What to know about well and septic in Ontonagon County

Ontonagon County is one of the wildest, least-crowded counties in Michigan. It’s the third-largest by area, but third-smallest by population. Almost all of it runs on private wells and septic systems rather than city water and sewer. Outside the Village of Ontonagon, you’re in well-and-septic country. That means the cabins along Lake Gogebic, the homes scattered through the Ottawa National Forest, and the camps near the Porcupine Mountains. If you’re buying out here, that’s something to look into before you sign.

Michigan has no single statewide code for residential septic systems. The rules are left to local health departments instead. Here that’s the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, which serves five counties. It issues the permits for installing or replacing a septic system. It works under a shared Upper Peninsula Environmental Health Code. The department does not require a septic inspection when a property changes hands. Some Michigan communities do require one, but Ontonagon County is not one of them. What it does offer is an existing-system inspection. It performs those mainly for real-estate sales and home-loan evaluations, when a buyer, seller, or lender asks.

For a buyer, that means one simple thing. Unless your lender requires it, no one is going to check the septic system for you. It’s well worth arranging your own well and septic inspection before closing, through the health department or a private inspector. That goes double for an older or seasonal lake or camp property. You want to know what you’re getting before the money changes hands.