Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems

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One of the major responsibilities of the Farmington Valley Health District is the enforcement of the Connecticut Public Health Code requirements governing the disposal of sewage through septic systems. The purpose of these types of systems is to allow houses and small businesses to be built in areas where there are no public sewer systems available. While this might seem to be a rather simple task, in Connecticut with its geological and soil conditions, it is seldom easy.

In many places, the naturally occurring soil conditions are not favorable for subsurface sewage disposal. These sites must be modified by draining and/or filling before the lot can support a subsurface sewage disposal system. In the Farmington Valley Health District, a proposed lot utilizing a subsurface sewage disposal system must be thoroughly investigated by a Farmington Valley Health District registered sanitarian who observes the subsurface soil conditions in deep test pits and measures the ability of the soil to transmit and absorb water with percolation tests. Once these observations and measurements are made, an engineer designs a system to overcome any limitations and comply with the health code. A construction permit is issued to a licensed septic system installer once the engineer's plan has been approved.

New Sewage Disposal System

After the permit to construct the sewage disposal system is granted, sanitarians conduct a series of on-site inspections during the construction to insure that the plan is being followed and that the public health code requirements are met. When the constructed system is inspected and approved by a sanitarian, the Farmington Valley Health District issues a Permit to Discharge that allows the system to be used.

Repair and Replacement of Existing Septic Systems

When an existing sewage disposal system fails by backing up into the building or discharging onto the ground surface, or has to be moved because of a building addition, the "system repair" has to be carefully evaluated. The same investigations, testing, plan preparations, and permits are required as with the "new" construction systems, but often the lot with the proposed repair does not meet one or more of the requirements of the current public health code. In these circumstances, one or more exceptions to the code requirements may have to be granted which is allowed for repairs or replacements only.