Summit County, Ohio: septic system and well inspection at sale
Checked on November 9, 2026 against the official rule. Rule set by Summit County Public Health (Summit County Combined General Health District).
General information, not legal advice. This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close.
The rule
| Question | What the official text says |
|---|---|
| What is required | Evaluation of the private water system and the sewage treatment system by Summit County Public Health or a registered evaluator, with a Certificate of Transfer issued, before sale Source: scph.org |
| Triggered by | sale, transfer or conveyance of any parcel served by a private water system or sewage treatment system Source: scph.org |
| Deadline | before the sale, transfer or conveyance; exemption applications approved before closing Source: scph.org |
| Who arranges it | owner (interested party) Source: scph.org |
| Who pays | Fees per Environmental Health Code section 101, paid before the District evaluation or with the private evaluator's report Source: scph.org |
| How long a report is valid | Evaluation submitted within 24 months before transfer counts as an exemption Source: scph.org |
| Exemptions |
Source: scph.org |
| Fee | s.804.07 (fee schedule) Source: scph.org |
| If the system fails | Orders for correction if repairs cannot be done before transfer; owner/buyer submits permit applications, fees and a corrective plan within 60 days of written notice; time to finish set by the District; unpaid costs assessed against the property Source: scph.org |
| Well part | Samples analysed at an Ohio EPA-certified lab for total coliform and E. coli; failure includes unsafe sample, hand-dug well, or lacking required treatment Source: scph.org |
| Who may inspect | water evaluators registered with ODH as Private Water Systems Contractors; sewage evaluators registered as service providers with Summit County Public Health after training. official page (scph.org) Source: scph.org |
| In force since | September 1, 2008 Source: scph.org |
This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close. Rule set by: Summit County Public Health (Summit County Combined General Health District).
Checked on November 9, 2026: read on the official site.
Private wells in Summit County
In 2015 about 107,917 of Summit County’s 541,968 residents (20%) got their drinking water from a private well, by the USGS estimate. That is the 55th highest share of the 88 Ohio counties in the USGS table, and the highest number of private-well users.
This rule covers the well as well as the septic system. USGS models about 9,197 private-well users in Summit County with arsenic above 10 µg/L, EPA’s limit for public water (2010 population base; 95% range 5,310 to 15,038), the 4th highest of 88 Ohio counties. It is a screening estimate, not a result for any one well.
Source: USGS county water use 2015 (Dieter et al., 2018); USGS domestic-well arsenic estimate (Ayotte, Medalie and Qi, 2017). Ranks count the Ohio counties in the USGS table (1 = highest).
Soils and septic systems here
USDA soil surveys rate 100% of Summit County’s rated land “very limited” for a conventional septic drain field, 0% “somewhat limited” and 0% “not limited”, the 36th highest “very limited” share of 88 Ohio counties with survey data. The most common limits: a high water table (saturated soil near the surface) on 77%; slow percolation (dense or clay soil) on 59%; steep slopes on 31%.
Where soils are limited, inspections more often find drain fields that sit in seasonally wet soil, and replacement systems are often mounds or other engineered designs. A county-wide rating, not a test of one lot: a site evaluation decides. Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), via Soil Data Access, rating “ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields”, read November 15, 2026.
Nearest other sale-time rules
Buying or selling near a county line? These are the closest other local rules in our census to Summit County.
| Rule | State | Distance | Covers | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Village of Moreland Hills | Ohio | about 25 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Village of Orange | Ohio | about 25 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Carroll County | Ohio | about 41 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Tuscarawas County | Ohio | about 44 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Macomb County | Michigan | about 128 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
Straight-line distance between county centres (the average of each county’s Census ZIP-area points). Townships, villages and health districts are placed at the centre of their county.