Septic Engineer in Morrisville, NY

Morrisville septic design: what to know

Morrisville is a one square mile village in the northwest corner of the Town of Eaton, home of SUNY Morrisville and the county seat until 1907, when it moved to Wampsville. The village has its own wastewater collection system. The surrounding town is rural, and that is where septic design comes in. Backwell coordinates the soil tests, the design, the permit and the installation. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).

Village collection system vs. town septic

The Morrisville Department of Public Works, at 15 Cross Avenue, maintains the village storm and wastewater collection systems and the water mains. If your home is on a village sewer, you do not need a septic design.

Outside the village, in the Town of Eaton, homes and camps use private systems. The town includes the hamlets of Eaton, West Eaton, Pine Woods, Eagleville, Morrisville Station, Pierceville, Pratts, Pratts Hollow, White Corners and Williams Corners. Eaton Reservoir lies partly in the southwest of the town, and Leland Pond, two connected ponds, sits south of Pine Woods. Lots near either keep fields 100 feet from the water under Appendix 75-A.

Eaton land use law and small lots

The Town of Eaton Land Use Law (Chapter 120) references a Sanitary Local Law, Chapter 150 on sewers. For nonconforming lots, the land use law allows a variance only if state percolation, sewage disposal and water supply requirements are met. In plain terms: an undersized lot does not get a pass on septic. If the soil and setbacks cannot fit a system, the variance does not fix that. A lot septic feasibility check before you buy answers it; see lot septic feasibility.

Soils in Morrisville and Eaton

USDA soil data for a sample area around the village puts Lansing on about 52 percent of it, then Palmyra. Across the wider Town of Eaton the leaders are Lansing, Mardin, Stockbridge, Lordstown and Volusia, and about 77 percent of the sample is rated Very limited for absorption fields.

• Lansing: well drained till, but internal drainage is slow or very slow. Perc rates on Lansing can be marginal.
• Mardin: a fragipan starting 14 to 26 inches down with a seasonal water table typically 14 to 24 inches.
• Volusia: somewhat poorly drained till with a fragipan at 10 to 22 inches and wetness signs within 20 inches. A raised bed or mound is the usual answer.
• Stockbridge: well drained limy till with moderately slow or slow permeability below.
• Lordstown: moderately deep till over siltstone and sandstone.

Appendix 75-A asks for 4 feet of usable soil above rock, unsuitable soil and high groundwater under a conventional field. Mardin and Volusia rarely give it. See high water table septic design and failed perc test.

How a job in Eaton runs

1. Send the address. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Deep hole. At least 6 feet deep in or beside the field area, read for the pan and mottling.
3. Perc tests. At least two. Madison County Public Health lists observing perc and deep hole tests among its services.
4. Design. 110 gallons per day per bedroom, 1,000 gallon tank minimum for 1 to 3 bedrooms.
5. Permit. Town of Eaton Code Enforcement at the town office, 35 Cedar Street, for town parcels. Village of Morrisville Code Enforcement, 23 Cedar Street, for village parcels. Alternative designs go to Madison County Public Health in Wampsville with $125 and 2 plan sets.
6. Install. Backwell builds to the approved plan.

What it costs

The published county fee for an alternative system review is $125. On Volusia or Mardin ground, the cost is in the fill and sand a raised bed or mound needs. We price from the address and test results. Estimate in 1 hour.

Eaton Reservoir and Leland Pond are not on the state's eligible list for Madison County's septic replacement grant, which covers Cazenovia Lake, its tributaries and the upper Canastota Creek.

When Madison County reviews the plan

Most raised beds and mounds around Morrisville count as alternative systems, and those go to Madison County Public Health, Environmental Health Division, 138 N Court Street, Building 5, Wampsville. The county approves them under Part 75.5 of the state rules. Its application asks for the type of system, the reason an alternate design is needed, a soil description, the depth to water table and the date it was observed, bedrooms, occupants, lot size, topography and the water supply. The county does a site inspection, tracks an installation inspection, and sends back proposals that do not work for resubmission. Where an existing system cannot meet a standard, the county page links the state's specific waiver form.

Common Eaton problems

Camp near Leland Pond or Eaton Reservoir

Seasonal places often have small tanks. Going year round means sizing to bedrooms and holding 100 feet from the water. See seasonal camp to year round.

Slow perc on Lansing

When the perc is slow, a shallow trench with pressure dosing or a raised bed can spread the load.

Timeline

Testing takes a day. Alternative systems need county plans in 30 days before construction. Raised system fill settles six months through one freeze and thaw unless it is granular sand or sandy loam compacted in lifts. Installation runs days.

Sources

• Morrisville, New York (Wikipedia)
• Village of Morrisville, public works
• Village of Morrisville, code enforcement
• Town of Eaton, code enforcement
• Town of Eaton, Land Use Law
• Eaton, 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, Lansing series
• USDA NRCS, Mardin series
• USDA NRCS, Volusia series
• USDA NRCS, Stockbridge series