Not to be confused with “grandpa’s septic system,” grandfathered septic systems are those which can be determined to be lawfully, pre-existing and non-conforming.
Please note the “lawfully existing” part.
They were built before any regulatory rules were in place, and do not meet today’s design requirements.
The most common system found to be non-conforming is the basic drywell.
Since 1972, a drywell should not have been used for any septic system if a more conventional leach field could have been installed.
A drywell had to be proven to be the only alternative.
Back in 1972 a conventional septic system was typically a stone and pipe trench style system.
Almost 100% of the time, some sort of conventional configuration could have been utilized, even if it meant pumping uphill to a suitable location, cutting down trees, relocating a driveway or using a raised bed design.
This concept is still used today.
Other common non-conforming features are lack of distance separation to the lakes, wetlands, rivers and wells.
Did you know that the minimum distance separation of a drywell to other water sources is greater than a conventional system?
Do not assume that the “100 foot criteria” is always the magic distance; 150 or 200 feet may actually be the correct separation requirement.
As in many other communities, the use of drywells over the years has been common place.
And, almost all of the time the installation was done without proper testing and analysis of the ground under and around it.
One example of this was the “perk test” performed.
The perk test for a drywell should been done at the bottom of the drywell; not in the top 30 inches of the ground like a conventional trench style system.
Also remember, the drywell should have been the ONLY alternative in the first place.
Additionally, there should have been four feet of suitable soil below the bottom of the drywell, and no indications of ground water, or even seasonal high ground water, down four feet below the bottom of the drywell.
For a drywell that is 10 feet deep, that required 14 feet of usable soils.
This is an extremely tough criteria and rarely can be met, especially around this area where bedrock, hard-pan and saturated soil / seasonal high ground water conditions are common.
So what do you do when the drywell fails?
The concept is easy to understand, if a compliant system can be installed, it shall be.
It doesn’t matter if the drywell was far enough away from the lake or not.
To replace any drywell, in-kind with another drywell, it must be proven that no other conventional system is possible.
It shall be the only option.
Out of hundreds and hundreds of septic permits issued in the last thirteen years, only two were for drywells… there were no other alternatives.
What do you do if it is impossible to get a 100 foot separation to the lake with a replacement system, for any kind or design?
What about a lot that is only 70 feet deep from the water’s edge? The lot is not big enough to install a compliant system, whether it’s a conventional system or not.
Assuming the system (drywell or leach field) lawfully exists, the property owner has the right to maintain and continue reasonable use of the property.
Reasonable does not include a failing septic.
To replace a lawfully existing system, too close to the water, the following basic criteria will be required:
• No increase in bedrooms or load onto the system will be allowed;
• An enhanced, conventional system shall be designed. This is a design that will offer a higher level of wastewater treatment, before the leach field, than a conventional system;
• No part of the leach field shall be any closer to the lake than the original system being replaced.
• A JIF shall be submitted to the APA for any replacement within 100 feet of the water.
Building permits are always required from the Town.
Obtaining a letter on Non-Jurisdiction from the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will be required.
However, if the replacement system is designed to be as good as possible, no closer than the original, clearly better than what was there before and incorporates enhanced treatment, the APA, the Town of Webb and the NYS Department of Health should act favorably.
Working closely with your engineer and this office, obtaining the appropriate approvals from the APA is not a big deal for lawfully pre-existing non-conforming septic systems.
The goal is to make it as compliant as possible regarding separation and provide increased treatment before the leach field.
Knowledge & Understanding.