Septic Engineer in Fayetteville, NY
The village is in the county sewer district. The Town of Manlius land around it is often not. Testing, PE stamped designs and the county submittal.
Fees. Process. Answers.
Septic design for Fayetteville, NY, from soil test to county approval.
The Village of Fayetteville is in the county Consolidated Sanitary District. Many Fayetteville address properties out in the Town of Manlius are in areas the 2023 town plan describes as lacking public water and sewer.
The Town of Manlius plan lists an R-1 minimum of 80,000 square feet with a septic system and cites the Onondaga County Sanitary Code minimum of 40,000 square feet for lots with their own water and sewage systems.
The USDA lists depth to bedrock as the top reason land around Fayetteville rates very limited for conventional fields. Benson, Wassaic and Camillus soils put limestone or shale inside the 4 feet a conventional field needs.
The Onondaga County Health Department, Bureau of Public Health Engineering, 421 Montgomery Street, Syracuse. The village or the Town of Manlius issues the building permit.
Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
Use the form. Estimate in 1 hour.
Septic engineer in Fayetteville, NY: what it is and who needs one
The Village of Fayetteville is in the county sewer district, so most village homes do not need a septic design. The outskirts do. Fayetteville addresses reach into the Town of Manlius, where the 2023 town plan describes large lot areas without public water or sewer. A septic engineer tests the soil there, designs to Appendix 75-A, and gets approval from the Onondaga County Health Department.
Backwell coordinates testing, design, the submittal and the install. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
Village sewer, town septic
WEP lists the Village of Fayetteville in the Consolidated Sanitary District, and the village Department of Public Works sends sewer issues to the county. The Town of Manlius plan notes the North Burdick Street corridor near the village has good access to public water and sewer.
Beyond that, the 2023 Manlius plan describes Low Density Residential areas, large lots in the Restricted Agriculture District, that do not have access to public water and sewer. It says lots without public utilities should meet the Onondaga County Sanitary Code minimum of 40,000 square feet, and its zoning summary lists an R-1 minimum of 40,000 square feet with sewer and 80,000 square feet with a septic system. WEP's caution applies: inside the district does not by itself mean a property can connect.
Soils in Fayetteville and the system they point to
Fayetteville sits at the base of the escarpment where Limestone Creek comes off the plateau. The soil map is rock heavy: Camillus soils over shale, Benson soils with limestone at 10 to 20 inches, and Wassaic soils with rock at 20 to 40 inches together cover about a third of the land around the village. Cazenovia and Honeoye till take the deeper ground.
| Soil series | Share of land | What it is (USDA) | What it usually means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camillus | 14% | 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. |
| Cazenovia | 12% | very deep, moderately well drained loamy till | Usually enough soil. Watch for spring water perched on denser till. |
| Benson | 11% | 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 | 8% | 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. |
| Wassaic | 6% | moderately deep soil with bedrock at 20 to 40 inches | Rock inside 4 feet. Shallow trench or raised bed, depending on what the pit shows. |
| Palmyra | 5% | very deep, well drained gravelly outwash over stratified sand and gravel | Drains well, sometimes too well. Soil faster than 1 minute per inch is not suitable as is under 75-A. |
USDA septic absorption field ratings, a box reaching about 2 miles out from the Village of Fayetteville line, in the Town of Manlius: very limited 91 percent, somewhat limited 9 percent of rated land. Leading limits: depth to bedrock, shallow seasonal water, slow water movement.
About 91 percent of rated land around Fayetteville comes up very limited for a conventional field, and depth to bedrock is the top reason, followed by seasonal water and slow water movement. That is the key fact for any Fayetteville area septic job. The 6 foot deep test pit the county requires will tell you whether you have 4 feet of usable soil for a conventional field, 2 to 4 feet for a shallow trench, or 1 to 2 feet for a raised bed. Cazenovia and Honeoye lots often have the depth. Benson lots often do not.
Limestone Creek and Green Lakes
Limestone Creek is the main watershed in the Town of Manlius, with Butternut and Chittenango creeks, all draining to Oneida Lake. Fields stay 100 feet from the creek, its tributaries and wetlands, and above the 100 year flood level. The Manlius plan also says wetlands, especially in the northern half of the town, sharply reduce buildable land.
How a septic design in Fayetteville 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.
- Building permit. Inside the village, Fayetteville Building Codes at 425 East Genesee Street. In the town, Manlius Planning and Development at 301 Brooklea Drive, which requires 24 hour notice for inspections.
- 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. Around Fayetteville the checks that matter most are rock depth in the pit, the 100 foot creek setback, and the town's 80,000 square foot R-1 lot size for lots on septic.
- 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 Fayetteville problems and how the design handles them
Limestone at 18 inches
The problem: Benson soils put rock inside 20 inches, too shallow for trenches.
How the design handles it: With at least 1 foot of usable native soil, a raised bed on certified fill. With less, the field moves to deeper soil elsewhere on the lot.
Lot size questions on a new build
The problem: The town lists an 80,000 square foot R-1 minimum with septic, double the size with sewer.
How the design handles it: A feasibility check confirms the lot can hold the field, the 50 percent replacement area and every setback before you commit.
Older house, field near the creek
The problem: Older systems can sit closer to Limestone Creek than 75-A now allows.
How the design handles it: A replacement design relocates the field where it can meet the 100 foot setback, which New York says requires a licensed design professional.
Timeline
Rock depth does not change with the season, so Fayetteville escarpment lots can be tested whenever the ground is open. Creek bottom lots should be tested in spring. Raised beds add the county fill certification step.
Sources
Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for a box reaching about 2 miles out from the Village of Fayetteville line, in the Town of Manlius. 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
- Village of Fayetteville Building Codes
- Village of Fayetteville DPW
- Town of Manlius Comprehensive Plan (2023)
- Town of Manlius Watershed Stewards
- USDA Official Series Description: Camillus
- USDA Official Series Description: Cazenovia
- USDA Official Series Description: Benson
- USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
- USDA Official Series Description: Wassaic
- USDA Official Series Description: Palmyra
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