Septic systems in Cumberland, Maine.
Cumberland's public sewer covers only part of town. According to the draft comprehensive plan, the system was built between the late 1970s and 1985 because of failing septic systems in parts of the Foreside and several Main Street neighborhoods, with expansions in 1989, 1992, 1994 and 2021, and no further extensions are planned. The town's sewer page lists the streets that are served. Everywhere else, including most of West Cumberland and the rural residential districts, a house depends on its own septic system.
Cumberland's septic rules
The plan summarizes the local standards. Every system must be designed by a licensed site evaluator or engineer and meet the state plumbing code. Systems may not be placed on soils with severe limitations, named as Chocorua, Whately, Sebago and Saco-Limerick, because of drainage and flooding concerns. A typical system must be at least 100 feet from the normal high-water mark of a water body, 300 feet for systems over 2,000 gallons a day, and that setback cannot be reduced by variance.
Wells get more flexibility: the separation is generally 200 feet but can drop to 100 feet with engineering data showing no harm to water quality and approval from the town's plumbing inspector. Because most homes in town use bedrock wells, locating the leach field against the house's own well and the neighbors' is often the tightest constraint on a lot.
Soils and lot size on a replacement
Cumberland's soil mapping shows excessively drained soils concentrated in the northwest corner and very poorly drained soils along the waterways, and the plan notes that better-drained soils generally support septic systems better. Zoning builds in room for them: in the RR1 district a lot needs four acres without sewer and two with it, and MDR and LDR lots are similarly larger where there is no sewer connection.
A replacement system is installed after the site evaluator's design is approved. The work runs from excavation through the tank, distribution and leach field, and it ends with the yard regraded and seeded. On lots near Forest Lake, where the plan notes most lots are small and were built between 1920 and 1940, space for a new field and its setbacks is usually the hardest part of the design.
For a lot on one of the listed sewer streets, the town's Sewer Connections page offers a connection permit application, which is worth checking before a replacement septic is designed.
Septic Installs · Excavation
How we handle septic systems
We install new and replacement septic systems for homes and camps across the Cumberland area. From site work and excavation through tank, distribution and leach field install, we coordinate with your site evaluator and leave the yard graded, seeded and clean.
See the full septic systems service page or everything we do in Cumberland, Maine.
Septic Systems in nearby towns
- Septic Systems in Yarmouth
- Septic Systems in North Yarmouth
- Septic Systems in Falmouth
- Septic Systems in Gray
- Septic Systems in Windham
More services in Cumberland
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- Landscaping in Cumberland
- Landscape Design in Cumberland
- Planting & Garden Beds in Cumberland
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Cumberland
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Cumberland
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Cumberland
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Cumberland
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Cumberland
- Tree & Shrub Services in Cumberland
- Tree Removal in Cumberland
Sources for the local facts on this page
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