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Septic Pumping, Inspections and Repair in Woburn, MA
A May 2026 draft hazard plan puts about 95% of Woburn on MWRA sewer and counts roughly 400 septic systems still in service. If yours is one of them, the distance to the nearest sewer decides a lot. Call (978) 486-7980 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- City and state septic rules on this page
- Horn Pond to the Burlington line
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Septic in Woburn
What does the 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.
Repair or tie in?
(978) 486-7980Tell us what the system is doing and roughly where you are, and we'll help you work out which way Woburn's rules point.
Permits
Septic permits and rules in Woburn
The Board of Health handles public health in Woburn and meets on the last Thursday of the month; the health office is at 781-897-5920. Its web page has no septic, Title 5, soil testing, installer or hauler material, and we found no local septic regulations or fees posted (Board of Health). The city's Municipal Code does give the board a septic role: it issues the notices that order sewer connections, and where no sewer is available, a private system must meet Board of Health and MassDEP requirements (Title 13, §§ 13.3.3–13.3.4).
- Board of Health
- 781-897-5920; meets the last Thursday of the month
- Sewer within 500 feet
- Connection can be ordered within 90 days; repairing a septic tank or cesspool is unlawful
- Residential sewer connection fee
- $500 per equivalent unit per utility (Title 13, amended December 26, 2007)
- Groundwater Protection District
- New systems capped at 110 gpd per quarter acre or 440 gpd per acre; like-for-like repairs exempt
- Wetlands
- 150-foot local buffer; Conservation Commission policy of no disturbance within 25 feet
State rules. Where a home is off sewer, Title 5 applies. A sale needs an inspection within two years before closing, or three years if the system was pumped every year with records, and the inspector must be MassDEP-approved; NEIWPCC keeps the approved list (MassDEP buying or selling guide). Adding a bedroom or changing the footprint can also trigger an inspection. MassDEP says the local board of health must approve the system design and installation, and that you find a licensed septage hauler through the board (MassDEP consumer tips). Title 5 itself bars building, upgrading or expanding a system where sewer connection is feasible, with listed exceptions (310 CMR 15.004).
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by May 2027. New England Septic Pros is a referral service. We don't pump, inspect or connect anything; the contractor files the permits.
Sewer or septic
Sewer or septic in Woburn
Mostly sewer. The city's first sewer went in in 1905. The draft 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan, posted May 12, 2026, says approximately 95% of Woburn is served by the MWRA sewer system through more than 170 miles of collection and interceptor lines, that over 13,500 residential and commercial units are connected, and that about 400 septic systems are still in service (draft Hazard Mitigation Plan 2026). The plan is a draft and doesn't say which streets those systems are on.
The 500-foot rule. Title 13, § 13.3.3, says owners on streets with a public sewer must connect within 90 days of notice from the Board of Health, provided the sewer is within 500 feet of the property line, and that the connections shall be made without exception unless the Board of Health determines otherwise. The same section makes it unlawful to build or repair a privy, septic tank or cesspool where the sewer is within 500 feet and accessible (Title 13). Before anyone designs a septic repair in Woburn, find out how far the nearest sewer main is.
Connection costs. Under § 13.1.4, amended December 26, 2007, a residential connection costs $500 per equivalent unit per utility ($500 minimum), plus a building-sewer permit and connection fee set by the Superintendent with City Council approval and a separate infiltration and inflow fee. Sump pumps, downspouts and foundation drains can't go into the sewer (§ 13.3.5). We found no sewer extension project under way; the city's only listing in MassDEP's 2026 Clean Water plan is a stormwater asset management plan (2026 IUP).
Water
Water Woburn protects
The Horn Pond aquifer. Woburn pumps part of its own drinking water from five wells in the Horn Pond aquifer, treated at the Horn Pond plant; MWRA's 2025 drinking water report for Woburn puts the split at 47.5% local and 52.5% MWRA (MWRA report; Water Department). The draft hazard plan says the groundwater fed by the Horn Pond catchment provides the city's water supply.
Groundwater Protection District. Zoning Section 15, mapped June 20, 1995, prohibits individual sewage disposal systems designed for more than 110 gallons per quarter acre per day under one ownership, or, if greater, 440 gallons on any one acre. A replacement or repair that doesn't increase design capacity is exempt (Section 15). Adding bedrooms on septic inside the district runs into that cap.
Wetlands. Woburn's Wetlands Ordinance, amended in May 2026, sets a 150-foot local buffer, wider than the state's 100 feet, and a 200-foot riverfront area. Commission policy allows no disturbance closer than 25 feet, groundwork within 50 feet needs a Notice of Intent, and the rules were amended effective November 1, 2026 (wetland laws and policies). Leach field work near Horn Pond, the Aberjona or a brook starts with the Conservation Commission.
Woburn's homes
An old city with a short septic list
About 35% of Woburn's residential buildings date from before 1950, and roughly 17.6% from before 1900, according to the Housing Production Plan approved August 4, 2026 (Housing Production Plan). Against more than 13,500 connected units, the draft hazard plan's count of about 400 septic systems is a small group.
If you're buying one of those homes, ask for the last Title 5 report and pumping records, and ask the city how far the nearest public sewer runs from the lot line. That distance decides whether a repair is allowed at all.
FAQ
Woburn septic questions
How many Woburn homes are still on septic?
The city's draft 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan, posted in May 2026 and not yet adopted, says about 95% of Woburn is served by MWRA sewer and that about 400 septic systems are still in service. It doesn't say where they are.
Can I repair my septic tank if a sewer is nearby?
Not if the sewer is within 500 feet. Title 13 of the Municipal Code makes it unlawful to build or repair a septic tank, cesspool or privy where a public sewer is within 500 feet and accessible, and lets the Board of Health order connection within 90 days of notice. Where no sewer is available, a private system has to meet Board of Health and MassDEP requirements.
What does it cost to connect to Woburn sewer?
Title 13, as amended December 26, 2007, sets a residential connection fee of $500 per equivalent unit per utility, plus a building-sewer permit and connection fee set by the Superintendent with City Council approval and a separate infiltration and inflow fee. The contractor's work is on top of that.
Can a septic system in the Groundwater Protection District be enlarged?
Only within the cap. In the district, mapped in 1995 to protect aquifers and recharge areas, new individual systems can't be designed for more than 110 gallons per quarter acre per day, or 440 gallons on any one acre if that is greater. A repair or replacement that doesn't add design capacity is exempt.
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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