Riverside County sets the septic rules
The city doesn't issue septic permits or set the sale-inspection and installer rules, because the county health department handles all three. Riverside County charges $795 to review a new conventional septic system, per its 07/2022 sheet..
- Who permits septic systems
- Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, Environmental Protection and Oversight Division, Land Use and Water Resources Program; Riverside office (951) 955-8980, DEHOWTS@rivco.org; offices in Riverside, Blythe, Corona, Hemet, Indio, Murrieta and Palm Springs, (888) 722-4234. Agreement cities served: Blythe, Coachella, Corona, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Temecula, Wildomar. No agreement with Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Eastvale, Hemet, Indian Wells, Indio, Jurupa Valley, Norco, Perris, San Jacinto.
- Inspection at sale
- The county says it has no such rule
- Permit steps
- Percolation tests and OWTS reports only by a registered Professional of Record (PE, PG or REHS); certifications and advanced treatment service agreements only by a registered Qualified Service Provider. Subdivision minimum lot size is 0.5 acre gross (2.5 acres with individual domestic wells); more than 40 lots under 2.5 acres require public sewer; an ADU or extra dwelling not meeting 0.5 acre per unit must use an advanced treatment system. All new alternative systems need a QSP maintenance agreement, a yearly QSP inspection and an annual operating permit.