Septic and cesspool help in Portsmouth

The town's deadlines

Portsmouth's Wastewater Management District ordinance set these:

• First inspection: every property needed a first maintenance or functional inspection by December 31, 2022. Island Park and Portsmouth Park had an earlier deadline of July 1, 2017.
• Routine inspections after that: every five years, or more often if required. Cesspools are inspected every two years, and holding tanks every year.
• Cesspools near storm drains: those within 50 feet had to be replaced by January 1, 2020.
• All other cesspools: replaced by January 1, 2025, or at the point of sale, whichever came first.

In other words, a cesspool still in use in Portsmouth today is past the town's deadline.

What that means in practice

• If you haven't had an inspection, you're overdue, and that's the place to start.
• If you still have a cesspool, replacing it isn't something to schedule for later. The ordinance allows penalties of up to $100 per violation per day.
• If you're buying, ask the seller for the inspection report and confirm what kind of system is in the ground. The state's one-year rule applies on top of the town's.

Who can inspect

Inspectors have to be registered through the University of Rhode Island's onsite wastewater training program. Ask any inspector for their registration before you book.

Loans

Portsmouth participates in the Community Septic System Loan Program, with low-interest loans of up to $25,000 in most programs for septic repairs and cesspool replacements. Apply through the town. Loan details.

Questions worth asking in Portsmouth

• Are you registered through URI's onsite wastewater training program?
• Is there a first inspection on file with the town for my address?
• When is my next routine inspection due: two years, five years, or annually?
• If I still have a cesspool, how quickly can a design go to DEM?
• Is my property in Island Park or Portsmouth Park, where the earlier deadlines applied?

If you've fallen behind, don't sit on it. Getting an inspection done and a replacement design started shows the town you're moving, and it's the same work you'd have to do anyway.

Tell us on the form: your neighborhood, whether the property has had its first inspection, and whether it's on a cesspool, a septic system, or a holding tank.