Have a cesspool in Harwich? What the rules say

Free to homeowners
Pumping, backups, Title 5 & repair
Providers must hold the required town permit

Harwich treats cesspools as non-standard. Here is what that means when you sell, renovate, or are waiting for sewer, with links to the town's own documents.

Call (508) 593-9460 Get free help request

Sewage backing up or septic alarm sounding? Stop using water and stay out of any sewage. For a sewage backup, call instead of using the form: (508) 593-9460.

Cutaway of a Cape Cod house: water drains to an underground septic tank, then out to a leach field where it filters through sand.

Harwich Septic Help is a free referral service. We are not a septic company and do not pump, inspect, or repair systems. When you call or send a request, we work on matching you with an independent local septic provider, who must hold the required town permit and may pay us a referral fee. Prices, licensing, scheduling and work are between you and that provider. Call-recording notice: Calls to our number may be recorded to route your request and for quality. A recorded greeting tells every caller this before the call is connected.

Cesspools in Harwich: the short answer

A cesspool is an older type of system: a pit that takes household wastewater with no separate septic tank and leach field. In Harwich, a cesspool is treated as non-standard:

Selling: Harwich's Real Estate Transfer Regulation says systems made up wholly or partly of cesspools "are not grand-fathered and their continuance will not be allowed."
Not selling after all: owners must correct deficiencies whether or not the transfer is completed or the property is taken off the market.
No conditional pass: under state Title 5, cesspools can't be repaired under a conditional pass.
Renovating: a 1992 Health Department policy requires non-compliant systems to be upgraded when you enlarge, renovate, demolish, reconfigure or replace a building.

Sources: Harwich Board of Health Regulations (Real Estate Transfer); Harwich cesspool policy memo (1992); MassDEP.

Cesspool backing up?

Stop using water and stay out of any sewage. See emergency backup steps.

Need a pump-out, inspection or replacement?

Send a free request and we'll work on matching you with an independent provider, who must hold the required town permit.

Call (508) 593-9460

Your options

1. Replace it with a Title 5 system

The usual path. A designer prepares a plan for the Board of Health, and the system is built to Title 5 and Harwich standards. Depending on your watershed, the Board may require nitrogen-reducing technology; see Harwich's nitrogen rules. For sourced price figures, see septic replacement cost on Cape Cod.

2. If sewer is coming: ask about the sewer-area waiver

The Harwich Board of Health's Title Five Inspection or System Upgrade Waiver Form for properties in areas to be sewered lets buyer and seller ask to skip the inspection or the upgrade of a cesspool or failed system and instead connect to sewer once it's available. It's a notarized statement of financial responsibility for the sewer connection signed by all parties, filed with a $125 fee, a floor plan and a letter to the Board. The connection must follow the original order-to-connect timeline, and the Board can still require a septic upgrade if the system becomes a threat to public health. See the Harwich sewer connection guide for phases and timing.

3. A post-sale agreement

Under state Title 5, a sale can proceed if the owner or buyer signs an enforceable agreement with the Board of Health to upgrade the system or connect to sewer within 2 years after the transfer, disclosed and binding on later owners. See our Harwich seller's guide.

Paying for it

Cape Cod AquiFund loans, the Massachusetts septic tax credit and MassHousing's Septic Repair Loan can help; see financing a failed system.

Sources: Harwich BOH waiver form; MassDEP: Buying or Selling Property with a Septic System.

How Harwich Septic Help works

Tell us what is going on. Use the short form: your town, the problem, and how urgent it is. It takes about a minute.
We work on matching your request with one independent provider who serves your town and must hold that town's permit. In Harwich, septage haulers need a Board of Health permit and Title 5 inspectors must be on the town's approved list, so ask the provider to confirm they are on the current list.
The provider contacts you directly, quotes the job and does the work. Price, scheduling and the work are between you and the provider. The referral is free to you; the provider may pay us a fee.

We are not a septic company, inspector or installer, we do not have an office you can visit, and we do not publish reviews or prices we cannot verify.

Request a call back from a local septic provider

Tell us your town and what is going on. We work on matching your request with an independent septic provider serving your area, who must hold the required town permit and contacts you directly. There is no charge to you for the referral.

Call-recording notice: Calls to our number may be recorded to route your request and for quality. A recorded greeting tells every caller this before the call is connected.

For a sewage backup, call instead of using the form: (508) 593-9460.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell a house with a cesspool in Harwich?

Yes, but Harwich doesn't let the cesspool continue. The Board of Health's Real Estate Transfer Regulation says non-standard systems (systems made up in whole or in part of cesspools) are not grandfathered and their continuance will not be allowed, and owners must correct deficiencies whether or not the sale goes through. State Title 5 also allows a transfer when the owner or buyer signs an enforceable agreement with the Board of Health to upgrade or connect to sewer within 2 years after the transfer. Talk to the Harwich Health Department early.

Can a cesspool get a Title 5 conditional pass?

No. MassDEP says soil absorption systems and cesspools cannot be repaired under a conditional pass.

Do I have to replace my cesspool if I renovate?

Possibly. A 1992 Harwich Health Department policy memo says systems not in current compliance will be required to upgrade when an applicant seeks to enlarge, renovate, demolish, reconfigure existing space or replace existing buildings. Ask the Health Department about your project before you apply for the building permit.

My street is getting sewer. Do I still have to replace the cesspool?

Maybe not. The Harwich Board of Health has a waiver form for properties in areas to be sewered, where the parties agree to connect to sewer once it's available instead of upgrading a cesspool or failed system. It lists a $125 filing fee, a floor plan and a letter to the Board, and it still requires a septic upgrade if the system becomes a threat to public health.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these official and public sources. Rules change; confirm with your local Board of Health.