Septic Engineer in Ovid, NY

Ovid in two sentences

Seneca County runs Sewer District No. 1, with its treatment plant on County Route 132 in Willard, permitted for 0.7 million gallons per day and discharging to Seneca Lake. Homes outside the district, on the ridge farms and along both lake shores, are on septic, and every new or modified system needs a stamped plan reviewed by the Seneca County Health Department.

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

Ovid silt loam, named for the town

The USDA describes the Ovid series as very deep and somewhat poorly drained, formed in moderately fine textured, reddish till, with high runoff potential and slopes up to 15 percent. Lansing silt loam on the middle slopes is very deep and well drained but has slow internal drainage. Honeoye silt loam caps the better drained till, and Lima silt loam sits lower. A somewhat poorly drained soil holds water in the upper profile part of the year, and that is what the deep hole looks for.

On Ovid soil the conventional field is often out, because Appendix 75-A needs four feet of usable soil over seasonal high groundwater. If the hole shows two to four feet before the mottled zone, a shallow trench system is the code's next step, with the trench bottom at least two feet above the water and fill no more than 30 inches above original grade. With less than that, a raised system or a mound is the usual answer, and a curtain drain on the uphill side can help control perched water. The ridge flanks get steep toward both lakes, and slopes over 15 percent are unacceptable for onsite systems; a mound is limited to 12 percent.

Two lake shores, one county law

Ovid touches Seneca Lake on the west at Willard and Cayuga Lake on the east at Sheldrake. Under Seneca County Local Law 7 of 2021, properties within 250 feet of either lake are on a routine septic inspection every five years and need a transfer inspection and pump-out on any sale. Appendix 75-A also holds the absorption field 100 feet from the lake's mean high water mark and the tank 50 feet. Steep lake lots on this ridge often put the field up near the road, with a pump sending effluent uphill.

How it works in Ovid

1. Address, bedrooms, lake or ridge. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Perc tests and deep hole. Required for every Seneca County design. The hole records depth to the seasonal water and whether it is perched.
3. Site plan. Wells, streams, ponds, lakes, drainage ditches, springs, stormwater ponds and the tax map ID.
4. PE stamped plans. Three sets, designed to Appendix 75-A.
5. Seneca County review. To 2465 Bonadent Drive, Suite 3, Waterloo, with the $150 residential fee.
6. Install and certify. The PE inspects before cover and certifies the installation to the Health Department.

What the county checks

• Licensed engineer or registered architect stamp on all three sets.
• Perc and deep hole data from the actual site.
• Seasonal high groundwater against the system type: four feet of usable soil for conventional, two to four feet for shallow trenches, at least one foot to water for raised and mound systems.
• Slope limits: 15 percent for raised systems and onsite systems in general, 12 percent for mounds.

Ovid problems and fixes

Timeline

Spring testing shows the real water table on Ovid silt loam. After that, design, county review, install and PE certification. Fill systems take longer on site because the fill is tested at the pit and again after it settles in place.

Sources

• NYS DOH, 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A, Wastewater Treatment Standards, Residential Onsite Systems
• Seneca County Health Department, Application to Install or Modify a Septic System (updated 2/12/2026)
• Seneca County Health Department, Minimum Requirements for On-site Septic System Plan Submissions (1/17/2024)
• Seneca County Health Department, What is the Seneca County Watershed Protection Law?
• Seneca County Health Department, Septic System Inspection Instructions
• NYSDEC Environmental Notice Bulletin, Seneca County Sewer District 1 STP, Willard (2024)
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Ovid
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Lansing
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Honeoye
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Lima

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.