Septic systems in Gorham, Maine.
Only part of Gorham is on public sewer. The Portland Water District collects and treats the town's wastewater, and the 2016 Comprehensive Plan describes the largest service area as most of Gorham Village and the Industrial Park, plus Little Falls, all piped to the treatment plant in Westbrook. That added up to about 16 miles of sewer and roughly 1,600 connections at the time. Outside those areas, including most homes in the Suburban Residential and Rural districts, the house runs on a septic system.
We install new and replacement septic systems: excavation, tank, distribution and leach field. We coordinate with the owner's site evaluator, and when the system is in, the yard is graded and seeded.
Soils, lot size and the state's rules
Maine's Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules govern every system, and the Maine CDC program also sets the rules for site evaluators and local plumbing inspectors. Gorham adds its own soil test: the town code bars septic disposal in soil rated poor or very poor in the USDA Soil Suitability Guide, and it adopts the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District's 1970 interim soil survey for Gorham, recognizing that some soils can be modified to make a site workable.
Soil is also why Gorham's lot sizes jump outside the sewer area. An Urban Residential lot needs 10,000 square feet with water and sewer and 20,000 without. The Suburban Residential rules state outright that public utilities reduce the limits soil puts on development, and give a density bonus when they are used.
Replacements near water
Inside Gorham's shoreland zone, clearing woody vegetation to site a new system or its fill extensions may not happen within 75 feet of a water body or the upland edge of a wetland, and a holding tank is not allowed for a first-time residential use. On a lot near a stream in North Gorham, those two lines can decide where a replacement field fits.
Many of the town's older septic lots were built decades ago, and replacement design starts with the evaluator's test pits. Once the field is set, disturbed ground is loamed and seeded promptly, since the town's erosion standards require quick permanent cover, and so the owner is not left with a bare mound through winter. Where a lot is close to the edge of the sewer area south of the Village, it is also worth asking the Portland Water District whether an extension is planned, since the plan identifies potential sewer lines there.
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 Gorham, Maine.
Septic Systems in nearby towns
- Septic Systems in Westbrook
- Septic Systems in Standish
- Septic Systems in Windham
- Septic Systems in Scarborough
- Septic Systems in Portland
More services in Gorham
- Hardscaping in Gorham
- Retaining Walls in Gorham
- Landscaping in Gorham
- Landscape Design in Gorham
- Planting & Garden Beds in Gorham
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Gorham
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Gorham
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Gorham
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Gorham
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Gorham
- Tree & Shrub Services in Gorham
- Tree Removal in Gorham
Sources for the local facts on this page
- Town of Gorham — 2016 Comprehensive Plan (archived copy)
- Portland Water District — Wastewater
- Maine CDC — Subsurface Wastewater Program
- Gorham Land Use and Development Code, Chapter 2 — General Standards of Performance (archived copy)
- Gorham Land Use and Development Code, Chapter 1 — Zoning Regulations (archived copy)
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Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine