Septic system design

[DanHalen]

Recently I may have stumbled upon a side business and possibly a full-time business later on. I have been asked by colleagues, friends, and neighbors (some strange reason) my opinion on septic tank problems. I have given them my two cents worth and moved on with my day. Evidently the word is getting out that "hey this guy knows his stuff and he gives free advice." A guy I work with has mentioned I could make some decent cash on the side doing consulting work. I've read a little here and there that when septic systems fail it can cost up to $40,000 to get it fixed because the septic guy has to bring in an engineer. That seems to be an extreme case and doesn't happen very often.

Are there any good design manuals/textbooks any of you guys/gals use to design septic systems that you would recommend? Aside from having my PE license is there any additional licenses I need? Would I need to form and LLC and get insurance and all that good stuff?

 

[P-E]

It seems fitting that I'm reading this on the toilet.

 

[NJmike PE]

Recently I may have stumbled upon a side business and possibly a full-time business later on. I have been asked by colleagues, friends, and neighbors (some strange reason) my opinion on septic tank problems. I have given them my two cents worth and moved on with my day. Evidently the word is getting out that "hey this guy knows his stuff and he gives free advice." A guy I work with has mentioned I could make some decent cash on the side doing consulting work. I've read a little here and there that when septic systems fail it can cost up to $40,000 to get it fixed because the septic guy has to bring in an engineer. That seems to be an extreme case and doesn't happen very often.

Are there any good design manuals/textbooks any of you guys/gals use to design septic systems that you would recommend? Aside from having my PE license is there any additional licenses I need? Would I need to form and LLC and get insurance and all that good stuff?

I often design them in NJ where we have a state cod that we follow with the design standards. You could contact your local municipal/county health department and find out the guidelines and procedures to follow. They are not difficult at all to design.

 

[humner]

New York State utilizes the Department of Health 75-A to address codes on septic design. For years, you did not have to have an engineer design conventional systems. The booklet is all of 32 pages. NYS, also has a design guiide you can download to give you ideas on design. https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/wastewater_treatment_systems/docs/design_handbook.pdf

 

[ptatohed]

My neck of the woods, Riverside County CA: http://www.rivcoeh.org/Portals/0/documents/guidance/septic/installation_guide.pdf