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 rather than municipal water and sewer. If you’re buying a home out in the townships, that’s something to look into before you sign.

Michigan is the only state in the country with no statewide septic code. Instead, the rules are left to local health departments — here, Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties, which writes its own sanitary code and issues the permits for installing or replacing 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, which buyers and sellers can request to check a system against the current code.

What that means for a buyer is 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 — especially on an older or seasonal property, so you know what you’re getting before the money changes hands. You can reach Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties at phdm.org.