How do I Locate my septic tank lids?
Locating your septic tank can be a little tricky sometimes, we recommend calling
Peterborough Public Health and asking for your septic drawings from when it was installed, if
your system is older they may not have any drawings. In the case of no drawings, here are
some things we recommend.
Step 1: Find your sewer pipe in your basement (Likely a 4 inch pipe)
Step 2: Follow that pipe outside, this will give you a general direction of where your
septic is. Septic systems are usually within 10-30ft of the house.
Step 3: Once you have a general idea as to where it is, start digging. It can be anywhere
from 2 inches to 5 feet in the ground. There will typically be two lids, unless the system is pre- 1950’s, then there is a chance there may only be one lid. If your system is equipped with a
pump chamber, then there could be a third lid. These lids will be about 3 feet apart.
Example of a two compartment septic system:
