Septic Engineer in Camillus, NY
Camillus has county sewer through much of town and its own Chapter 46 rules for private systems. Where shale sits shallow, the design does the work.
Fees. Process. Answers.
Septic design for Camillus, NY, from soil test to county approval.
Under Town Code Chapter 46, if a public sanitary sewer is within 100 feet of your property line on an abutting street, you must connect within 90 days of official notice. The rule does not apply in the Onondaga Road Sewer District.
Chapter 46 sets minimums of 750 gallons for up to 2 bedrooms, 900 for 3, and 1,000 for 4, plus 250 gallons for each extra bedroom. Appendix 75-A has its own tank table, and the design meets both.
The USDA lists depth to bedrock as the top reason Camillus land rates very limited for conventional fields. Camillus and Benson soils sit on shale or limestone, and the depth of usable soil over rock decides between conventional, shallow trench and raised bed designs.
The Onondaga County Health Department approves the design. The Town of Camillus issues the building permit, and Chapter 46 also calls for a private system permit from the Superintendent.
Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE). Backwell coordinates testing, design, approvals and the install.
Use the form. Estimate in 1 hour.
Septic engineer in Camillus, NY: what it is and who needs one
Camillus runs from the Ninemile Creek valley up onto drumlins and shale ridges west of Syracuse. A septic engineer tests the soil on an unsewered Camillus lot, designs to Appendix 75-A, and gets the plan approved by the Onondaga County Health Department. Camillus also has its own sewer use law, Chapter 46, that sets rules for private systems and for hooking up when sewer arrives.
Backwell coordinates testing, design, the submittal and the install. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
Camillus sewer and the Chapter 46 rules
WEP lists both the Town and the Village of Camillus in the county Consolidated Sanitary District, which covers part or all of each. Town Code Chapter 46 (Sewer Use) spells out what happens around the edges:
- If your property abuts a street with a public sanitary sewer within 100 feet of the property line, you must connect within 90 days of official notice. That rule does not apply in the Onondaga Road Sewer District.
- Where sewer is not available, a private system needs a written permit signed by the Superintendent, with a $10 residential permit and inspection fee, and the permit is not effective until the installation is inspected and approved.
- Minimum tank sizes for a single family home are 750 gallons for 2 bedrooms or fewer, 900 for 3 and 1,000 for 4, plus 250 gallons for each added bedroom. Expansion attics count as bedrooms.
- Footing, basement and roof drainage cannot go into a private system, and the system cannot sit where surface or ground water collects.
- When sewer becomes available, the owner connects within 90 days and the old tank is pumped and filled.
Soils in Camillus and the system they point to
Camillus soils follow the landforms. Ontario till covers the drumlins, about a quarter of the town. Camillus soils, the series named for the town, are moderately deep over weathered calcareous shale. Benson soils sit on limestone or shale at 10 to 20 inches along the escarpment and around Split Rock.
| Soil series | Share of land | What it is (USDA) | What it usually means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 26% | deep or very deep, well drained loamy till on drumlins and till plains | Usually workable for conventional or shallow trenches. Drumlin slopes can push past the 15 percent limit. |
| Camillus | 16% | moderately deep, well drained soil over weathered calcareous shale | Shale shows up inside the 4 feet a conventional field needs, which points to shallow trench or raised designs. |
| Benson | 7% | shallow soil with limestone or calcareous shale at 10 to 20 inches | Rock this close to the surface rules out conventional trenches and a mound (mounds need 2 feet to rock). A raised bed needs at least 1 foot of usable native soil. |
| Honeoye | 6% | very deep, well drained loamy glacial till | Often deep enough for a conventional trench field. The perc rate and the 6 foot test pit still decide it. |
| Collamer | 3% | very deep, moderately well drained silty lake sediments | Slow perc and spring wetness. Long trenches, shallow trenches or a raised bed. |
| Madrid | 3% | very deep, well drained loamy till, moderate to moderately slow in the substratum | Good depth. A slow substratum can stretch trench length. |
USDA septic absorption field ratings, the Town of Camillus boundary: very limited 79 percent, somewhat limited 21 percent of rated land. Leading limits: depth to bedrock, slow water movement, shallow seasonal water.
About 79 percent of the town's rated land is very limited for a conventional field, and in Camillus the leading reason is depth to bedrock, ahead of slow water movement and seasonal wetness. That points straight at the test pit: a conventional field needs 4 feet of usable soil over rock, a shallow trench needs 2 to 4, and a raised bed needs at least 1 foot of usable native soil. The county guidelines add that a separation of 4 feet to bedrock may be required where it is needed to protect aquifers. On Ontario drumlins with good depth, conventional or shallow trenches are common. On Camillus and Benson soils, expect a raised bed or a field moved to deeper ground.
Ninemile Creek and Camillus slopes
Ninemile Creek runs through the western part of the town, past the Erie Canal's Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. Fields stay 100 feet from the creek, its tributaries and wetlands under Appendix 75-A, and above the 100 year flood level under county guidelines. On the drumlin sides, the 15 percent slope limit for fields and 12 percent for mounds rules out some of the ground that looks open. The county guidelines also ask that trenches run parallel to the contours on rolling sites.
How a septic design in Camillus works
- Send the address. Use the form. Estimate in 1 hour.
- Confirm sewer or septic. If a public sewer can serve the lot, you do not need a septic design.
- Perc holes and a deep test pit. At least two staked perc holes in the design area (30 inches deep for a conventional system) and a test pit logged to 6 feet for mottling, water and rock.
- Stamped design. A scaled plan with the tax map number, nearby wells, elevations and system details. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
- County submittal. Plan and fee go to the Bureau of Public Health Engineering, 421 Montgomery Street, Syracuse: 3 plan copies outside the lake watersheds. Once approved, a copy goes to the town.
- Town permit. Town of Camillus Office of Code Enforcement and Building Inspection, 4600 W. Genesee Street. Chapter 46 also requires the private system permit from the Superintendent.
- Install and inspection. County inspection on 24 hours notice. Inside plumbing is done by a plumber licensed through Onondaga County Plumbing Control, and fill systems get the engineer's fill certification first.
What it costs
The county fee schedule sets the health department side for a lot under 1,000 gallons per day: $310 full application, $186 redesigned project, $62 amended project or revised plan review, $93 site investigation, $62 repair inspection. The fee is paid with the plans and covers the county's review and construction inspection. Testing, design and install are priced in writing.
What the health department checks
The county reviews the plan against New York's Appendix 75-A and its own design guidelines. In Camillus the checks that most often shape the plan are the depth to rock in the pit, the slope of the drumlin side, and the Chapter 46 tank minimums alongside the state tables.
- Flow and tank. 110 gallons per day per bedroom for new construction. Tank size follows the bedroom count.
- Usable soil. Conventional: 4 feet over rock, clay or high water, with water 2 feet below the trench bottom. Shallow trench: 2 to 4 feet. Raised bed: 1 to 2 feet, water 1 foot down. Mound: water 1 foot down, rock 2 feet down, native perc faster than 120 minutes per inch, slope under 12 percent.
- Separations. Field, raised bed or mound: 100 feet to wells (200 if upgrade in the drainage path), 100 feet to water and wetlands, 20 to the house, 10 to the lot line, measured from the toe of any fill. Tank: 50 feet to wells and water.
- Site limits. No field over 15 percent slope or below the 10 year flood level, system above the 100 year flood level, no soil faster than 1 minute per inch unless modified, and 50 percent expansion area where possible.
Common Camillus problems and how the design handles them
Shale at 2 feet
The problem: Camillus and Aurora type soils put rock inside the 4 feet a conventional field needs.
How the design handles it: With 2 to 4 feet of usable soil, a shallow trench system keyed no more than 6 inches into native soil, with fill over it. With 1 to 2 feet, a raised bed on certified fill.
Sewer came down the street
The problem: Chapter 46 requires connection within 90 days of notice when a public sewer is within 100 feet of the property line (outside the Onondaga Road Sewer District).
How the design handles it: That is a plumbing and sewer connection job, not a septic design. We price the lateral and the tank abandonment, which Chapter 46 says means pumping and filling the tank.
Sump and roof water into the old system
The problem: Chapter 46 bars footing, basement and roof drainage from private systems, and that water is a common reason fields fail.
How the design handles it: The design separates clean water from the septic system and adds curtain drains or swales where the pit shows seasonal water.
Timeline
Camillus drumlin lots can be tested much of the year, and rock depth does not change with the season. Lots near Ninemile Creek are worth testing in spring. If the answer is a raised bed, the county holds the building permit until the fill is placed, settled and certified with perc tests.
Sources
Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for the Town of Camillus boundary. Regulations and fees as published by the agencies below; they can change.
- Onondaga County Health Department, Septic Systems (Bureau of Public Health Engineering)
- Onondaga County Environmental Health fee schedule
- Onondaga County Design Guidelines for Individual Sewage Systems
- Onondaga County Health Department Fill Certification Form
- NYS DOH 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A, Wastewater Treatment Standards, Residential Onsite Systems
- NYS DOH fact sheet: Need for Licensed Design Professionals, Residential OWTS
- Onondaga County WEP, Consolidated Sanitary District service area
- Onondaga County WEP Plumbing Control
- USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, Onondaga County (NY067)
- USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO), septic tank absorption field ratings
- Town of Camillus Code Chapter 46, Sewer Use
- Town of Camillus Code Enforcement
- Camillus, New York
- USDA Official Series Description: Ontario
- USDA Official Series Description: Camillus
- USDA Official Series Description: Benson
- USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
- USDA Official Series Description: Collamer
- USDA Official Series Description: Madrid
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