Arapahoe County, Colorado
Arapahoe County septic permits and inspection rules
What Arapahoe County, Colorado requires for onsite wastewater systems, and how we handle the paperwork for you.
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Who regulates septic systems in Arapahoe County
Arapahoe County septic rules, section by section
Permit requirements
Arapahoe County Public Health, which took over the septic program from the former Tri-County Health Department, requires an OWTS permit for new installations, repairs, and expansions. The county runs its own OWTS regulation, updated effective 2026, so verify current application requirements on the county site when applying. Reach the program through the county website and search septic systems.
What triggers an inspection
The transfer-of-title process is the main inspection trigger: selling a property with a septic system requires a use permit backed by a current inspection. New installations, repairs, and complaints also bring county inspection.
Transfer of title rules
Arapahoe County runs a dedicated septic transfer-of-title process: before a property with an OWTS sells, the seller obtains a use permit supported by an inspection from a certified inspector, with the tank pumped as part of the process. Start the paperwork when the property lists, not at closing week.
Required pumping frequency
Arapahoe County guidance follows the regional norm of inspecting roughly every four years and pumping when scum and sludge exceed about a quarter of tank volume, which lands at every three to five years for most homes. The transfer inspection at sale includes a pump-out.
Setback rules
Arapahoe County applies at least the Colorado Regulation 43 minimums: 100 feet from a well to the soil treatment area, 50 feet from a well to the tank, 50 feet from surface water, 10 feet from property lines, and 5 feet from a dwelling to the tank. The county's 2026 regulation update can add local requirements, confirm before excavation.
Soil and percolation testing
New and replacement systems require a soil evaluation with test pits and percolation testing where used, and the county reviews designs under its updated OWTS regulation. Eastern Arapahoe County clay soils frequently drive larger soil treatment areas or engineered designs.
How we handle the paperwork
Most homeowners call us because a sale, a repair, or an inspection put a county form in front of them. We pump the tank, perform the inspection, complete the service and inspection records Arapahoe County asks for, and send copies to you, your agent, and the county. You are not left chasing forms. Call 720-427-7557 and tell us where you are in the process.
Which Arapahoe County communities do we serve?
These are the unincorporated communities and named areas inside Arapahoe County where onsite systems actually sit, on parcels that never got tied into a municipal sewer. The county is the permitting authority for all of them, so the guidance on this page is the guidance that governs the ground under each one.
- WatkinsHousehold systems on farm ground and grease traps on the operations going in along I-70.
- ByersFull route day visits for the dryland farm country along I-70 and Bijou Creek.
- BennettPumping, inspection, repair, and installation on both sides of the county line east of Denver.
- StrasburgPumping, inspection, risers, and repair for acreage subdivisions along the Comanche Creek country.
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Septic help in Arapahoe County
Family owned, 20+ years on the Front Range. Call 720-427-7557 or request a free quote.