Lake County Code, Section 171.149, requires inspection of the construction of an onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) by LCHD staff. no portion of a system can be backfilled until it has been inspected and approved. Inspections are completed by staff environmental health practitioners working with Lake County’s licensed septic system contractors to assure systems are reasonably constructed in accordance to the approved plan. An effort is made to inspect as many components of the system as possible during a scheduled inspection for efficiency sake.

What Inspections Verify
The detail of the inspection depends on the complexity of the system but common to all inspections is verifying components are installed in an acceptable location using generally accepted construction methods. In general, inspections verify that: generally accepted construction practices are used, proper materials are used, sufficiently sized components are used, properly sized absorption areas are constructed, and that all components are positioned in acceptable locations. Rarely do components have to be installed exactly in the location shown on the approved plan. More commonly, components are able to be installed in “acceptable areas” anywhere within which, would meet ordinance requirements.

The Department retains all record of system inspections and very often requires an “as-built” plan so detailed and accurate information exists for the location of all major components of the system. Detailed as-built plans are of great benefit for homeowners on future building projects.