Septic Engineer in Manlius, NY
Three villages, county sewer in the core, and large lot rural land with no public sewer at all. Testing, PE stamped designs and the county submittal.
Fees. Process. Answers.
Septic design for Manlius, NY, from soil test to county approval.
No. The 2023 Town of Manlius Comprehensive Plan says Low Density Residential areas in the Restricted Agriculture District do not have access to public water and sewer.
The plan's zoning summary lists an R-1 minimum of 80,000 square feet with a septic system, versus 40,000 with sanitary sewer, and cites the county Sanitary Code minimum of 40,000 square feet for lots with their own water and sewage.
A mix: Niagara silt and creek floodplain soils in the north, Camillus and Benson soils over shale and limestone on the escarpment, and Cazenovia, Honeoye and Mohawk till on the hills. About 94 percent of rated land is very limited for conventional fields.
The Onondaga County Health Department, Bureau of Public Health Engineering. The Town of Manlius Office of Planning and Development 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 Manlius, NY: what it is and who needs one
The Town of Manlius holds three villages (Fayetteville, Manlius and Minoa) and a lot of rural land between them. The 2023 town comprehensive plan says the low density areas have no access to public water or sewer. A septic engineer in Manlius tests the soil, designs to Appendix 75-A, and gets the plan approved by 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).
What the Manlius plan says about sewer
WEP lists the Town of Manlius and the Villages of Manlius and Fayetteville in the Consolidated Sanitary District. The Village of Minoa runs its own treatment plant. The county's Meadowbrook-Limestone plant on Manlius Center Road in Kirkville, finished in 1973, serves sections of DeWitt, Manlius, Pompey and Syracuse.
The 2023 plan says the Low Density Residential areas, large lots in the Restricted Agriculture District, lack public water and sewer. It found that sewer availability limits large scale development, that some pockets such as the Schepps Corners and Kirkville Road area have public water and sewer while others nearby do not, and that the Fremont Road corridor may need extensions. It ties lot size to the county Sanitary Code: at least 40,000 square feet for a lot with its own well and septic, and an R-1 minimum of 80,000 square feet with a septic system.
Soils in Manlius and the system they point to
Manlius spans the escarpment. North of it, Niagara silt and floodplain soils along Limestone and Chittenango creeks. On and above it, Camillus and Benson soils over shale and limestone, Cazenovia and Honeoye till, and Mohawk soils formed in dark shale till.
| Soil series | Share of land | What it is (USDA) | What it usually means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camillus | 10% | 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. |
| Benson | 8% | 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. |
| Cazenovia | 8% | very deep, moderately well drained loamy till | Usually enough soil. Watch for spring water perched on denser till. |
| Niagara | 8% | very deep, somewhat poorly drained silty lake sediments | High seasonal water and slow perc. Raised beds and mounds are common here. |
| Honeoye | 5% | 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. |
| Mohawk | 5% | very deep, well drained till high in dark shale | Good depth in most pits. Perc rate sets trench length. |
USDA septic absorption field ratings, the Town of Manlius boundary: very limited 94 percent, somewhat limited 6 percent of rated land. Leading limits: shallow seasonal water, slow water movement, depth to bedrock.
About 94 percent of the town's rated land is very limited for a conventional field. Seasonal water is the top reason, then slow water movement, depth to bedrock and flooding. That spread means the same town can need three different designs: a raised bed on wet Niagara silt in the north, a shallow trench or raised bed on shale in the middle, and a conventional field on deep Mohawk or Honeoye till on the hills. The plan's note that wetlands sharply reduce buildable land in the northern half lines up with the soil map.
Creeks, wetlands and Green Lakes
Limestone Creek and its tributaries form the main watershed in the town, with parts of Butternut and Chittenango creek watersheds, all draining to Oneida Lake. Chittenango Creek marks part of the east line with Madison County. Green Lakes State Park sits southeast of Minoa. Fields stay 100 feet from creeks, lakes and wetlands, and above the 100 year flood level. Where a DEC regulated wetland is near, work in its 100 foot adjacent area may need a DEC permit.
How a septic design in Manlius 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. Manlius Office of Planning and Development, 301 Brooklea Drive, Fayetteville. All inspections need 24 hour notice and are made with town personnel.
- 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 Manlius the checks that most often decide a plan are the wetland setback in the north, rock depth on the escarpment, and the town's lot size rules for 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 Manlius problems and how the design handles them
Northern Manlius lot that stays wet
The problem: Niagara silt and the floodplain soils along the creeks hold water high in spring.
How the design handles it: If water is at least 1 foot down, a raised bed or mound. If it is shallower, the PE moves the field to higher ground or rethinks the lot.
Escarpment lot with shale
The problem: Camillus soils are moderately deep over calcareous shale.
How the design handles it: With 2 to 4 feet of usable soil, shallow trenches with fill over them. With 1 to 2 feet, a raised bed.
Planning a subdivision
The problem: For new lots under 5 acres that cannot reach public sewer, the county approves septic plans before it endorses the subdivision.
How the design handles it: We test each lot and the PE shows each septic area, well and separation on the map.
Timeline
Northern lots are best tested in spring. Hill lots can be tested whenever the ground is open. Raised beds wait on certified fill, which means 6 months of settling through a freeze and thaw for native fill or compaction in 6 inch lifts for imported sand.
Sources
Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for the Town of Manlius 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 WEP, Meadowbrook-Limestone WWTP
- 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 Manlius Comprehensive Plan (2023)
- Town of Manlius Planning and Development
- Town of Manlius Watershed Stewards
- USDA Official Series Description: Camillus
- USDA Official Series Description: Benson
- USDA Official Series Description: Cazenovia
- USDA Official Series Description: Niagara
- USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
- USDA Official Series Description: Mohawk
More septic design in Onondaga County.
Tell us about the Manlius lot.
Send the address. Estimate in 1 hour.
Free Written Estimate
Estimate in 1 hour.