Septic rules in Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County's time-of-sale regulation, with inspections beginning no earlier than Jan 3, 2000, covers both onsite water and sewage systems. Its text says there shall be no sale, transfer or conveyance of a parcel with an onsite system until the seller files an evaluation by a county-certified inspector and the department authorizes the transfer. An evaluation is not needed if the system was certified in the previous 12 months, and exemptions include transfers between spouses, life estates, foreclosure, tax-sale redemption, premises built in the prior 24 months and unoccupied new homes.
The evaluation includes a bacteria and nitrate water test. If it fails, the owner has 30 days to submit a corrective plan, escrows one and a half times the repair cost, and has 180 days after approval to finish, and the failure itself does not block the sale if the repair is assured. Inspectors register, pay a fee and complete county training, and the county keeps the most recent report for as long as the property has a system plus three years, available under the Freedom of Information Act.
The standard the evaluation is measured against is the county's rules on groundwater and the disposal of sewage. Washtenaw's fee schedule and isolation distances were out of reach, because its pages delivered only navigation text. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are the two Washtenaw cities in our set. The septic inspection page covers who inspects.
The county's rules, line by line
- Who permits septic systems
- Washtenaw County Health Department, Environmental Health (septic systems pages)
- Governing code
- Rules and Regulations Governing the Supply of Groundwater and the Disposal of Sewage and Human Excreta; Time of Sale regulation
- Inspection at sale
- Required. No sale, transfer or conveyance until the seller files an evaluation by a county-certified inspector and the department authorizes the transfer, unless certified within the previous 12 months. Failed systems: corrective plan within 30 days, escrow of 1.5 times the cost, repairs within 180 days of approval.
- Permit steps
- No one may install or replace a system without department approval (regulation Sec. 3:7). Ask the department for the remaining permit steps, fees and isolation distances.
- Installers and evaluators
- County certifies time-of-sale inspectors (registration, fee, county training). Installer and operation-and-maintenance provider lists are on the county site (read through page titles only).
- Records
- Evaluation reports are kept for as long as the property has a system plus 3 years and are available under FOIA.
- Still to confirm with the county
- Fee schedule not found.
Rules and fees change every year. Confirm with the health department before you rely on a line. "No rule found" means the pages and code we have say nothing on that line; it is not the county saying there is no rule. Use the county rules lookup to compare counties.
Septic services in Washtenaw County
- Septic pumping in Washtenaw CountyWashtenaw County's sale evaluation relies on county-certified inspectors, and its rules for pumpers are a question for Washtenaw County Environmental Health.
- Septic inspection in Washtenaw CountyWashtenaw County has required a pre-sale inspection by a county-certified inspector since 2000.
- Drain field in Washtenaw CountyNo one may install or replace a system in Washtenaw County without department approval, and its setbacks are a question for the department.
What septic work costs
These are the Michigan-wide estimates from our model, not Washtenaw County prices. The county's own permit and evaluation fees are in the table above.
| Job | Estimated range | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Septic pumping | $255 to $810 | per visit |
| Septic inspection | $130 to $520 | per inspection |
| Drain field | $890 to $6,025 | per repair |
Estimates, not quotes. How we estimate costs.