Septic Engineer in Florence, NY

Florence has no public sewer

We found no public sewer anywhere in the Town of Florence. Florence, Florence Hill, Empeyville, Thompson Corners, Forty-six Corners, Hanifin Corners, Corkin Hill and Wickwire Hill are all served house by house. So every new home, every failed field and every camp being turned into a full time house needs its own system, and the town issues a septic system permit through its Codes Enforcement Officer.

Backwell runs the job from soil test to finished field. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE), and the design follows Appendix 75-A of the State Sanitary Code.

Tug Hill soils and what they do to a septic field

Florence sits on the Tug Hill plateau, and USDA soil data for the town reads like a list of wet till. Worth covers about 28 percent of the town, Westbury about 16 percent, Empeyville about 11 percent, Bice about 6 percent and Chadakoin about 5 percent. Dannemora and Tughill, both very poorly drained, cover about 2.5 percent each.

• Worth is the classic Tug Hill plateau soil. It is well drained above a fragipan, and the fragipan's conductivity runs from low to moderately high. Effluent that reaches the pan spreads sideways.
• Westbury is somewhat poorly drained, with a fragipan at 25 to 77 cm and a wet zone from about 12 inches in county data. That is mound or raised system ground.
• Empeyville is moderately well drained, with its fragipan at about 31 inches and wet soil from about 23 inches in county data.
• Tughill soils sit in depressions and along beaver impounded streams, with water within 15 cm of the surface from November through June. A field does not go there, and the design has to keep away from it.

Appendix 75-A wants at least 4 feet of usable soil above rock, unsuitable soil and high groundwater under a conventional field, and high groundwater at least 2 feet under the trench bottom. On most Florence lots the pan cuts that in half. Shallow trenches cover sites with 2 to 4 feet. Below that, a raised system or a mound builds the depth back.

Raised bed or mound in Florence

Both start from wet native soil, but the state criteria differ.

• Raised system: 1 to 2 feet of original soil percing faster than 60 minutes per inch above the restrictive layer, high groundwater at least 1 foot below grade, slopes of 15 percent or less, and at least 2 feet of fill percing at 5 to 30 minutes per inch.
• Mound: high groundwater at least 1 foot below grade, bedrock at least 2 feet down, natural soil percing faster than 120 minutes per inch, and at least 24 inches of approved sand over the stone.

The mound accepts slower native soil, which matters on Westbury ground. See mound septic design and raised bed septic design.

Steps for a Florence septic permit

1. Send the address and bedrooms. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Deep hole and perc tests. At least one hole 6 feet deep and at least two perc tests per system.
3. Design. Sized at 110 gallons per day per bedroom for new construction, with a 1,000 gallon minimum tank for 1 to 3 bedrooms.
4. Permit. The application goes to the Town of Florence Codes Enforcement Office, 11893 Thompson Corners-Florence Road, Camden. The town says approval typically takes 1 to 2 months, and office hours are Monday 5 to 6 PM by appointment.
5. County review if needed. The Oneida County Health Department approves alternative sewage treatment technologies for individual homes.
6. Install. Built to the plan and inspected before backfill.

What goes wrong up here

Wet spring tests

Water stands on Worth and Westbury ground through snowmelt. That is a fair time to test, because the design has to work then. See wet yard and wetland septic design.

Lots on private roads

Florence adopted a moratorium on subdivisions on private roads in 2007. A buyer looking at a parcel split off a private road should sort out the lot before paying for a design. See lot septic feasibility.

Flood ground

The town has a 2013 law to minimize flood and erosion damage, and state rules do not allow a field below the 10 year flood level. Creekside lots need the field placed well above the stream.

Camps

Hunting camps with a barrel or a short trench are common. Year round use needs a full design. See seasonal camp to year round.

What it costs and the grant

The Oneida County Health Department fee schedule (revised March 2022) lists $500 for an individual sewage system review and $150 for a site survey when the county reviews the work. A raised bed or mound costs more to build than a trench because of the imported fill and sand, but the exact number depends on the pit. You get a written price in 1 hour.

Florence Creek Upper and its tributaries are on the county's septic grant priority list. Properties within 250 feet can be reimbursed 50 percent of eligible repair or replacement costs, up to $10,000, until March 31, 2027 or until funds run out.

Timeline

Plan on one day for testing, design time after that, and the town's 1 to 2 month approval window. Raised system fill must settle six months through one freeze and thaw unless it is granular sand or sandy loam compacted in lifts. Florence is a member of the Tug Hill Council of Governments, and the short digging season on the plateau means testing in late spring or summer keeps a fall install possible.

Sources

• Town of Florence, codes enforcement
• Town of Florence, local laws and zoning
• Tug Hill Council of Governments, member towns
• NYS DOH, 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A
• Oneida County Health Department, plan review fee schedule (rev. 3/2022)
• Oneida County, septic system replacement funding
• Oneida County, public water supply and sewage program
• USDA NRCS, Worth series
• USDA NRCS, Westbury series
• USDA NRCS, Empeyville series
• USDA NRCS, Tughill series
• USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey (Oneida County, NY065)