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Septic Pumping, Inspections and Repair in North Andover, MA
North Andover drinks from Lake Cochichewick, and its zoning bans building any septic system in the zones closest to the lake. Call (978) 486-7980 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Town and Title 5 rules on this page
- From the lake watershed to the town line
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Septic in North Andover
What does your system need?
Pumping & Maintenance
Routine tank pumping, filter cleaning and the records your board of health or town may ask for.
Septic Inspections
Title 5 inspections before a Massachusetts sale, and system evaluations for New Hampshire buyers and owners.
Repair & Leach Field Replacement
Broken baffles, failed pumps, backups and leach fields that no longer take water, permitted the way your town requires.
New System Design & Installation
A licensed designer or engineer draws the plan, the town or state approves it, and a permitted installer builds it.
Not sure where to start?
(978) 486-7980Tell us whether the house is in the lake watershed and what the system is doing, and we'll help you work out the job.
Permits
Septic permits and rules in North Andover
The Health Department and Board of Health handle septic systems, and the main filings are online: the Septic Disposal System Construction Permit, the Soil Test Application, the Title 5 Official Inspection Form, the Septic-Installer Permit and the hauler application (Permits and Regulations). The fee schedule is posted as a separate file; ask the Health Department for current amounts. Its FAQ says existing septic plans can be found at the Health Department, Title 5 inspectors must be licensed by the state and locally, a replacement needs a design engineer, survey, soil and perc tests and a floor plan and can take two to three months, and no permanent structures are allowed on septic fields (Health FAQ).
- Who handles septic
- Health Department / Board of Health
- Local rules
- Board of Health Septic Regulations, current February 25, 2010
- Installation season
- March 1 to December 1, weather permitting; applications before November 15 (regulation §4.2)
- Inspections
- At least four per system
- Lake Cochichewick watershed
- No septic construction in the Non-Disturbance and Conservation zones (zoning amended June 17, 2021)
- Filing
- Soil test, construction permit, installer permit and Title 5 form online
Stricter than Title 5. The Board of Health adopted its septic regulations in 1984 because local conditions require a more stringent standard than Title 5; the current version is dated February 25, 2010 (Septic Regulations). Among the differences:
- A cesspool or privy found at a Title 5 inspection is deemed a failed system and must be replaced (§1.1).
- A tank or distribution box more than 36 inches below grade needs a riser and cover to within 9 inches of grade (§1.2).
- Plans must say whether the lot is in the Lake Cochichewick watershed and show streams, drains, wetlands and wells within 150 feet, or 400 feet in the watershed (§3.2).
- Every foundation is assumed to have a foundation drain unless the plan says otherwise (§3.2(k)), and the Health Department may adjust the estimated seasonal high groundwater (§2.2).
- Installation runs only from March 1 to December 1, weather permitting, and applications are due before November 15 (§4.2); each system gets at least four inspections (§4.10).
- Tight tanks require a public hearing (§3.4); pressure, innovative/alternative and tight-tank systems need an operation and maintenance contract of at least two years (§6).
- Installer certification takes 75% on a written and field exam and rests with an individual, not a company (§7.2); haulers file pumping records with the Health Department monthly (§7.3).
State rules. A sale needs a Title 5 inspection within two years before closing, or three if the system was pumped every year with the records attached, by a MassDEP-approved System Inspector (buying or selling with a septic system). Designs come from a Registered Sanitarian or a Massachusetts-registered professional engineer, and nothing goes into a new or repaired system until the Certificate of Compliance is issued (310 CMR 15.000). Ask whether your contractor is a registered Home Improvement Contractor (Contractor Hub), and expect Dig Safe to be called at least 72 hours before digging, weekends and holidays excluded.
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by December 2026. New England Septic Pros is a referral service. We don't design, permit or install septic systems; your engineer and installer file with the Health Department.
Sewer or septic
Sewer or septic in North Andover
The region's plant is here. The Greater Lawrence Sanitary District's treatment plant sits in North Andover (GLSD communities served), and it also receives septage hauled from member communities, at a single rate of $0.085 a gallon since July 1, 2023 (GLSD septage disposal). The town runs 20 sewer pump stations (Sewer System Pumping Stations). It doesn't publish what share of homes is sewered or which neighborhoods remain on septic.
Connecting. The General Bylaws require a written license from the Board of Selectmen before a drain is connected to a common sewer (General Bylaws, sewers); we found no rule forcing connection when sewer becomes available. In the lake watershed, sewer can make a difference: a structure under 2,500 square feet in the Non-Disturbance Buffer Zone may expand by less than 50% of its floor area by special permit if it will be connected to municipal sewer, and work done as part of building the municipal sewer is exempt from the Conservation Zone prohibitions (Watershed Protection District, §195-4.19).
Water
Water North Andover protects
Lake Cochichewick. The lake is the town's drinking water source, with raw water flowing by gravity from an intake in the lake into the treatment process (Treatment Process). The Watershed Protection District, amended at Town Meeting on June 17, 2021, prohibits construction of any septic system in two zones: the Non-Disturbance Buffer Zone (on lots created on or before October 24, 1994, within 250 feet of the lake and 100 feet of wetlands; on later lots, roughly 150 to 250 feet from the lake and 75 to 150 feet from wetlands) and the Conservation Zone (on later lots, within 150 feet of the lake or 75 feet of wetlands). Farther out, the Non-Discharge Buffer Zone requires a special permit for surface and subsurface discharges (Watershed Protection District, §195-4.19). The town has an address lookup for whether a property is in the watershed, and the Health FAQ adds that irrigation wells aren't allowed there.
A low lake. A mandatory outdoor water ban has been in place since September 15, 2026 because the lake is low, and the town says it will stay "for the foreseeable future" (water ban notice).
Wetlands and brooks. The town's wetland regulations permit no activity, including excavating, within 25 feet of a resource area, sets a 50-foot No-Build Zone, and protects a 200-foot riverfront along eight named brooks and rivers (Wetland Protection Regulations). With the Board of Health's own setbacks and 400-foot mapping inside the watershed, a lot near water can leave little room for a replacement leach field.
North Andover's homes
Homes of every age
North Andover's Housing Production Plan for 2018–2022 counts 11,366 housing units (2015 American Community Survey); about 18% were built before 1940, about 60% before 1979, and about 56% are single-family detached houses (Housing Production Plan).
The age of a house matters for its system. The town's rule that a cesspool found at a Title 5 inspection must be replaced falls hardest on the oldest homes, and a tank or distribution box buried more than 36 inches deep needs a riser and cover to within 9 inches of grade. The Health Department keeps septic plans on file, so ask for yours before a sale. MassDEP's guidance is to pump at least once every three years (caring for your septic system).
FAQ
North Andover septic questions
Can a septic system be built near Lake Cochichewick?
Not in the closest zones. The Watershed Protection District bylaw, amended June 17, 2021, prohibits construction of any septic system in the Non-Disturbance Buffer Zone and the Conservation Zone, and requires a special permit for subsurface discharges in the Non-Discharge Buffer Zone farther out. The town has an address lookup to check whether a property is in the watershed.
When can septic systems be installed in North Andover?
The Board of Health's septic regulations (current version February 25, 2010) set an installation season of March 1 to December 1, weather permitting, and require applications before November 15. The Health FAQ says a replacement can take two to three months from design to approval, so a failure late in the fall may not be rebuilt until spring.
My Title 5 inspection found a cesspool. What now?
Under the town's septic regulations, a cesspool or privy found at a Title 5 inspection is deemed a failed system and must be replaced. State rules give two years to upgrade a failed system unless the Board of Health or MassDEP sets another schedule.
Does my Title 5 inspector need a town license?
Yes. The Health Department's FAQ says Title 5 inspectors must be licensed by the state and locally, and the inspection form itself is filed through the town's online permit portal.
What does it cost me to use New England Septic Pros?
Nothing. Asking is free for homeowners; the contractor prices the job, and the price and contract are between you and them.
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