Septic or Sewer -- how to tell?

Dear DIY Community,

I'm seeking input for the following question:

Given the restriction of finding the answer ONLY through PHYSICAL INSPECTION of a house (and possibly clues in the yard), what would be the easiest and/or quickest way to determine if the house is using a Septic system or a public Sewer system?

Please do not suggest me to call anyone to find out this information. My desire here is to seek out this knowledge from the home experts of this community. In addition, I'm not especially fond of the "color/condition of the lawn" technique because I do not trust my ability to tell color/condition.

A little background:
I'm looking at a house to buy and I am aware of the fact that some of the nearby houses are using Septic system. On the real-estate listing sheet it says "Water Sewer: SEW-SANIT", which suggests SEWER, and which is what I want to have. I call the listing agent to confirm about this and he was not quite sure about it (the owner has recently passed away and the house is sold by a trustee who knows very little about this house). The city's record on the Water Sewer item for properties has been notoriously inaccurate (based on my past experience).

Thank you for any input you might have.

hsieh

 

Not sure if this will work for you but most places that have city sewers have a charge for it on their water bill. Usually based on water consumption at a percentage rate. There are usually assessments charged on taxes when a sewer is connected to a property also. Just a thought. Good luck.

 

Usually when you are in city sewer you would have a sewer clean out in front of the yard, usually next to the water meter. It is a round white cap with a square piece on top. If you cannot find one. Look around the street, if you see a manhole near by you are more than likely on city sewer. Look around the yard to see if you can find a concrete slab about 1 foot square. This is usually an indication of a septic tank. If all else fails call the water company to see if there is a sewer account for this house. If there is they will tell you were you can find your sewer clean out which should be the utility company's responsibility to maintain.

 

Contract a Home-Inspection company to do a thorough inspection to follow the information given off the listing and see if it is accurate or not. Many good contributors on this site can't protect you from your exact situation, it would be wise to ignore your own advice and do contact the people that know in your area about that specific home.


Getting answers off the internet is a shortcut to your situation, if you can't do the footwork to protect yourself, you have yourself only to blame.

Services in your area that know the answers dictate the situation on the home you are looking to purchase, not opinions. The same way a doctor doesn't prescribe medications for heart problems over the phone, which some homeowner sewer problems can be as expensive as a heart problem.


Now back to my high-caffeine coffee.

 

Start by looking at where the sewer line exits the house. If it exits the back good chance it's a septic.

You could hire plumber with pipe trace equipment to run a probe though the sewer lines and trace where they go.

If you have access to the city sewer line you could flush die down the toilet and see if it comes out in the sewer.

 

If you are on a septic then most likely you're on a well. Look for a well. Also, there will be an air tank regulation the water pressure. This is either under the house, in the basement or where they used to have the old type of above ground pump.

 

If the house was built with septic, and a city sewer came to the street later, then it's harder to tell whether a particular house is hooked up.

There are sewer manholes on my street, but I'm still on septic.

Absence of a well won't prove anything -- I could connect to city water but keep my septic system.

My house has waste lines coming out of the front and the back, meeting near the septic tank at the side of the house. I expect those wouldn't change if I hooked up to sewer -- the sewer line would run from where the septic tank is now.

I agree that you need local expertise. Sewer bills would be the best, IMO. Other ideas:

Maybe one of the local septic companies still pumps the tank at the house, or knows that it's now hooked up to sewer and doesn't need their services anymore. And/or maybe you could ask one or more of the septic companies to come out and find the tank. If they find an active tank, then you know it's on septic. If they don't, well then, that doesn't prove anything...

If the house was hooked up to sewer fairly recently, maybe one of the local plumbers has a record of having done it.

 

The local public sewer provider should know by its records (billing).
Likewise, the local Health Department should have a record of a septic system properly taken out of service and the tank back-filled (permit).
And last, but not least, check with the local Building Inspection Department. They would have had to issue a permit to a plumber to connect the home to public sewer, and inspect it, and it would be in their records.
Whether or not the home is on a septic system or public sewer has nothing directly to do with its water supply (private well or public water).
If there are no records of any type (which I highly doubt), you can always open the septic system tank clean-out, pour some food coloring in a toilet and flush it. That is a simple surefire sight test, if all else fails.
If you're buying a home, inspect, inspect, inspect before closing. Get a pest inspection (termites, etc.), a General Home Inspection of all of the structural and mechanical components of the property, and get title insurance. Those three are great, relatively inexpensive one-time "insurance" to protect yourself prior to closing. Once you close, things are YOUR problem. The last thing that you want to do is to buy an unknown major problem.
Good luck!
Mike

 

I discounted the city records because the original poster said:

The city's record on the Water Sewer item for properties has been notoriously inaccurate (based on my past experience).

My jurisdiction's paper records are probably accurate. Their online system isn't quite as accurate -- it shows a permit issued for replacing my septic tank, but no inspections. In fact the tank was replaced and inspected during the summer. When I called the inspector many weeks after the inspection, he said he hadn't bothered to enter the inspection into the system, and it doesn't matter since their paper records are correct.

 

If you coulds open the septic a flush in the house might be visible in the tank.

 

Try checking the town's website. Some towns post maps that show where the sewer and public water lines run.

 

I echo the home inspector route when your a buyer

I recently sold my moms house. I completely rehabbed it. and honestly it was in great shape. The home inspectors for the 2 buyers tore it apart pice by piece on their inspection, and the first buyer walked out.

I spent thousands fixing things that werent really broke, and ended up cutting the homes price in the end anyway.

Home inspectors charge a few hundred bucks and are a sellers worst enemy.

But for the BUYER, they are good as gold and will likely save you thousands negoiating the price downward. amazing the stuff they find.

Barrell traps are obsolete, yours is green, well yeah their copper Sorry you need a new one....

Hey this floor joist was partially cut 50 years ago when the home was built, you need floor jacks.

Hey not all the basement outlets are GFCI protected, cut the price.

The wall moisture is over 5, too wet, watrer problem cut price.

Now honestly they found a slightly leaky sink trap, but really dug in on the hard to fix stuff like the attic is more than 15 degrees hoter than the outside.

A buyers best friend, your purchase price will drop....

A plumber can dye test the sewer, around here they do that for downspout drains that cant be connected to the sewer...........$75.00

they might also find something serious yoiu need to know about.........