Septic System Ownership in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia is a hundred percent sewered community which means there are no private septic systems within the district. However, in the surrounding states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia about 25% of residences depend on private onsite sewage systems.

The Mid-Atlantic Region

The five states surrounding the District of Columbia have been grouped into a "mid-Atlantic region" for the purposes of work with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Working with the state governments, the EPA created voluntary national guidelines for the management of septic systems. Additionally, the EPA supports the guidelines, which the five states have "formally" or "functionally" adopted, with an implementation handbook and a septic system design manual.

Contact Information

Contact information for the state government offices working with the EPA can be found here.