On-Site Sewage Management Systems
Buying a Home
Buying a home is one of life’s milestones. Along with all of the other documentation that will be required for closing, your lending agent may ask for a letter regarding the on-site sewage management system (OSSMS). The reason behind this is pretty simple, before they loan you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, they want to ensure that they are making a sound investment. Part of this investment is the sewage disposal system. By ensuring that some sort of evaluation has occurred, they are more confident in their decision.
Evaluation
If you request that our office perform the evaluation, it will consist of an above ground, visual evaluation (as our office does not have the equipment necessary to service the tank) of the system to determine if a condition exists which is causing a health hazard. Please see the Fee Schedule for current fees approved by the Clayton County Board of Health. Additionally, even if the overall report is favorable, there may be notes to consider. The evaluating environmentalist may make a note similar to the following:
“Downspouts from the gutters appear to be directing storm water over OSSMS components.” - Any storm water that is directed over the septic tank or absorption field can lead to premature failure of the system. Connecting corrugated pipe to the bottom of the downspout and piping the water so that is does not spill onto the ground surface until it is down gradient from the OSSMS can rectify this situation.
“There appears to have been vehicular traffic over a portion of the OSSMS.” - While there may not be any visual evidence to determine that structural issues are present, the environmentalist may make note that there is at least the possibility that an OSSMS component may have been crushed due to vehicular traffic over the system.
“The house was vacant at the time of the evaluation.” - If wastewater has not been introduced into the OSSMS, even signs of a blatant failure would not be present. Please remember that most failures occur due to too much wastewater being generated by the household. If the house is vacant, no wastewater is generated, and no failure is visible.
“A patio/deck is present which could inhibit routine maintenance.” - Many times, the addition of an “outdoor living area” can result in a deck or patio being erected over the septic tank. This would not directly cause a failure to the system, but it could inhibit routine maintenance.
You may feel more comfortable asking a Certified Contractor to perform this evaluation for you. Please keep in mind that some do not provide this service due to implied liability. If a contractor performs this evaluation, it may be a little different that what our office can provide as the company will have the necessary equipment to properly service the septic tank. As with any service, our office recommends that the client obtains at least three (3) detailed estimates regarding the costs of service to determine what a “fair” cost is for the service. Please see the Maintenance section of this site for more information on proper pumping and maintenance procedures.
Timeliness of Completion
A problem often arises however, when the applicant is not informed of the need of this documentation until just before closing as our office usually needs three (3) to five (5) working days to process these requests. It is the recommendation of our office that the buyer determine what type of sewage disposal is present … sewer or septic. If septic, ask the lender if documentation is necessary to close on the property. This will give you sufficient time to acquire the necessary documentation prior to the closing date.
Soils
As every OSSMS will fail at some point, and the soil conditions on the lot will determine the type of replacement system that the future owner will have to install, the buyer may wish to have a Level III Soil Survey performed by a Certified Soil Classifier (http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/environmental/LandUse/SoilClassifiers/ApprovedSoilClassifiers.pdf ) to determine what type of system(s), and resultant cost, would be available.
What to do after Purchasing an OSSMS
Now that the pressures of closing and moving have passed, and you are able to enjoy your new home, you may want to look at your water usage and disposal habits. OSSMS require routine maintenance and wise water usage for them to perform properly. Please review the other OSSMS portions of this site, but especially the Maintenance and Water Usage sections for recommendations on how to properly maintain the OSSMS and get the maximum life expectancy from your investment.
One other issue we commonly see just after a family moves into an older home that utilizes an OSSMS may be a failure even if a favorable review has been made. This is usually due to a larger number of family members resulting in an increased amount of wastewater being generated. For example: If the house was previously occupied by an older couple, then sold to a family of five, the OSSMS may have been able to process the relatively low volume of water generated by the couple, but not the larger family. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine if this will arise prior to the family occupying the residence.
Clayton County Board of Health
Environmental Health
1117 Battlecreek Road, Jonesboro, GA 30236
Phone: (678) 610-7199
Fax: (770) 603-4874