What Do You Do After a Failed Septic Inspection in Indiana?
Buying or selling a home in St. Joseph or Elkhart County, and the septic inspection failed? Start with the report and find the exact items that failed. Then get a written septic repair quote from a company that did not write the report.
A failed lid or baffle is a part that can be fixed on its own. Sewage on the ground or a drain field that will not take water can mean a replacement. Either way, the county health department permits the work before it starts.
What does the property transfer inspection check?
Indiana law keeps government bodies from requiring a septic inspection when a home sells, with one exception (Indiana Code 32-21-5.2). That exception is the part of St. Joseph County over the St. Joseph Aquifer System. There, the county requires an inspection unless the home sold or got a new septic system within 15 years. Everywhere else, including Elkhart County, an inspection is up to the buyer and the purchase contract.
The St. Joseph County Department of Health publishes the report form its inspectors must use. The inspector opens the tank and runs at least 35 gallons of water from the house through the system. The report includes a drawing of where the tank and the drain field sit. The form says every inspector must hold a Department of Health license.
The form sorts the septic items into two groups. The first group is four Public Health Threat items:
| Item on the county form | What the inspector checks |
|---|---|
| a. Lid | A safety-secured, tight-fitting lid on the tank |
| b. Tank | Concrete on all sides or approved plastic, structurally sound, and holding liquid |
| c. Surface | No sewage on top of the tank, on the ground or in surface water |
| d. Discharge | No waste sent to a stream, tile, ditch or the ground surface |
The second group is 12 cautionary items. The form calls them “buyer beware” items that hint at the system’s health and lifespan. They cover:
- sludge and scum levels in the tank
- a level tank and an outlet pipe at the right height
- the baffles and any effluent filter
- heavy staining above the outlet pipe
- the pump and alarm, if the system has them
- settling or soggy soil over the distribution box
- water flowing into and out of the tank, with no runback
- liquid levels found by probing the drain field
What counts as a failed septic inspection?
On the St. Joseph County form, one failed Public Health Threat item calls for action. The form says a permit for repair or replacement must then come from the Department of Health. A failed cautionary item is different. The form says it does not necessarily mean the system is in failure.
Indiana’s septic rule, 410 IAC 6-8.3, defines a failed system by what it does:
- it will not take sewage at its design rate, so the plumbing stops working normally
- liquid from the system comes up on the ground or reaches surface water because the soil cannot absorb it
- liquid from the system contaminates a drinking water supply, ground water or surface water
The rule calls a failed system a health hazard. A loose lid fails a Public Health Threat item, yet it is none of those signs. A lid and a drain field are very different jobs, so read each failed item on its own.
Should you repair or replace the septic system?
Match the fix to the failed item. A lid, a riser, a baffle or an effluent filter can be replaced on its own. Too much sludge points to a septic tank pump-out first.
Sewage on the ground or runback into the tank can point to the drain field. Under the state rule, replacing a drain field starts with a soil evaluation by a soil scientist. The new field has to meet the current rule where the site allows it. When it cannot, the county can approve changes based on the site and the soil report.
NRCS soil data rates 95 percent of Mishawaka’s mapped land “very limited” for septic tank absorption fields. St. Joseph County notes that an older system’s replacement may need more. That can mean a bigger field, a pump-dosed design, a larger tank or a mound. When the whole system has to go, the job becomes a new septic system.
Why get the repair quote from a company that did not write the report?
A company that fails a system and then sells the fix has a conflict of interest. A second company reads the same report with nothing riding on the grade. It can tell you whether a failed item is a small part or the whole drain field.
The county form allows for this. It says a buyer with concerns may have a more thorough inspection done.
We work on the repair side of the sale. We leave the transfer inspection to independent inspectors and quote repairs once the report is written. Our post on why we stay out of transfer inspections explains that choice.
What does the county health department do?
Indiana’s septic rule requires a written construction permit before any repair or replacement of a home septic system. The county health department issues it, and the health officer signs it.
In St. Joseph County, a new or replacement system starts with soil findings. The Department of Health reviews them and sets the design requirements. The installer designs to those requirements, and the county reviews the plan and visits the site.
Buried parts stay uncovered until the county inspects them. The system goes into use after the final inspection passes.
In Elkhart County, the Elkhart County Health Department permits the work and keeps a list of registered installers. For a failing system, county staff can do the soil analysis for the repair or replacement. A repair or replacement permit there is good for one year.
How much time do you have before closing?
In St. Joseph County, the buyer must get the septic report at least three days before closing. The report and the Property Transfer Application go to the Department of Health within five days after closing. If the sale falls through, the inspection stays good for six months. The county holds the seller responsible for compliance, along with the seller’s agent and the title company.
A buyer can ask to defer the inspection until after closing, but the county recommends against it. A deferral needs county approval before closing. The buyer then has 45 days after closing to turn in the inspection and must fix what the county orders.
A drain field repair has its own steps: the soil work, the plan, the permit, the dig and the inspection. Digging waits on an Indiana 811 locate request made at least two full working days ahead. In Elkhart County, soil evaluation results usually come back in 3 to 5 business days.
The soil may not allow a new drain field yet. The state rule then lets the county approve a temporary holding tank. Who pays for the repair is a question for your purchase contract, so bring your agent in early.
What should you do next?
Have the inspection report handy when you call. We look at the system and the report, then put the repair quote for a failed system in writing. Call (574) 254-7667.