Service enhancements to Inspections, Sampling and site visits:

Our Water Quality Program oversees site evaluations, permitting and inspections to insure proper placement, design, construction, repair, monitoring and abandonment of on-site sewage disposal systems.

• Site Evaluation/System Installation Process – We evaluate the soil to determine the suitability for a septic tank system, review the design as necessary, issue improvement permits and construction authorizations, inspect installation of septic systems and issue operator permits for approved systems.
• System Inspection – An inspection is required when any new construction is begun on a piece of property that has an existing septic system and/or well.
• System Repair – We evaluate problems with existing septic systems and provide possible solutions, as well as issue permits required to repair the system.
• System Maintenance and Monitoring – We conduct inspections on certain types of septic systems in compliance with state requirements for monitoring, to check for proper maintenance and to check operations.
• Education – Our sewage system demonstration exhibit allows citizens to observe some of the systems available for different sites. Education on maintaining and monitoring systems is available during consultative visits.

A fee is charged for some services.

Operations and Maintenance Inspection

Who are we : Operation and Maintenance Inspection.

What we do: investigate complaints and facilitate the repairs of existing septic systems. This includes evaluation of sites and troubleshooting existing systems to detect possible problems. Finally, we issue a construction authorization for the repair of the systems when necessary.

We will also conduct routine operation and maintenance inspections on all septic systems with a pump. We will check the sludge levels in the pump tank and septic tank, if accessible. The pump will be run and the alarm will be activated to ensure they are functioning properly. The pump dosing volume will be checked and notations made on the inspection report when the dosing volume is less than or exceeds an acceptable design range. The pressure heads will be checked on those systems that are designed with a determined pressure head.  During this inspection, we will also evaluate the drainfield for any surfacing of effluent.

When: The inspection frequency for different systems are as follows:

Why: We do the inspections to protect the public from adverse health affects. In short we try to keep effluent (sewage) below the ground surface so that it does not come in contact with people or animals in your community. Sewage may contain several harmful viruses or bacteria which may cause disease. Some of these diseases are: typhoid fever, cholera, bacillary dysentery, poliomyelitis, infectious hepatitis, amoebic dysentery, gastrointestinal infection, giardiasis, and schistosomiasis.

 FAQs