Who issues septic permits in Chesterfield Township?

The Macomb County Health Department does, through its Environmental Health Services Division. Its soil evaluation comes first, and the permit follows an acceptable result. The county says an appointment normally comes within three to seven business days. Chesterfield Township's Building Department permits the house and any new water or sewer service lead.

What does septic system installation cost in Chesterfield Township?

The price turns on what the county's soil evaluation finds and the design it approves for your lot. Wet clay and a high water table can mean a bigger field or an engineered design. Tank size, the run from the house, equipment access and restoration move the price too. The county charges its own fees, and we put a free estimate in writing.

Do I have to connect to sewer when it reaches my street?

Michigan law treats a public sewer within 200 feet of a home as available. If the township requires the connection, the home must connect within 18 months of the notice. The township Building Department permits the new sewer lead. We dig the lateral to the main and restore the yard.

Does a Chesterfield Township home with a septic system need an evaluation to sell?

Yes, Macomb County requires an evaluation of any septic system or well before a home sale closes. County staff or a registered private evaluator does it, and the tank is pumped while the evaluator is there. Evaluations stay valid for one year. If one finds a failing system, we handle the repair or the replacement.

Can I build a pool on a Chesterfield Township lot with a septic system?

Yes, with planning around the system. The township's pool application asks for any well and septic system on the plot plan. The Macomb County Health Department sets the distances a system needs and says to keep driveways and patios off it. We lay out the pool and deck around those limits.

Septic System Installation in Chesterfield Township, MI | Sewer, Water Main and Storm Drain Work

Which Chesterfield Township Homes Use Septic Systems?

Township water serves about 45,000 residents, and the 2020 Census counted 45,376 people here. The Department of Public Services runs hundreds of miles of sanitary sewer for the properties connected to it. Some lots still sit beyond that sewer, and those homes use a septic system.

South of 23 Mile and east of Gratiot Avenue, small lots line Lake St. Clair and the canals. North of 23 Mile, the township's plan describes medium to large lots mixed with farmland. The northeast area named for a sewer extension sits in that northern part, east of I-94.

The township's watershed page names failing septic systems among the things hurting Anchor Bay and the Clinton River. Its checklist for a new home also asks for a septic permit and Health Department approval where they apply. In Chesterfield Township, septic is a lot-by-lot question.

Why Chesterfield Township Soil Is Hard on Drain Fields

The USDA soil survey gives two main reasons for its very limited rating here. One is a saturated zone close to the surface, and the other is slow water movement. Lenawee silty clay loam, one of the most common soils here, is a poorly drained lake-plain clay.

Across most of the township, the seasonal water table can rise to within about a foot of the surface. FEMA maps flood zones along the Salt River and local creeks, plus wave zones on the Anchor Bay shore. The township posts its flood plain maps for owners to check.

That ground shapes the design the county approves for each lot. Wet clay can push a lot toward an engineered system, and the county reviews those plans before a permit. We set the tank and build the drain field to the elevations on the approved plan.

Septic Permits and Inspections in Chesterfield Township

Michigan has no statewide septic code, so the Macomb County Health Department sets the rules here. Its Environmental Health Services Division runs a soil evaluation, or perc test, before it permits a new system. It also issues the septic permit and inspects the installed system.

The county asks the owner to have a backhoe on site for the soil evaluation. We can run that dig as part of our excavation and site work. The county sets the appointment only after the MISS DIG 811 clearance date. The permit application then needs a professionally prepared site plan that shows the system and a reserve area.

We build the system to the permit and leave it open for the county inspection. After approval, we backfill and restore the lawn. Chesterfield Township's Building Department issues the permits for the house itself. For a new home, the township's checklist also lists a Macomb County soil erosion permit.

Sewer Laterals and Other Work in Chesterfield Township

Most homes here reach the township sewer through a lateral, which the township calls a sewer service lead. A new water or sewer service lead needs a permit from the Chesterfield Township Building Department. When a lateral fails, we replace it by open trench and restore the yard.

Township water runs through 16,461 service lines, and the township's 2025 water quality report says none are lead. It has used copper from the time it began laying water mains in 1957. Its capital plan also lists water main projects along Jefferson Avenue and 23 Mile. We handle water service line replacement when a line breaks, and we set new connections.

An inground pool in Chesterfield Township needs a building permit and a building bond, plus electrical and mechanical permits. The pool wall must sit at least 6 feet from any building and 7 feet off the rear lot line. For inground pool installation, the township also requires a county soil erosion permit and inspects the steel first. We pour concrete driveways and pave asphalt drives here too.