onsite sewage program

How Can Your Property Become
Operation & Maintenance Compliant?

Regulation Summary:


The Kitsap County Board of Health adopted onsite sewage system operation and maintenance regulations in 1996. In summary, the regulations require property owners to be responsible for ensuring that their onsite sewage system gets the appropriate operation and maintenance. For owners of alternative onsite sewage systems, the regulation requires that property owners obtain a contract with a certified maintenance specialist to do the operation and maintenance due to the complexity of these systems with respect to the basic knowledge of the typical homeowner (see Section 6.B. of BKCHD Ordinance 1995-14).


How a Property Owner Can Achieve
Operation & Maintenance Compliance:


For all existing alternative onsite sewage system systems to be considered compliant they must meet the requirements of the operation and maintenance regulations. To achieve compliance the following items must be met:


1. Obtain an annual contract with a certified Maintenance Specialist


2. If the on-site sewage system is not completely accessible for maintenance it will need to be retrofitted. The Maintenance Specialist you contract with will need to determine the accessibility of your onsite sewage system. If there are any accessibility issues related to your onsite sewage system it will be necessary to retrofit the system.

Retrofitting an on-site sewage system
includes but is not limited to the following:

a. Adding risers to septic and pump tanks

b. Finding control valves, and adding valve boxes in order to provide accessibility for future operation and maintenance inspections.

c. On pressure distribution systems the lateral drain field ends must be located in order to add cleanouts (if missing) and add valve boxes over the cleanouts to provide accessibility for future operation and maintenance inspections.


3. If a notice to title for “NOTICE FOR MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING REQUIREMENT BKCHD ORDINANCE 1995-14 AND WAC 246-272-15501 (2)” has not been previously recorded with the Kitsap County Auditors Office the following must be completed:

a. Record the Notice for Maintenance and Monitoring Requirement Notice to Title with the Kitsap County Auditors Office.

b. Return a copy of the recorded Notice to Title to the Health District.


4. After the system has been retrofitted (if necessary) the contracted Maintenance Specialist needs to conduct an operation and maintenance inspection and submit the inspection report to the Health District.



You may download the complete Operation & Maintenance Compliance packet in .pdf format here