water from my holding tank. I am getting a bid this week for a landscape architect to remove and replace a defunct "ground water interceptor" - this is basically a French Drain to divert excess ground water that was getting into the septic system. The system River City used has a perforated drain pipe that comes bundled with Styrofoam "poly aggregate", wrapped in a geo fabric to provide drainage, rather than the traditional gravel-based drainage systems - supposedly it is a proven system that costs less and is fast to install, if installed correctly. Somehow many of these bundles burst all along the trench line, spewing chunks of Styrofoam all over the yard. From what my contractor observed, the pipes are not even connected in places, and in some cases there is no pipe, just Styrofoam in torn fabric a hole with clay soil fusing to the Styrofoam pieces. In some areas the drain pipe is above the ground. The soil is on my property is mostly clay, and the usual precautions you would use with a soil that does not drain, like additional geo filter fabric, backfilling with a pervious soil etc. was not done. Additionally the grading done does not direct surface water away from the house, instead a low point was created behind the house where water is trapped and just ponds. Normally you would channel the water away from - rather than toward the foundation. The crew had 3 days with an excavator at 1200/day, and this was the result. I had a phone conversation with the Chad and the office manager about the issues and the bill. I acknowledged that the the shower and toilet seemed to be draining and other maintenance to the septic lines were done, and I authorized a 5000 partial payment on my credit card. Chad agreed to return in April to fix some of the issues, and make some adjustments to the bill. Meanwhile I discovered that feces and toilet paper were piling up behind the house through a sewage line that had been broken during construction. River City repaired that broken pipe, but then I got an email from the contracts manager, Mick letting me know that Chad and the foreman were taken off the project, and all communications had to go through him. In trying to figure out how to remedy the problems, I asked Mick what products were used, placement of underground elements, whether my raindrains were altered or combined with this new drain line, and a conversation that was supposedly had with my neighbor to daylight the ground water onto his property. Mick would only reply by saying things like "the amount owing currently is $13,175.25.  We can put you on a payment plan if you like". At about 6 weeks after the invoice that I disputed was received, Mick filed a lien on my property (wrongly naming my neighbor as the owner initially - causing a great deal of anxiety) with the intent to foreclose if I didn't pay them in full, plus the 500 filing fee. I hired a mediator so we could have a conversation and work things out, River City refused to mediate. Yesterday I received a letter from Mick demanding payment in 10 days, saying that their work was "per industry standards" and that their invoice was not overstated. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAMN7LQPyUQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uC0 read more

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Complete scam. When I questioned the manager why the material charge was so high, he told me that they purchased an amount of piping that was more than twice as much as was needed. I was never compensated for this "extra' material. They will charge you $100 as a "fuel surcharge" even if they are a few minutes from your property. They will also charge you for the time to get materials - in my experience it took over an hour and a half. I checked the pricing on the materials and they upcharge 40%. Chaz, the manager, will not take your calls once he knows you are a disgruntled customer. They price gouge and are extremely dishonest. Avoid. read more

Terrible job, left drain without filter, they left all the trash there and I called asking them if they were going to come back to clean it up and he said it was our trash and just rinse off the filter and put it back on ourselves. a day after they did the "job" drain was floated again. read more

The only real emergency plumber in the Portland Metro area! I called everyone all the big names like Roto Rooter and all the little names about 30+ plumbers, many stating they had emergency services. All stated 3-30 days until they could fix my emergency that left my home with no water. I know some of it must of been luck(based on where the truck was at) but they were at my house within 1 hour of me contacting them and fixed my problem and I once again have running water! Thanks! read more

Called for a quote to get my above ground swimming pool filled and told them we needed about 5000 gallons (to fill a 14ftx4ft circle pool, not huge). I was told their trucks carry about 2600 gallons so I was quoted for two truck loads. The quote was roughly $300-$350. I was charged for nearly $500! This company is expensive and the water I received was GREEN. When I mentioned to the truck driver that I was not expecting green water he laughed and said "that's Portland water for ya". I have treated with several (expensive) chemicals to try to remedy this and the water is still a terrible hue of green. This charge is ridiculous, the company is taking advantage of people and overcharging for a less than desirable green tinted product. I do not recommend to anyone to fill their pools with this company. Will never use again and will tell my neighbors, friends, coworkers and patients to use a different company and beware river city environmental. Company should be ashamed charging so much. read more

I'm a contractor, and I thought I'd try using River City for a portable toilet at a job site. There wasn't one aspect of the whole experience with this company that wasn't a major hassle. The quoted price wasn't even close to the final cost. The toilet was delivered damaged and unable to be secured. A replacement took weeks and since the original couldn't be secured, it was used and abused by people who had access to it 24 hours a day. They were unresponsive by email and by phone. I keep getting invoiced for very strange, small amounts 5 months after I paid the final invoice and they picked up their unit. To their credit, they eventually fixed one invoicing mistake, but I'm still trying to close the book with them...today I got a bill for 2 dollars and change. I don't think I've ever left a one-star review, but I truly would avoid dealing with this company if you have other options. Luckily a porta-potty is a relatively small transaction, so I'm not out much. Maybe they are more responsive to larger customers, but I see a lot of red flags and will not be using them again. read more

Horrible front office communication!! I called to set up an appointment, I think I spoke to a young lady by the name of Kendall. They didn't have any openings until next week, which was fine, I scheduled a 10am window. Next week comes around, nothing yet. I call and she said I'd be in touch with their plumbing guy Jessie in the next few days, apparently they only have one plumbing guy. Few days pass and still nothing. I call the office again and ask and she said she will have Jessie give me a call. A few days pass and I get a call at 7:50am from Jessie saying he's 15 minutes away from our business. I told him I requested a 10am slot, and couldn't make it to my business in such a short amount of time. Had to reschedule again after all that back and fourth!! Another week goes by and Jessie finally comes. Jessie, a very nice guy, said he'd needed to order parts and get back to me on prices. The problem was, he was leaving for vacation for a week.....Another week goes by I text Jessie and all he said was the girls were trying to fit me in the schedule. ANOTHER week goes by and I text Jessie, and get no reply. I have officially given up on this company. Can't rate their work since NO ONE EVER CAME!! But their communication within the company is absolutely horrendous!! read more

First time user. The service was good. The cost was twice what they quoted. Be aware, the clock is running from the time the hydro vac truck leaves their yard until it returns! I will check other options on future projects. read more

Responsive, professional, no hidden fees, reasonable price.

We had a blockage in our septic system. I called two other companies, (the "speedy" kind), who literally had no clue, going as far as to misidentify a normal piece of the system as a collapsed drain. River City came out today, our septic tech was Eric and the drain tech was Mike. Within a couple of minutes of looking they'd figured out the problem and in under an hour cleared the problem. They saved us thousands in excavation charges if we'd have gone with the other guys, the system is now running perfectly. After today, I wont call anyone else. These guys get it done. read more

River City needs to provide full disclosure in their estimates. If they are going to charge time from door to door, they would be better advised to state a two hour minimum. According to them, it took two men two hours to dig a two foot hole and discover there was no problem. They claimed transportation time was part of the reason for the excessive cost even when we live in their same zip code. They also failed to include fuel charges and environmental fees in their estimate, so I ended up paying double what I had expected. I will be taking my business to their competitors and hope that everyone who reads this can find a company with better business practices. read more

Wow, I should have read the reviews. The average homeowner does not know why their catch basin is draining slowly, assumes it needs cleaning and depends on your knowledge and experience to ask the right questions. I had a terrible experience. You don't show up when scheduled and perform a service which doesn't address the problem. The catch basin still needs attention. You want to argue whether I mentioned it wasn't draining during our phone call, which is ridiculous. Had you the "professionals" asked the right questions I would not mind paying for the service I needed which was cleaning (jetting) of the drain line, not cleaning the catch basin. Terrible communication and all your manager is interested in is blaming the customer. I will use another service going forward and will leave an appropriate review. Please read your reviews and learn from your mistakes... 3 stars, no wonder. read more

DON'T TRUST THEIR QUOTES! We have had to use this company multiple times, for THE SAME ISSUE! We originally were impressed with the $300 service fee, but at the last service call (#3), our technician Mark quoted us the $300 fee same as before, and One week later I get an invoice for $497! When we called them to discuss why we were charged over half again as much, they said it was for a 2hour travel fee and tech time. They did reverse a $45 environmental fee, but refused to honor the quote given. On top of that, Mark was going to have other tech come out to give us estimate to replace a damaged pipe, but they never bothered to come out and we happily paid a more reputable company for the repair. We will not be using this company again. If they would have demonstrated integrity, this review would be different. read more

Very good business, does not over charge Jesse and Joey are great guys Knew what they were doing We had a toilet issue upstairs and they came in and diagnosed the problem and knew what was wrong Got me on the schedule quickly I would highly recommend! read more

After an emergency plumbing issue on New Years Day (forced to shut off water to the entire house) and calling many plumbers to no avail, River City said they could get me in the next morning around 9am as the second job of the day following a 7:30am call. They quoted me $445/hour with a 2-hour minimum, which was expensive but seemed necessary to get the issue fixed urgently. I sat around all day waiting for them to arrive or call/text me, and they just simply never showed up. I called for an update midday and was told I was still next in the queue, and then never heard from them again. A day later I called to remove my name from the queue in the event I was still on their list (received service elsewhere) and they seemed neither surprised nor apologetic. Spare yourself the disrespect. read more

Called for service, very friendly office staff.I was given a date and time sooner than I expected. When they got to me the worker got the job done and no mess for me to clean up after. Prices are fair(I've called around) I am hoping not to need them again, but will call for sure if I ever do! read more

we called to set up a appt to get our septic pumped , they asked all the questions and said they would call back to set up a yime on the day we wanted , the next day they called and left a message to call back to set up the time Well when he called back they said they had no paperwork on us , and did not even set up a appt so we just called someone we could rely on , if you want the job done DONT CALL RIVER CITY read more

If they had a rating with no stars that is what I would give them! appointment 8-10 am scheduled over a week ago. I called at 10 and they tell me they will be onsite at 12. I called just after 1 and they state it will be later in the afternoon sometime and they must have been put on a emergency. Well how about you call and let the person know that has the appointment. only time will tell if they show up today at all! Just pissed... wasted day waiting for them read more

We use River City for a number of commercial properties we manage in and around Portland. River City has been professional, experienced, solution focused and communicative. They are also very cognizant of the building's tenants and will work around schedules as to not be disruptive. They have handled everything from basic plumbing, new installs, storm line jetting, jetting large clogs and scoping and mapping sewer lines. Overall, they are great to work with and highly recommend. read more

I wish I could give them zero stars. They didn't fix the problem and then lied about it. They are also very unprofessional. I could hear the workers cussing from inside my house. We will not be using them again. read more

River City Environmental did a fantastic job decommissioning my septic tank to DEQ standards and hooking me up to the county sewer line at my place in Welches. Their bid was very competitive, and the project manager communicated very effectively along every step in the process. The team that they sent out was fantastic! Great people who took time to explain things and answer all my questions. They had to navigate their heavy equipment through some tight spaces, and ended up pulling some pretty big boulders out during the job. They even took the time to place the boulders at spots on the property that I asked them to. Theron and Sean were great. I didn't get to meet the third member of the team but I bet he was great too. I highly recommend this professional organization. read more

Called the River City to pump the black water and gray water out of my moms RV which is at the bottom of my driveway. The driver had trouble finding my driveway, and made a huge hole in my driveway spinning his wheels instead of trying to get up the driveway another way. Once they got to the RV it took them a long time to pump it out. The technician acted like he didn't know where to hook up the hose. Come to find out after they left the black water and gray water tanks in the RV are still half full. I would not recommend this company. At all. read more

The service itself was great (flooded basement rescue!). The business practices are BAD. Before booking them, I talked to three different persons (including the guy who performed the service) who ALL gave me the SAME detailed information about their fees: cost of truck+crew (minimum two hour-charge) and water disposal/recycling fee (charged per gallon). So far so good. Unfortunately, no one mentioned they also charge per hour for the driving time (from their place, AND to their next client). We found ourselves with a surprise $200 to pay. I called and spoke to an unapologetic, unhelpful secretary... Won't use this company again...that's too bad since they worked well (and we get flooded often!)..... read more

Great experience finding them on Yelp and then working with the tack and a handyman to find the best solution for the job. There is a little bit of rescheduling when it came down to the day to do the repairs, but the communication around this was good. The job was done with excellent quality and slightly below the quoted price. read more

TERRIBLE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! My husband and I contacted River City the beginning of June 2021. We needed them to and inspect our leech lines for purposes of installing a pool. After some miscommunication and rescheduled appointments on their end, a gentleman named Chris came out to our house and discovered our leech lines need repaired/replaced. Chris gave us a detailed quote to start the process and recommended we start right away due to the severity of the blockages. The contract dated 6.9.21 states that River City would dig two holes 90' apart, fill out necessary paperwork and submit to Clackamas County for the next steps on what type of system they require. Knowing that our options were limited and fear of having our septic system back up, we agreed to the price and requested they start work immediately. After two weeks passed without any communication, my husband reached back out to Chris to find out when we could schedule the test holes. Chris and his crew came back out in August and dug two test holes. River City charged my credit card the full amount on September 22, 2021 without any communication. Again - after weeks with zero communication from River City or Chris, my husband contacted River City and was informed that Chris was no longer with the company and he dropped the ball on lots of projects, our home being one of them. River City informed my husband that a new project manager (Jeremy) would be in contact to discuss our project. It took my husband contacting Jeremy before we ever heard from him. Then when we did hear from him, he knew nothing of our house. He tried to draw up a new contract and recharge us more money. We had to prove to Jeremy that we in-fact already had a contract, and they had already charged my credit card the full amount of the project. That was September and we STILL have had NOTHING completed on our house. We have two large size mud pit holes in our backyard. We have attempted to contact River City multiple times, each time being told Jeremy or one of his crew members would be in contact with us, but that contact has yet to happen, by anyone. We have no idea what River City has submitted to the County, or where we are at in getting our septic system replaced - something River City insisted we do immediately, or our system would likely back up into our home. I took the incentive to look on Clackamas County's website for septic requirements and it looks like the test holes River City dug in July are no longer valid per the code rules of October, test holes have different requirements depending on the season.. I wonder if River City even knows that. read more

I had a great experience working with River City and have actually referred several of my neighbors and friends to them as well. We agree that they are really competitive for septic pumping pricing. I believe I saved $100 over what others were charging. If you call around you will see for yourself. read more

Chad and his crew came through for me with a last minute septic drain field inspection for my impending home purchase. Because of COVID and a difficult seller, we literally had only 2 days notice to get the inspection done, and large parts of the drain field were under 8-foot high blackberries. Chad did not hesitate, he got us on the schedule and sent his team out with the equipment to get to the drain field. They did an excellent job and we now feel comfortable purchasing the house. I took off 1 star because the report Chad generated was pretty lacking/useless. But since I was on site for the inspection, and their were no real issues, I didn't really need the report. Thank you Chad! I would use this team again. read more

Did a great job lost all their points by overcharging. When challenged they had reasons I did not like. Also, they take credit card info up front and when done you are charged, the price they come up with without telling you it was higher and explaining it. Finally they agreed to give me about $125 credit as concession. I had to call they 3 times over 4 weeks before I finally got the money, but only $85! They wore me down so I gave up. But I mustered up the energy to write this review I guess as therapy. read more

There billing is terrible. We have requested proof of service and they have refused and threatened collections. In the end we just paid $30k in bills to avoid legal issues even though we had emails showing we required proof of service immediately following service completion. Beware! read more

Please do not give them your credit card! They ran mine twice for over $5,000. When I called them to explain they didn't care to stop transaction. It was still processing. They could only help me after in dispute. Worst customer service! It's a bummer because the guys that do the manual labor are great. read more

Be aware this company, I forgot to check out this Yelp first before I had them a job. Like many people to give them a negative feedback. They overcharge amost $1,000 . the price came up without telling me in advance before they had the job done . I got the inspector come to check the problem before I gave them a job. I try to confirm the quote before and while they were doing a job onsite. Contractor still say the price was the same quote, no worry, not anything surprise until the job was done. They gave me the final bill that over estimate almost $1,000. How professional are they? They will give you a low quote to beat up another to get a job. I try to talk with the company why that so big difference than your quote, seem like they did not care anything. The company just hire contractor to do the job and they are not take any resposibility for the customer at all. They also don't care about their reputation. So shame. read more

Happy to say that this situation was finally resolved in a respectful, courteous manner and in a way that makes me feel 100% good about continuing to do business with River City. My last service went smoothly and everyone that I have interacted with since then has been nothing short of genuinely respectful and professional. read more

I cannot say enough about River City. They are the absolute best at turning a bad situation into a really happy outcome. We had our septic system back up into our basement today (4 days before Christmas!) and I called them. They were so nice and very helpful, offered to come on emergency or a scheduled appointment. The emergency same day was only $200 more so I took that deal right away. I called at 2:00pm, they promised to be here before 9pm. Less than 30 minutes later the tech called and was on his way. 2 hours after the call problem solved. Just simply amazing service and he did such an excellent job - even in the pouring rain. Very pleasant and extremely competent. The tech's name was Ruben - he was terrific. I'll never call anyone else. Thank you SO much River City. read more

Have used this company 3 times now. Always very friendly guys and do a great job. Give helpful tips on how to prevent and how often we should do our catch bassinens. Will definitely continue to use them and recommend as well. read more