Project Overview

Nearly 34 percent of Chester County’s properties (Around 60,000) are served by on-lot septage systems that dispose of the wastewater flowing from toilets, sinks, and appliances located on the property. An on-lot wastewater system is a three-stage treatment system consisting of a treatment tank (most commonly a septic tank), a distribution system (the pipes), and a soil absorption area. Management of on-lot septage systems is a shared responsibility between the property owner, the Chester County Health Department (CCHD) and each municipality.

Chester County Health Department's Role

Property owners are required to install/maintain a system that meets the County of Chester’s Rules and Regulations. CCHD is responsible for licensing the on-lot systems for use and licensing liquid waste management companies to include inspections of their trucks. Municipalities are responsible for monitoring and enforcing measures that ensure a property owner maintains the on-lot system in proper working condition and pumps waste using a licensed liquid waste management companies at appropriate time intervals.

Project Goal

The goal of the Septage Management Monitoring Project is to implement an online system that enables the Chester County Health Department and municipalities to track the frequency and volume of liquid waste being removed for every on-lot system located within Chester County. To accomplish this goal, Chester County Health Department will administer the system to ensure it meets the requirements of:

• liquid waste management companies - record volume from on-lot septage systems
• Municipalities - View waste pump volume data and assess which properties have not pumped according to required time intervals, or which properties have been pumped more frequently than time intervals

CCATO has worked with CCHD staff on identifying needs and functionality of a system that can be made available for all municipalities. Thank you to the project committee members who have worked to get this project through the evaluative and planning phase and into the implementation phase. A project summary is available by clicking the link below. Additional information will be made available as project implementation progresses.