Septic Engineer in LaFayette, NY
LaFayette has no public sewer anywhere in town. Every house, from the hamlet to the Tully Valley, runs on a private system. Testing, PE stamped designs and the county submittal.
Fees. Process. Answers.
Septic design for LaFayette, NY, from soil test to county approval.
No. The 2021 LaFayette Comprehensive Plan says there is no public sewer system in the town, including the Jamesville Reservoir area, and no part of the town is in the county Consolidated Sanitary District.
The town plan says each lot in a new realty subdivision without public water and sewer must be at least 40,000 square feet in Onondaga County, and that this is a best case with very good soils. The average residential lot in LaFayette is 5.6 acres.
Not on slopes over 15 percent under Appendix 75-A, and mounds are limited to 12 percent. The town plan warns that even 8 to 15 percent slopes present problems.
The Onondaga County Health Department, Bureau of Public Health Engineering. LaFayette Code Enforcement issues the building permit.
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 LaFayette, NY: what it is and who needs one
LaFayette's 2021 comprehensive plan says it outright: there is no public sewer system anywhere in the town, including the Jamesville Reservoir area, and no part of the town is in the county sanitary district. Every new house, every replacement and every bedroom addition runs through a septic design. A septic engineer tests the soil, 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).
No sewer, big lots
Because of that, the town plan says the average residential lot in LaFayette is 5.6 acres, against 1.6 acres countywide. It notes that in Onondaga County, each lot in a new realty subdivision (5 or more lots, each under 5 acres) without public water and sewer has to be at least 40,000 square feet, and that this is the best case with very good soils. More often lots need to be larger.
The plan also says businesses in the LaFayette hamlet at Routes 11 and 20 are held back by the lack of water and sewer, and recommends a feasibility study. Until then, Cardiff, Collingwood, Onativia, Baileys Settlement, Big Bend and the Tully Valley along Route 11A are all septic.
Soils in LaFayette and the system they point to
Honeoye till covers almost half of LaFayette. Aurora soils over shale add another 13 percent, with Cazenovia and Lima till, Howard gravel in the valleys, and Wayland floodplain soil along the creeks.
| Soil series | Share of land | What it is (USDA) | What it usually means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honeoye | 45% | 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. |
| Aurora | 13% | moderately deep, moderately well drained till with bedrock at 20 to 40 inches | Rock and seasonal water both inside 4 feet. Shallow trench or raised bed. |
| Cazenovia | 5% | very deep, moderately well drained loamy till | Usually enough soil. Watch for spring water perched on denser till. |
| Lima | 4% | very deep, moderately well drained till strongly influenced by limestone; the till can be dense | Dense till under the subsoil can perch water in spring. Trench depth follows the mottling in the pit. |
| Howard | 3% | very deep, well drained gravelly outwash on valley terraces | Fast soil. Good depth, but the design has to slow the effluent down where perc is very rapid. |
| Wayland | 3% | very deep, poorly to very poorly drained floodplain alluvium | Wet and flood prone. Rarely a field location. |
USDA septic absorption field ratings, the Town of LaFayette boundary: very limited 74 percent, somewhat limited 26 percent of rated land. Leading limits: shallow seasonal water, slope, flooding.
About 74 percent of rated land is very limited and 26 percent somewhat limited for a conventional field. Seasonal water is the top reason and slope is a close second, which matches the town plan's warning that building on steep slopes leads to unreliable septic systems and that even 8 to 15 percent slopes cause problems. Deep Honeoye ground on gentle slopes is the best case for a conventional field. Aurora soils with shale at 20 to 40 inches push toward shallow trenches or raised beds. Floodplain soils along the creeks are rarely usable.
Creek floodplains, aquifers and the reservoir
LaFayette has two main watersheds, Onondaga Creek and Butternut Creek, and Butternut Creek is dammed at the north edge of town to form Jamesville Reservoir. The plan maps flood hazard areas along Butternut Creek, Onondaga Creek and parts of Kennedy Creek and notes septic tanks can be breached in floods. Appendix 75-A keeps systems out of the 10 year floodplain, and the county wants them above the 100 year level.
The plan also flags the Onondaga Creek valley aquifer as at risk from salty water entering it. For septic, that is a reminder of the county guideline that 4 feet of separation to bedrock may be required where needed to protect aquifers. Properties within 250 feet of Jamesville Reservoir with failing systems may qualify for the county replacement grant.
How a septic design in LaFayette 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 building permit. LaFayette Code Enforcement and Building Inspector, 2577 US Route 11, 315-677-5371. Plumbing goes through Onondaga County Plumbing Control at 315-435-6614.
- 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 LaFayette the checks that decide most designs are slope, the 100 foot well separation (every lot has a well nearby), and the creek floodplains.
- 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 LaFayette problems and how the design handles them
Hillside lot over 15 percent
The problem: Fields cannot go on slopes over 15 percent, and the town plan warns about septic reliability on slopes.
How the design handles it: Test locations on the flattest workable ground, trenches along the contour, and a pump uphill if needed.
Well and septic on the same small lot
The problem: Every LaFayette lot has its own well, and a field needs 100 feet from it, 200 feet if the field sits uphill in the path of drainage to the well.
How the design handles it: The PE lays out well, tank and field together on a scaled plan, uphill well, downhill field.
Valley lot near Onondaga Creek
The problem: Flood hazard areas and floodplain soils.
How the design handles it: The system goes above the 100 year flood level with elevations on the plan.
Timeline
LaFayette's main soil limit is seasonal water, so spring testing gives the clearest answer. Raised beds add fill settling and certification. A subdivision of lots under 5 acres needs the county septic approval before the county endorses the map.
Sources
Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for the Town of LaFayette 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
- Onondaga County Septic System Replacement Funding Program
- Onondaga County Health Department, Subdivision review
- USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, Onondaga County (NY067)
- USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO), septic tank absorption field ratings
- Town of LaFayette Comprehensive Plan 2021
- Town of LaFayette Codes
- LaFayette, New York
- USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
- USDA Official Series Description: Aurora
- USDA Official Series Description: Cazenovia
- USDA Official Series Description: Lima
- USDA Official Series Description: Howard
- USDA Official Series Description: Wayland
More septic design in Onondaga County.
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