Offsite septic system components

You may not grant an offsite easement for septic components to yourself. You must submit an Agreement to Record a Future Easement if septic components will be located on a separate parcel from the home it serves and the same person/entity owns both parcels.

OSCAR and subsurface drip designs

Make sure you show trees and stumps in your proposed OSCAR and subsurface drip drainfield areas and address how you will remove them.

Continued use of existing septic tanks during repairs

If you plan to continue the use of existing septic tanks as part of a repair or partial repair, you must have the tanks inspected by a certified septic professional with their report submitted to onlineRME.

Pierce County Auditor recordings and requirements

Sometimes we require applicants to record an easement or covenant to the title of a property. Please review your document before you submit it to the Pierce County Auditor to make sure it meets minimum recording requirements. Remove anything on the site plan that is not pertinent to the recording and doesn't meet recording standards.

Stress test procedure

Earlier this year we worked with operations and maintenance professionals and Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors (TPCAR) to develop a stress test procedure for home sale inspections.

Over the last 10 years, we estimate 500-700 septic systems have failed within 2 years of an approved Report of System Status (RSS). A stress test is an effective way to determine how well a gravity drainfield works. It is a useful tool to reduce the number of failures affecting new homeowners.

Since implementing this procedure in July, we have received feedback from the community. We paused the stress test procedure requirement while we address their feedback.

For now, we don’t require a stress test for home sale inspections for a gravity system. We will connect with industry partners and TPCAR before we implement a revised procedure.

Questions?

Visit tpchd.org/septic or contact us at ehsepticsystems@tpchd.org or (253) 649-1925.