Septic Engineer in Lyons, NY

Lyons septic, answered first

The Town of Lyons regulates septic systems through Chapter 247, the Town of Lyons Septic Law, enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer or a person the Town Board appoints. A new system needs a building permit backed by a design that shows compliance with the State Public Health Law and its regulations, at least two perc tests and a deep hole, and the site data that affect the system, all certified by a registered architect, a professional engineer or the New York State Department of Health.

Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE). Backwell coordinates the design, the town submittal, and the install.

What the Lyons application must contain

• A design showing compliance with the State Public Health Law and regulations.
• A sketch with property lines, adjacent structures and water supplies on your property and the neighbors'.
• Results and locations of at least two perc tests and a deep hole test.
• Site data: soil type, topography, depth to seasonal high groundwater, depth to impervious material, depth to bedrock and distance to surface water.

Before backfilling, the enforcement officer visually inspects the septic tank, the distribution box, all leach lines and the connection to the house. A septic inspection report is filed before the certificate of occupancy. Alternative systems, such as fill systems, may be permitted by application to the State Department of Health or, where it applies, DEC. Existing systems are inspected before any increase in living area or change in use, with the tank uncovered and pumped by a licensed pumper while the officer is there.

Lyons soils

Lyons is at the meeting of the Canandaigua Outlet, Ganargua Creek and the Erie Canal, and the Lyons soil series shares the name. The USDA describes Lyons soils as very deep, poorly and very poorly drained, in depressions and low areas of till plains, sometimes in seeps on gentle slopes. Canandaigua silty clay loam in the creek and canal corridors is also poorly to very poorly drained. The drumlins around town are Honeoye silt loam, well drained, and Lima silt loam, moderately well drained, and the outwash terraces are Palmyra gravelly loam.

On the drumlins, a conventional field is often possible. In the creek bottoms, the four feet of usable soil Appendix 75-A requires for a conventional field is rare, and fill systems are common. Because the Lyons code says fill systems may be permitted by application to the State Department of Health, a raised system or mound in Lyons carries an extra approval step. Low ground below the 10 year flood level is unacceptable for any onsite system.

How it works in Lyons

1. Address and plan. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Two perc tests and a deep hole. The minimum the town code lists.
3. Site data. Seasonal high water, impervious layer, bedrock, distances to water.
4. PE stamped design. With the sketch of lot lines, structures and every nearby water supply.
5. Permit. Building permit from the town. Fill systems go through the State Department of Health application the code describes.
6. Inspection before backfill. Tank, distribution box, leach lines and house connection, then the inspection report and certificate of occupancy.

Lyons problems and fixes

Timeline

Testing and design, town permit, any state application for a fill system, install, inspection before backfill, then the certificate of occupancy. The 2026 NYSDOH directory lists the Geneva District Office, (315) 789-3030, as the state environmental health office for Wayne County.

Sources

• NYS DOH, 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A, Wastewater Treatment Standards, Residential Onsite Systems
• NYS DOH Center for Environmental Health Directory 2026 (district offices and county health departments)
• Town of Lyons Code, Chapter 247, Town of Lyons Septic Law
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Lyons
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Canandaigua
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Honeoye
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Lima
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Palmyra

Rules and fees as published by each office on the date this page was written. They can change; the design is checked against the current versions at submittal.