What to know about well and septic in Menominee County

Once you leave Menominee, Stephenson, and the villages, most of Menominee County runs on private wells and septic systems. City water and sewer don’t reach out there. If you’re buying a home out in the townships, that’s something to look into before you sign.

Michigan has no single statewide code for residential septic systems. Instead, the rules are left to local health departments. Here, that’s Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties. It writes its own sanitary code and issues the permits to install or replace a septic system, with an office right in the city of Menominee. The department does not require a septic inspection when a property changes hands. Some Michigan communities do, but Menominee County is not one of them. What it does offer is evaluations of existing systems. Buyers and sellers can request one to see how a system stacks up against the current code.

For a buyer, it’s simple: no one is going to check the septic system for you automatically. It’s well worth arranging your own inspection of the well and septic before closing, whether through the health department or a private inspector. That goes double for an older or seasonal property. A little digging now means you know what you’re getting before the money changes hands.