One real federal health baseline
CDC advises placing a private well at least 50 feet from septic tanks and septic leach fields. We screen that explicitly, while still telling you to check stricter local rules.
Understand the 50-ft well check →U.S. property planning · free browser tool
Can this lot fit a septic system and a private well?
Turn your measured clearances into a practical pre-permit screen. Check the CDC well-separation baseline, compare your property against local minimums you know, and leave with a clean list of what still needs official verification.
✓ No account✓ Runs in your browser✓ EPA + CDC sourced
Source-first: EPA says household onsite systems are regulated by states, tribes and local governments; CDC gives a 50-ft well-siting baseline from septic tanks and leach fields. See sources and limits.
Property screen
Enter the lot you actually have.
Sample values are prefilled so you can see how the tool works. Replace them with field measurements or a survey/site plan. Distances are horizontal planning measurements in feet.
Permit-readiness checklist
Distances are only one part of siting.
Tick what you already know. This checklist is saved only in your browser.
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Why this screen is different
No fake “national septic code.”
EPA states that individual onsite systems are regulated by states, tribes and local governments. A single universal setback table would be misleading.
Your local numbers stay local
If you know your county’s minimum to a property line, foundation, waterbody or traffic area, enter it. The tool compares it without pretending that number applies nationwide.
Plan the other setbacks →Unknowns become a to-do list
Missing rule? The result says “verify” and points you toward the state/local authority. That is more useful than a confident but wrong pass/fail.
Find the regulator path →Useful before money changes hands
Three times to run the screen.
Before buying land
Use a survey or listing map to spot whether the well, house, drainfield and reserve area are competing for the same space.
Before an addition or pool
New structures can consume setback or repair-area space even when the existing septic system works today.
Before making an offer
Turn inspection notes and measured distances into specific questions for the seller, inspector and local permitting office.
Important limit
A passing screen is not approval.
Soil treatment capacity, vertical separation to groundwater or limiting layers, slope, system technology, reserve area, local design flow and permit history can change what is allowed. Use Dakiv to organize the facts, then use the official permit process to decide the site.
EPA’s direction is straightforward:
Contact the local permitting authority for site-specific septic requirements and required setbacks.
Read EPA septic FAQs ↗