Household Sewage Systems

The Environmental Health Department regulates all household sewage treatment systems (HSTS) in accordance with Chapter 3701-29 of the Ohio Administrative Code and any other resolutions adopted by Geauga Public Health. This includes all 1, 2 and 3 family residential dwellings served by an individual household sewage treatment system. of the estimated 32,350 housing units in Geauga County, approximately 70% rely on household sewage systems to dispose of waste water.

In addition to the OAC Chapter 3701-29 Household Sewage Treatment systems, the Geauga County Board of Health adopted the following local codes that are in the Document List below: Supplements to Section 6, Inclement Weather Occupancy Permit, For Sale of Property Evaluation, Rules for Land Application of Septage.

Sanitary sewage systems that convey sewage to a central wastewater treatment plant are regulated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and maintained by the Geauga County Department of Water Resources or the municipality in which they are located.

For household sewage treatment systems Geauga Public health provides the following:

• Site evaluation for new systems
• Permits for new systems
• Permits to alter existing systems
• Investigation of complaints for malfunctioning systems
• Enforcement measures for failure to comply with these regulations ( which includes hearings before the Geauga County Board of Health and referral to the Geauga County Prosecutors Office for placement on the docket of the Common Pleas Court)

A lot evaluation determines the feasibility of installing a sewage treatment system on a parcel of land, whether it is a vacant parcel or has an existing home on the lot. A Registered Sanitarian from Geauga Public Health will visit the site to determine this feasibility. The following items must be completed before the sanitarian will visit the site.

1. The lot evaluation form must be completed and fees paid to the department.
2. Soils information of the site must be submitted to the office. Soil information can be obtained from a certified soils scientist with the Association of Ohio Pedologist or American Society of Agronomy.
3. A site plan on a scalable 1″=50′ on a topographical map with 2′ contours must be submitted to the office showing the existing or proposed house, driveway, water well, sewage disposal system and replacement area. This can be printed from the Geauga REALink property information system by selecting the parcel to be evaluated, selecting the map tab, and selecting Health Dept. Map from the print choices in the GIS toolbar. Site plans should be larger than 11″X17″ (ledger or tabloid paper) for filing with GPH.
4. Stake out the proposed house, driveway, water well, sewage disposal system and replacement area. The property lines need to be staked every 50 ft (Lot evaluations procedures in more detail are in this information sheet).

Upon completion of these items you can contact a sanitarian from Geauga Public Health to schedule an appointment to the visit site.

Geauga Public Health issues permits for installing new sewage treatment systems and for alteration of existing systems. After a lot evaluation is completed and approved a permit may be obtained from Geauga Public Health.

When a new household sewage treatment system is installed, the registered sewage installer must contact a Registered Sanitarian from Geauga Public Health to inspect the system. The sanitarian conducts an inspection to assure compliance with Chapter 3701-29 of the Ohio Administrative Code and any other resolutions adopted by the Geauga County Board of Health.