What Is the Difference Between a Cesspool and a Septic Tank in Pennsylvania?
A septic tank settles the solids and sends clarified water to a drain field, where the soil treats it. A cesspool is a lined pit, often with an open bottom or perforated sides. Sewage soaks out of it into the ground with no treatment step.
Older homes and camps around Milford may still have one. Pennsylvania’s onlot sewage standards never use the word cesspool, so your sewage enforcement officer is the one to ask. In a 1998 notice on one township’s sewage plan, DEP said cesspools should be replaced with septic systems. That work is a permitted septic system replacement, built to an approved design.
How do a cesspool and a septic tank compare?
| Septic tank | Cesspool | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Solids settle in a watertight tank, then clarified water flows to a drain field | Sewage enters a lined pit and seeps into the surrounding soil and rock |
| Does it treat waste? | Yes, in the tank and then in the soil under the drain field | No. EPA says cesspools capture waste but do not treat it |
| What it needs around it | An absorption area at least 100 feet from a private well, with 4 feet between the stone and the limiting zone | No state standard to build to. Penn State Extension says to keep a well at least 100 feet away |
| What fails and how | Solids that reach the drain field can clog the pipes and the soil | With no filter, it can contaminate the nearby soil. You may see odors, ponding or slow drains |
| Where it stands in Pennsylvania | Chapter 73 sets the standard, and the permit runs through the sewage enforcement officer | Not named in Chapter 73. DEP called cesspools not adequate in a 1998 notice on one township’s plan |
The drain field is the piece a cesspool lacks. When a pit gets replaced, the job is a new tank and a new absorption area under a permit. Our septic replacement page covers that work.
Is a cesspool allowed in Pennsylvania?
Chapter 73, the state’s onlot sewage standard, never uses the word cesspool. The rules are written around the systems they list, such as septic tanks, aerobic tanks, holding tanks and privies. So Chapter 73 sets no standard for a cesspool, and it does not name one as banned either.
DEP has stated its view, though. A 1998 Pennsylvania Bulletin notice disapproved one township’s sewage plan and listed what was wrong with it. It called cesspools “not adequate onlot sewage disposal systems.” It said they “should be replaced with septic systems meeting Chapter 73 regulations.” It suggested that township inspect homes with cesspools and require replacement if they were malfunctioning. The notice was about one plan, so read it as DEP’s view, not a statewide order.
DEP’s sewage needs guide also files cesspools in high density development under suspected malfunctions. Federal law does not settle it. EPA says its large-capacity rule does not apply to single family residential cesspools. It does cover ones serving multiple residential units. EPA adds that state and local agencies may regulate small ones. So ask your township whether it has its own ordinance. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who should care about this around Milford?
Milford Borough and Milford Township have no central sewer, so homes there rely on on-lot systems. The 2021 Eastern Pike County sewage plan says many of those systems predate the 1969 construction regulations. It lists cesspools among the system types found in the area, along with drywells and seepage pits.
That makes this a real question for older homes and camps. It matters most when a house is being bought or sold, because a replacement is a big job to inherit. If you are buying, find out what is in the ground before you close.
How can you tell if you have a cesspool or a septic tank?
Start with the records. Ask your township or borough for the permit file, or ask the sewage enforcement officer. DEP dates onlot permitting under Act 537 to May 15, 1972. An older system may have no file at all.
Next, have a pumping company open the lid. A septic tank is a watertight tank with baffles or tees at the inlet and outlet. A cesspool is what the state’s field manual calls “a lined hole that stores sewage.” The manual tells sewage enforcement officers, “If no tank is found, a cesspool may exist.”
Ask the pumping company what it saw and where the outlet goes. Some older setups run a tank into a pit, so finding a tank does not always settle it.
What does replacing a cesspool with a septic system involve?
The permit comes first. Pennsylvania requires one to repair or replace a treatment tank or a soil absorption area. Permits come only through a certified sewage enforcement officer. When a system has failed, state policy is to consider the systems in Chapter 73 first, not counting holding tanks. If those cannot be built to the chapter, the agency turns to the best technical guidance possible.
The soil comes next. We dig the test pits for the officer. Each goes down to the top of the limiting zone, or 7 feet at most. Our perc test guide covers what happens after that. The design comes through the officer, with a soil scientist or engineer where the county requires one.
Thin ground can decide the system. Where the limiting zone sits less than 60 inches down, Pennsylvania requires an elevated sand mound. A 2017 USGS report found Pike County’s glacial till is typically under 6 feet thick. So a cesspool on a thin, rocky lot may need a sand mound septic system.
The old pit has to be dealt with too. A pumping company empties it first. Chapter 73 has no closure steps for a cesspool, so follow your officer’s direction.
What does it cost to replace a cesspool?
One national cost guide says to expect at least $4,000 to $6,000. That covers replacing a cesspool with a full septic system. Read that as a floor. The same guide says prices may run higher with a larger cesspool. Damaged soil around the pit and the new system’s requirements can add more.
Penn State Extension calls the drain field the most expensive and difficult part of a system to correct or replace. A cesspool has no drain field, so a replacement builds that part from scratch. These are market numbers, not our price list. Pennsylvania ranges are in our septic system cost guide.
A home with a sound tank and a failed field is a different job, covered under drain field repair.
Do the rules change across the river?
Yes. New Jersey’s septic rule says cesspools are not systems. A cesspool that is part of a property transfer must be abandoned and replaced, with listed exceptions. In New York, start with the county health department. When a Port Jervis building connects to city sewer, its old cesspool is cleaned out. Then it is filled or removed. We cross the river from Milford, and the rules change when we do.
Where should you start if you think you have a cesspool?
Get the records first, then find out what is in the ground. If a replacement is the answer, Sawkill Environmental can take it from the test pits through the final grading. We are based in Milford and run our own excavators and equipment. We are licensed and insured, PA HIC #PA225040. For a free estimate on a new septic system in place of a cesspool, call or text (973) 552-8580.