Septic Engineer in Lenox, NY

The short version for Lenox

Any work that touches a septic or sewer system in the Town of Lenox needs a permit, new or repair, residential or commercial. The town's septic permit form is built around a licensed design professional: tests by a New York registered licensed design professional, design to Appendix 75-A, and test findings sketched on a signed plan. Backwell coordinates all of it, from test pit to final inspection. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).

What the Lenox septic permit form asks for

The joint Town of Lenox and Village of Wampsville Code Enforcement Office, at 205 South Peterboro Street in Canastota, issues the On-Site Waste Water Treatment System permit. The form asks for:

• Number of bedrooms, lot size, and whether a garbage disposal will be used
• Slope of the site and the water supply
• The engineer's information
• Results from two perc test holes and the deep hole, with the test date and the weather
• A sketch of the perc findings on paper at least 8.5 by 11 inches, signed by the engineer, showing structures and the well

Staff mark on the form whether the application was referred to the Madison County Department of Health. No part of the system can be covered until it is inspected, and the inspector needs 24 hours notice before cover. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8 to 4.

Lakeshore and lake plain soils in Lenox

The town's north line runs along the south shore of Oneida Lake and Oneida Creek, with Route 31 near the water. Hamlets on or near the shore include South Bay, Messenger Bay and Oneida Lake Beach East. Inland are Quality Hill, Whitelaw, Lenox, Oneida Valley and Lenox Basin, plus the villages of Canastota and Wampsville, the county seat.

USDA soil data for a sample of the town ranks Appleton, Lairdsville, Cazenovia, Niagara, Minoa, Canandaigua and Odessa at the top, and about 82 percent is rated Very limited for absorption fields. Near the shore the leaders are Appleton, Niagara, Odessa and Lyons:

• Appleton: somewhat poorly drained limy till
• Odessa: somewhat poorly drained red clay lake deposits with low or moderately low conductivity below
• Lyons: poorly and very poorly drained, with slow or very slow permeability in the substratum
• Niagara: somewhat poorly drained silty lake soil with high runoff

Wet and clay ground like this rarely gives the 4 feet of usable soil a conventional field needs under Appendix 75-A, so shoreline lots tend toward raised beds, mounds or enhanced treatment. See lakefront septic design and clay soil septic design.

How a Lenox job runs

1. Send the address. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Tests. Two perc holes plus a deep hole at least 6 feet deep in or next to the field. Results go on the signed sketch.
3. Design. Sized at 110 gallons per day per bedroom. Fields kept 100 feet from wells and 100 feet from the lake, streams and wetlands.
4. Permit. Filed with the Lenox code office. If referred, or if the design is an alternative system, it also goes to Madison County Public Health in Wampsville with a $125 fee and at least 2 plan sets.
5. Install and inspect. The inspector gets 24 hours notice before cover, then the system is backfilled.

What it costs

The published county fee for an alternative system review is $125 per lot. A mound on Lyons or Odessa clay near the lake and a shallow trench on drier Cazenovia ground inland are very different builds. We price from the soil test. Send the address for a written price in 1 hour.

Oneida Lake is not on the state's eligible waterbody list for Madison County's septic replacement fund. The list names Cazenovia Lake, its tributaries and the upper Canastota Creek only.

Common Lenox problems

Camp on the south shore going year round

Shore camps often have small tanks and short fields. Year round use is designed by bedrooms, with a 1,000 gallon tank minimum for 1 to 3 bedrooms. See seasonal camp to year round.

Narrow lake lot

Fitting 100 feet from the lake and 100 feet from wells on a narrow parcel can push the field to the road side with a pump. See small lot setbacks.

Perc too slow in red clay

Odessa clay drains slowly. A mound works where native soil still percs faster than 120 minutes per inch, with groundwater 1 foot and rock 2 feet down.

What a county reviewer looks for

When a Lenox design goes to Madison County Public Health as an alternative system, the county application asks for the type of system, the source of the design concept, the reason an alternate design is needed, the soil description, the depth to water table and the date it was found, bedrooms, occupants, lot size, topography and water supply. Approval comes under Part 75.5 of the state rules, the county does a site inspection, and it tracks an installation inspection. Proposals that do not work are returned for resubmission. Reading the high water right on the shore, in the season it shows, is what keeps a plan from coming back.

Timeline

Tests take a day. Alternative systems need county plans in at least 30 days before construction. Installation is days, with an inspection before cover.

Sources

• Town of Lenox, septic permit application
• Town of Lenox, codes enforcement
• Lenox, New York (Wikipedia)
• NYS DOH, 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A
• Madison County Public Health, water and septic individual systems
• Madison County, alternative household wastewater treatment system application
• NYSDEC, SSRP eligible waterbodies, Madison County
• USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey and Soil Data Access (Madison County, NY053)
• USDA NRCS, Appleton series
• USDA NRCS, Odessa series
• USDA NRCS, Lyons series
• USDA NRCS, Niagara series