Slide 1 Point of Sale Inspections for Property Transfers SUMMIT COUNTY COMBINED GENERAL HEALTH DISTRICT Slide 2 What does the rule say? Effective September 1, 2008, prior to a property transfer, any property served by a PWS or any 1, 2, or 3 family dwelling served by a STS within the Health District shall be inspected by the Board of Health or a Ohio Department of Health registered private water system contractor (for water) or a registered service provider (for septic) to determine compliance with SCHD Environmental Health Regulations. When a system is inspected by a private water system contractor or a service provider, a report on an approved form shall be submitted to the Board of Health, within three (3) business days of inspection. When a transferor fails to have an inspection conducted prior to transfer, the Board of Health may require the transferee to have a posttransfer inspection completed.
Slide 3 Service Providers A service provider is any person who services or inspects septic systems but does not install or alter them. Service providers will register with SCHD each year to conduct STS evaluations for home sales. The current cost of registration is $105.00. The registration will expire on December 31 st of each year. Slide 4 Sewer Availability If it is determined that sanitary sewer is available to a property at the time of inspection, the property shall be connected to the sanitary sewer. The Health District will determine the amount of time that will be granted for the septic system to be abandon under a permit, and the house tied into sewer.
Slide 5 Who is affected? Any property transfer where the date of transfer will take place on or after September 1, 2008. There are some exemptions. Any transfer that is exempt form the Summit County Auditors Conveyance fee will not be required to have an evaluation. Slide 6 How long is the evaluation good for? Any property that has had a SCHD reviewed point of sale inspection, or an approved new or replacement system installed will not be required to have an evaluation conduced for 2 years from the date of evaluation.
Slide 7 Are functioning septic systems required to be upgraded? An STS that is functioning as it was originally designed, is not accessible to sewer, and the effluent is not causing a public health nuisance will not be required to upgrade to current code standards. Slide 8 Vacant Homes SCHD requires vacant homes to be evaluated. Any home that has been unoccupied for more than 7 days or has had intermittent use is considered vacant. These homes should be reevaluated after the home is occupied for a minimum of 6 months. Likewise if a tank has been pumped recently the system may need to be tested as if it were vacant.
Slide 9 Effluent Discharge Standards Systems installed prior to January 1, 2007 the effluent shall have under 5,000 fecal colonies per 100 milliliters. Effluent must also not exceed 20 milligrams per liter BOD (5 day) nor 40 milligrams per liter suspended solids. Systems installed after January 1, 2007 must meet the current Ohio EPA NPDES permit requirements. Slide 10 Equipment Sewage treatment system drawing Flashlight Watch or stop watch 5-gallon bucket Shovel or spade Hoe or rake Crow bar Metal detector (optional) Tile probe Latex gloves Towels or rags Scum measuring devise (optional) Bleach and water solution Hundred foot measuring tape Eye protection Mirror Level Garden hose or other water source Tracing dye solution Appropriate report form Clear cylinder container (optional) Traffic cones (optional) Educational materials
Slide 11 Basic Inspection Gather Records and Data Obtain permit and system drawing from the Summit County Health Department or owner. (Caution: carefully evaluate record drawing.) Contact the sanitary engineers for information on the availability of sewer. When able, interview user / owner for maintenance and location information Other information sources are: Summit County Auditor, Engineer, and Web Soil Survey Slide 12 Basic Inspection Evaluate the Home s Plumbing Check all plumbing Check for softener back flush and footer drainage into system Check for plumbing leaks and water usage
Slide 13 Take note of gray and clean water sumps, as well as softeners. Slide 14
Slide 15 Basic Inspection Before running any water in the home it is important to locate and gain access to the septic tanks and diversion and / or distribution boxes to check the water level inside each component Locate other Treatment System Components Locate soil absorption / treatment system Identify any potential retrofits / repairs Evaluate by flow and dye testing system Observe overall site conditions Determine system s performance and condition Slide 16
Slide 17 Slide 18
Slide 19 Surfacing sewage effluent Slide 20 Reporting Basic Inspection Report observed conditions to homeowner, buyer and the Summit County Health Department; include maintenance or minor repair recommendations
Slide 21 Septic System Basics Slide 22 Septic System Basics Treatment Tanks May Include: Septic Tank(s), Aerator (with or without trash trap), or other device. Types of Absorption Systems: Leach Trenches or Beds, Leach Wells, Mounds, Drip Irrigation
Slide 23 Slide 24 Water Tight All septic tanks, treatment component tanks, and dosing tanks must be water tight.
Slide 25 Septic Tanks Are usually located a minimum of 10 feet from the dwelling. Prior to 1955 500 gallons Starting in 1955 1 1000 gallon tank used Starting in 1965 2 1000 gallon tanks used Should be pumped a minimum of once every 3 years Should have a riser on both the inlet and outlet with secured lids Slide 26
Slide 27 Slide 28 Broken T inside septic tank (disrupts settling and digestion)
Slide 29 Failed septic system Slide 30 Tank full of roots (not watertight)
Slide 31 Dosing Tanks Slide 32 Septic System Basics
Slide 33 Soil Absorption Systems Soil absorption systems are oriented parallel to natural surface contours. Slide 34 What about soils?
Slide 35 Soil Structure Slide 36
Slide 37 Bacteria Food BOD & TSS Slide 38 Considerations for System Design What is considered to prevent problems? Soil Loading Rates Biological Aspects Hydraulics Saturated Soils
Slide 39 Slide 40
Slide 41 Alternative Aggregate Products Slide 42
Slide 43 ET Fields SCHD has installed Evapotranspiration (ET) Fields since the mid 1970 s on lots that are not suitable for leaching systems. An ET field is designed to wick the treated effluent toward the surface of the ground so that it can be evaporated by the sun and/or absorbed by the plants. Slide 44 ET Field (continued) When inspecting an ET field that is located in a lawn area, Unlike a tile field, it is normal to see green stripes in the lawn. This is especially evident in the heat of the summer when lawns have normally started to turn brown. Surfacing of effluent in ET fields is sometimes seen, particularly when the ground is saturated in the Spring.
Slide 45 Private Water System Location All components of the STS (except for leach/dry wells) must be located a minimum of 50 feet from any private water system. Slide 46 Leach/Dry Wells In Summit County many leach/dry wells were built on site using the same materials that the basement walls were built of (such as cement block.) Leach/dry wells were installed a minimum of 100 feet away from the private water system.
Slide 47 Distribution Box Slide 48 Inspection Ports Should be accessible at all times. Should be located on all discharging septic systems.
Slide 49 Slide 50 Typical Aerobic Treatment Unit Caution if Digging: BURIED ELECTRIC LINES
Slide 51 Slide 52 Timers on Aeration Units Prior to 2007 Some early units installed used timers. SCHD now requires all aeration units (even those previously approved) to run continuously unless approved by the TAC to run on a timer.
Slide 53 NPDES Aeration Units Any off lot aeration unit installed after January 1, 2007 must have an Ohio EPA NPDES Permit. The permit is good for 5 years and must then be renewed. A service contract is required to be maintained for the life of the aeration unit. Slide 54 Subsurface Sand Filter
Slide 55 Subsurface Sand Filter Slide 56 Septic System Failures Discharges found in ditches or catch basins
Slide 57 Mounded System Slide 58 Drip Distribution System
Slide 59 Technology At Its Finest Slide 60 Hydraulic Load Test Number of Bedrooms 2 Design Flow (Gallons/Day) 240 Hydraulic Loading Volume (Gallons) 120 3 360 180 4 480 240 5 600 300 6 720 360
Slide 61 Dye Test Slide 62
Slide 63 Private Water Systems Private water systems include any well, spring, cistern, pond, or hauled water storage tanks that is used for human consumption; has fewer than 15 service connections; and does not regularly serve an average of 25 individuals (or more) daily at least 60 days each year. Slide 64 Private Water System Inspections Must be done by a private water system contractor registered with the Ohio Department of Health. Must screen for chlorine prior to taking the sample. If chlorine is detected, the sample can not be taken for a minimum of 48 hours after all chlorine is absent. A bacteria sample must be transported to the lab using a cooler and ice or ice packs. Caution must be taken to not allow the sample to freeze.
Slide 65 Water System Inspections (continued) Well casing should be evaluated to ensure that it does not show signs of excessive corrosion. A well cap should be evaluated to ensure that it is vermin proof. Slide 66 Water System Inspections (continued) If a lead sample is requested no water should be ran in the home for at least 8 hours prior to taking the sample. An overall assessment of the private water system should be done to see how it does or does not meet present code requirements for new systems.
Slide 67 Summary of Septic Inspection Slide 68 Contacts: Website: www.schd.org Ryan Pruett (330) 926-5645 Brent Paulus (330) 926-5635 Brooke Semonin (330) 926-5659 Nicole Bradley (330) 926-5636