Septic Engineer in Port Byron, NY

Port Byron in two sentences

The Village of Port Byron has its own wastewater treatment system, and the state has funded an engineering study of its solids handling. The farm roads and lots in the Town of Mentz outside the village, and new homes on land without a main, need a septic system designed and stamped before Cayuga County will accept it.

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

Flats, floodplain and drumlins

Port Byron sits where three waterways come together, and much of the low ground near them is flat. The canal and river flats are mapped as Canandaigua silty clay loam and Lyons silt loam, both poorly to very poorly drained. The drumlin flanks are Honeoye and Lima silt loams, and the outwash benches are Palmyra gravelly loam, well drained over gravel and sand.

Two state rules come up on almost every low Port Byron lot. First, Appendix 75-A says areas lower than the 10 year flood level are unacceptable for onsite systems, so floodplain mapping is checked before any test hole. Second, the conventional field needs four feet of usable soil above high seasonal groundwater, and on the flats that rarely exists. Those lots go to a raised system or a mound, both of which need the high water at least a foot below the original ground. Where the lot climbs onto a drumlin or a gravel bench, a standard trench field is often possible.

How it works

1. Address and the plan for the house. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Floodplain check. Ten year flood level and the FEMA map, before digging.
3. Perc and deep hole. At least two perc tests and a six foot hole, run by the design professional.
4. Stamped plan. System chosen from the soil data, laid out on the highest workable ground on the lot.
5. Cayuga County review. Plans, application and $150 to 8 Dill Street, Auburn. County staff check for wetlands and watercourses.
6. Permit, build, certify. Town building permit after county acceptance, PE verification before backfill, certificate of construction letters.

What Cayuga County checks

• Absorption area 100 feet from the river, canal, creeks and wetlands, and 100 feet from wells.
• Raised system fill rated 5 to 30 minutes per inch, with at least two feet between the trench bottom and the water table.
• Taper of the fill no steeper than one on three, at least 20 feet, with setbacks measured from the toe.
• Dosing or pressure distribution on raised systems, and a pressure network on any mound.

Port Byron problems and fixes

Timeline

Spring testing shows the true high water on these flats. County approval to construct may take up to 4 to 6 weeks after submittal. Fill systems take longer to build than trench systems because the fill is tested after placement and settling.

Sources

• NYS DOH, 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A, Wastewater Treatment Standards, Residential Onsite Systems
• Cayuga County Health Department, Septic System Installation and Inspection
• Cayuga County Health Department, Instructions to Obtain Septic System Plan Approval for New Construction
• Cayuga County Health Department, Application to Install a New Septic System (rev. 1/7/2025)
• Cayuga County Health Department, Application to Modify/Replace an Existing Septic System (rev. 1/7/2025)
• NYS Regional Councils, Village of Port Byron wastewater Engineering Planning Grant
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Canandaigua
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Lyons
• USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description, Honeoye
• 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.