Chester county septic system advice? (house, cost, estimates)

[06getsome]

I am looking at a piece of land in chester county Pa and the land has just been perc approved but it is has to be small stream discharge septic system so they are saying. they are estimating it to cost $20,000. i have done some quick searches and could not find alot of info about this style setic or any cost estimates. has anybody had one of these system installed or have a house with this setup? i am kind of curious about the cost if its really gona cost that much or could it cost double that? Any input or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks Matt

[ki0eh]

Something seems a little garbled here, in PA the "small stream discharge" units for a single family house aren't allowed unless some form of on-site septic isn't feasible, i.e. it won't "perc".

It may be that some form of advanced treatment is needed to allow in-ground dispersal, such as through an at-grade bed, in the event the subsurface limiting zone is too shallow for the more normal sand mound. Many folks casually refer to "percs" but the "probes" are generally more important - the probes are the go/no go indication, the percs affect the sizing.

In PA on-site septic is a very twisty and convoluted subject. If you have some specific paper from the Chester County Health Department which I believe does the sewage enforcement for all Chesco municipalities, and can state more specifically what that says, it may be more helpful.

But a $20,000 installed cost for some type of advanced treatment system is not atypical, alas. If it truly is a "small stream discharge" system that requires a professional engineer, and can be a fairly involved permitting process depending on such things as historical nitrate levels in groundwater in the area, and the classification of the nearest stream in 25 Pa.Code Chapter 93.

A couple of companies that make these things are Orenco Orenco Systems, Inc. Residential Onsite Wastewater Systems and Cromaglass Waste Water Treatment Products | Cromaglass - reps for both of these outfits have references to engineers, soil scientists, and geologists (you might need at least two of these certified folks to do the kind of system you might be talking about). These things are not easy but are less impossible than they used to be in PA.