Septic Engineer in Marcellus, NY
The village has had sewer since the 1930s. The town around it reaches into two lake watersheds. Testing, PE stamped designs and the county submittal.
Fees. Process. Answers.
Septic design for Marcellus, NY, from soil test to county approval.
The Village of Marcellus has its own Water Pollution Control Plant, with sewer dating to a 1931 bond. The Town of Marcellus is not in the county Consolidated Sanitary District, so town properties outside the village are on septic.
Part of the town is in the Skaneateles Lake watershed and part in the Otisco Lake watershed, per the county design guidelines. Which rules apply depends on where the lot drains.
Mostly Honeoye till, very deep and well drained, covering almost half the town. About 39 percent of rated land is only somewhat limited for conventional fields, a better share than most of the county.
The Onondaga County Health Department, after City of Syracuse or Water Authority review for watershed lots. The Town of Marcellus Codes Office issues the building permit.
Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
Use the form. Estimate in 1 hour.
Septic engineer in Marcellus, NY: what it is and who needs one
Marcellus runs from the north end of Otisco Lake down the Ninemile Creek valley. The village has its own sewer plant, and the town around it is septic country, with parts of it inside both the Skaneateles Lake and Otisco Lake watersheds. A septic engineer tests the soil, designs to Appendix 75-A and whichever watershed rules apply, and gets the plan through the Onondaga County Health Department.
Backwell coordinates testing, design, the submittals and the install. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
Village sewer since 1931
Village voters approved a $75,000 sanitary sewer bond in 1931, and by the end of that decade most village residents had been ordered to hook up. A primary treatment plant came in 1958 and a secondary upgrade in 1967, sized at 350,000 gallons for about 3,500 people. The Village of Marcellus Water Pollution Control Plant still runs today.
The Town of Marcellus is not in the county Consolidated Sanitary District, so the hamlets of Marcellus Falls, Marietta north of Otisco Lake, Clintonville on Route 20, Rose Hill, Shamrock and Thorn Hill are on private systems.
Soils in Marcellus and the system they point to
Marcellus is the most uniform town in this part of the county: Honeoye till covers almost half the land. Lima till, Palmyra gravel in the Ninemile Creek valley, Schoharie clay, Aurora soils over shale and Mohawk till make up most of the rest.
| Soil series | Share of land | What it is (USDA) | What it usually means for the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honeoye | 46% | 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. |
| Lima | 10% | 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. |
| Palmyra | 7% | very deep, well drained gravelly outwash over stratified sand and gravel | Drains well, sometimes too well. Soil faster than 1 minute per inch is not suitable as is under 75-A. |
| Schoharie | 5% | very deep, moderately well drained clayey lake sediments | Clay subsoil with slow perc. Expect longer fields or fill. |
| Aurora | 5% | 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. |
| Mohawk | 4% | 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 Marcellus boundary: very limited 61 percent, somewhat limited 39 percent of rated land. Leading limits: shallow seasonal water, fast seepage in the bottom layer, slope.
That much Honeoye shows in the numbers. About 61 percent of rated land is very limited and 39 percent only somewhat limited for a conventional field, one of the better splits in the county. Seasonal water is half of the very limited reasons. A deep Honeoye lot with perc between 1 and 60 minutes per inch is a reasonable bet for a conventional field. Lima and Schoharie lots carry more water and slower subsoil, so expect shallow trenches or longer fields.
Two watersheds and Ninemile Creek
The county design guidelines list part of the Town of Marcellus in the Skaneateles Lake watershed and part in the Otisco Lake watershed. On the Skaneateles side, 10 NYCRR 131.1 requires the absorption field to be 100 feet from the lake or any watercourse, City witnessing of all soil tests, and City review of the plan. On the Otisco side, 10 NYCRR 131.50 bars any seepage unit within 50 feet of the lake or a watercourse and sends the plan to the Water Authority. Both require the county watershed application signed by the owner and at least 5 plan copies.
Ninemile Creek, a noted trout stream, runs through the town. Fields stay 100 feet from it and above the 100 year flood level. The town codes office enforces wetland, floodplain and stormwater rules along with the building code.
How a septic design in Marcellus 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. On a Skaneateles watershed lot, a City of Syracuse Watershed Inspector witnesses every test.
- 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; in either lake watershed it is 5 copies plus the owner signed watershed application, with a copy to the City or the Water Authority. Once approved, a copy goes to the town.
- Building permit. Town of Marcellus Codes Office, 22 East Main Street, 315-673-3269. In the village, the village code enforcement officer.
- 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 Marcellus the checks that decide most designs are which watershed the lot is in, the setback from Ninemile Creek and the lakes, and seasonal water in the Lima soils.
- 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 Marcellus problems and how the design handles them
Lot near Otisco Lake at Marietta
The problem: The Otisco watershed rules apply, with Water Authority review and no seepage unit within 50 feet of the lake or a watercourse.
How the design handles it: The PE designs to the watershed rules and the plan goes to the Water Authority before the county.
Good Honeoye ground on a slope
The problem: Deep soil, but drumlin and valley side slopes can pass 15 percent.
How the design handles it: Perc holes on the contour, trenches parallel to the slope, and a diversion ditch uphill if any fill is used.
Older farmhouse, bedroom addition
The problem: New York requires an evaluation of the existing system by a licensed design professional for alterations that add bedrooms.
How the design handles it: The PE checks the tank and field against the new bedroom count and designs the upgrade if needed.
Timeline
Skaneateles watershed lots should be tested March 15 to June 30 with the City inspector. Otisco watershed lots add the Water Authority review. Lots outside both follow the standard county path with 3 plan copies.
Sources
Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for the Town of Marcellus 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
- 10 NYCRR Section 131.1, City of Syracuse (Skaneateles Lake) watershed rules
- 10 NYCRR Section 131.50, Onondaga County Water Authority (Otisco Lake) watershed rules
- OCHD Application for Permit to Construct a Waste Disposal System (Skaneateles and Otisco watersheds)
- USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, Onondaga County (NY067)
- USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO), septic tank absorption field ratings
- Town of Marcellus Codes Office
- Village of Marcellus wastewater history
- Village of Marcellus contacts
- Marcellus, New York
- USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
- USDA Official Series Description: Lima
- USDA Official Series Description: Palmyra
- USDA Official Series Description: Schoharie
- USDA Official Series Description: Aurora
- USDA Official Series Description: Mohawk
More septic design in Onondaga County.
Tell us about the Marcellus lot.
Send the address. Estimate in 1 hour.
Free Written Estimate
Estimate in 1 hour.