[HISTORY: Adopted by the Wilton Town Meeting 8-24-1953. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The provisions of the Sanitary Code shall apply throughout the geographical limits of the Town of Wilton.
The provisions of the Sanitary Code of the State of Connecticut relating to matters not specifically provided for hereunder are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof. Particular attention is directed to Regulation 102, Abatement of nuisance; Regulation 104, Garbage and refuse; Regulation 105, Manufacturing and other wastes; Regulation 111, Stagnant water; and Regulation 127, Minimum requirements for drainage and toilet systems, as set forth in the State Sanitary Code.
A. 
The Town Health Officer and the First Selectman shall each have the power and duty to enforce the provisions of this Code.
B. 
The First Selectman, with Board of Selectmen approval, shall appoint a Town Sanitary Inspector to assist in the enforcement of the provisions of this Code. As hereinafter used, the term "Town Sanitary Authority" shall have reference to the Town Health Officer or the First Selectman or the Town Sanitary Inspector.
[Amended 4-7-1992]
Any person who violates any provisions of this Code shall be fined not more than $25 for any single violation. Each day such violation is continued after due notice has been given by the Town Sanitary Authority shall be deemed a separate violation and shall be punishable as such.
All human excrement must be disposed of in properly managed sewers, septic-tank systems, cesspools, privy vaults or by other means approved by the Town Sanitary Authority in accordance with the following requirements:
A. 
No human excrement or material containing human excrement shall be disposed of in such a manner that it is likely to gain access to any waters except under conditions approved by the State Department of Health.
B. 
Every privy vault, toilet or other sewage-disposal system shall be kept in a sanitary condition at all times and must be so constructed and maintained as to prevent the escape of odors and to exclude animals, poultry and flies. Material removed from any privy vault, toilet or other sewage-disposal system shall be disposed of by burial or by other sanitary methods approved by the Town Sanitary Authority.
C. 
No material from any privy vault, septic tank or cesspool situated on any watershed the water of which is used for drinking purposes shall be deposited within 50 feet of the high-water mark of any reservoir or stream on such watershed and such material if deposited by any place on such watershed shall be disposed of by burial or by other methods approved by the State Department of Health, so that no portion of the material can escape or be washed into a water-supply stream or reservoir.
D. 
No kitchen wastes, laundry water, sink water or toilet wastes shall be allowed to discharge or flow into any gutter, street, roadway or public place, nor shall such material discharge on to any private property so as to create a nuisance or condition detrimental to health.
No sewage-disposal system shall hereafter be constructed or rebuilt for any dwelling, apartment, boardinghouse, hotel, restaurant or other building unless an application for a permit has been filed with and a permit issued by the Town Sanitary Authority.
Unless otherwise permitted in writing by the Town Sanitary Authority, the following minimum requirements for the installation of any private sewage-disposal system hereafter constructed or rebuilt shall be enforced:
A. 
House sewers: House sewers shall not be less than four inches in diameter. The grade shall be at least 1/4 inch per foot. Pipe for such house sewers shall be of cast iron, with headed joints, to a point at least eight feet beyond the foundation wall of any cellar or basement. Portions of house sewers within 75 feet of a well shall be of cast iron, with leaded joints, but no portion of such sewer line, however constructed, shall be within 25 feet of a well.
B. 
Cesspools: Cesspools shall not be constructed for the disposal of sewage unless preceded by septic-tank treatment or unless used for sink drainage or laundry water only.
C. 
Location of system: No septic tank, cesspool, tile field, seepage bed or privy vault shall without the approval of the Town Sanitary Authority be constructed within 75 feet of a well or spring or within 50 feet of a human habitation other than the building served, nor shall be constructed within 50 feet of a tributary of a water-supply reservoir or any ground or surface-water drain tributary to such reservoir. No part of the system shall be located within 15 feet of a lot line or within 50 feet of any stream, pond, lake, without approval by the Town Sanitary Authority. No system shall be laid out in areas where high-ground water, surface flooding or ledge rock will interfere with its effective operation.
D. 
Population served: In all of the following specifications, one family is considered as five persons. Where it is known that a larger number of persons is to be served by a single system, proportional increases in the sizes of the system shall be made. For houses containing more than two bedrooms, the system shall be based on an estimate of two persons per bedroom. Similar considerations apply to a house of more than one family, or to a boardinghouse.
E. 
Septic tanks: Septic tanks shall be provided for water-carriage sewage disposal. No tank shall be located within 15 feet of a house. They shall be constructed with watertight walls and bottom, with inlets baffled or submerged for a depth of 12 inches and outlets baffled or submerged to a depth of at least 18 inches below the surface of liquid in the tank but not more than 1/2 of the liquid depth. With two compartment tanks there should be adequate connections about at mid-depth, and 2/3 or more of the required capacity should be in the first compartment. Septic tanks shall be made with removable covers or manholes so as to provide access to the tank for purposes of cleaning; such covers shall be flytight. At least two manholes shall be provided for tanks more than 10 feet long and at least one manhole per compartment. No septic tank shall have a liquid capacity of less than 500 gallons below the outlet invert. For a household using a garbage grinder connected to the house sewer, the septic tank capacity shall be increased at least 50%. The minimum liquid depth of septic tanks shall be 36 inches, measured from the bottom to the invert of the outlet.
  Minimum liquid capacities for more than one family are as follows:
Two families — 1,000 gallons.
Three families — 1,500 gallons.
Larger sizes proportional.
F. 
Disposal of septic-tank effluent: Disposal of septic-tank effluent may be by means of tile or other accepted distributing pipe laid in screened gravel or broken stone, or by means of leaching cesspools, at a distance of at least 20 feet from any dwelling or building on the same property. No part of any leaching system shall be within 25 feet of a storm drain, cellar drain, or subsoil drain which discharges into a stream, culvert, or onto the surface of the ground unless such drains are constructed of cast-iron pipe with leaded joints. No part of such leaching system shall be within 15 feet of the top of an embankment where seepage may escape from the embankment. Seepage systems shall not cross water-service lines.
  Leaching cesspools may be preferable where the amount of area is limited or where porous soil is at a greater depth than can be secured by tile fields. They are not recommended where ground water may interfere with their operation, or where soil of better seepage quality is found at shallow depth.
G. 
Classification of soil: In making tests for classification of soil, such tests shall be considered in the light of groundwater variations as specified in subsection C. The classification of soil at the proposed location of a seepage system shall be determined by soil tests made as follows:
  For cesspools, a pit about one foot square shall be dug. This should extend to the depth of the proposed cesspool. For tile fields, the pit may be about one foot square and dug to a depth of the proposed trenches, usually 18 to 30 inches. Before observations are made the pit shall be thoroughly wet down by filling it to a depth of at least 12 inches or more. The pit shall then be refilled with water to a depth of 12 inches or more, and the rate of drop of water measured for a period of 30 to 60 minutes under normal conditions. The minimum uniform rate of drop should be used in calculating seepage areas. When tests are made, consideration should be given to the finished grade of building sites, so that results will correspond to the absorptive value of the soil in which leaching systems will be constructed. In investigating soil conditions for a large area, test pits may have to be dug at a rate of one per acre or even one per lot. Also in investigating soil conditions for a large area, more than one deep test pit is frequently desirable in that this may disclose available good seepage soil below normal depths. Where the observed drop is at a rate faster than one inch in three minutes (coarse sand or gravel), the soil shall be considered as Class A; where the rate is slower than one inch in three minutes and faster than one inch in 10 minutes (fine sand or light sandy loam), the soil shall be considered as Class B; where the rate is slower than one inch in 10 minutes and faster than one inch in 30 minutes (clay with some sand, gravel or silt; not for very tight soils), the soil shall be considered as Class C; where the rate is slower than one inch in 30 minutes, the soil shall be considered as Class D and special consideration is needed to avoid nuisance conditions. In some Class D soils it may be impossible or impracticable to construct a subsurface method for the disposal of sewage.
Leaching Cesspools
CLASS A SOIL
Number of Families
Number of Cesspools
Diameter in Feet
Depth Below Inlet in Feet
1
1
5
5
2
1
8
6
3
2
6
6
CLASS B SOIL
Number of Cesspools
Diameter in Feet
Depth Below Inlet in Feet
1
6
7
2
6
7
2
8
8
CLASS C SOIL
Number of Cesspools
Diameter in Feet
Depth Below Inlet in Feet
2
6
7
2
9
8
3
9
8
  The distance between cesspools shall be at least three times the diameter of the cesspools, the walls shall be surrounded by about 12 inches of screened gravel or broken stone to prevent the entrance of soil.
Minimum Linear Feet of Tile Lines with
Open Joints in Stone Filled Trenches
Number of Families
Class A Soil 2 Feet Wide
Class B Soil 2 Feet Wide
Class C Soil 2 Feet Wide
1
100
150
200
2
200
300
350
3
300
450
500
These dimensions may be modified to suit local conditions provided equivalent absorptive area is made available. Under normal conditions, however, trench width should not exceed 30 inches.
H. 
Required sizes and construction of leaching areas: Unglazed drain tile, at least four inches in diameter, laid with open joints (1/4 to 1/2 inch) in shallow trenches of the width indicated and about 18 inches deep may be used. Pipe of vitrified tile or other acceptable material with suitable perforations or adequate spacing may also be used. All trenches should follow contours with the bottoms of the individual trenches level. The upper portions of joint openings should be protected by strips of tar paper or other suitable material. Tile shall be laid near the top of a layer of one inch screened gravel or broken stone placed to a depth of at least 10 inches in the trenches. The minimum depth of stone under tile invert shall be at least 1/2 the width of trench, bottom trench area only shall be used in determining total absorptive area. Tile lines shall be laid on a grade not exceeding two to four inches per 100 feet. A layer of salt hay or tar paper shall be placed over the gravel before backfilling the trenches. Spacing between adjacent sides of trenches for tile lines shall be at least three times the width of the trench. When space between trenches is also excavated and backfilled with one-inch stone or screened gravel, only 1/3 of the total bottom area shalt be considered effective. Construction shall be such as to provide for proper distribution of settled sewage to trenches. Better distribution, particularly for large systems with several trenches, is secured in tile fields by using siphon dosing apparatus to apply the septic-tank effluent. Where elevations are not sufficient to permit use of siphons, diverting boxes with several outlets of the same elevation to individual trenches shall be used.
  Length of individual tile laterals shall not exceed 75 feet except that in installations where dosing apparatus is used, a maximum length of 100 feet may be used.
  If slope of the main header exceeds one foot per 100 feet, provision shall be made for reducing the velocity of the septic-tank effluent ahead of the seepage system by properly located and constructed distribution box or drop-manhole construction.
  Depth of lateral inverts below ground surface should preferably be between 12 inches and 24 inches, but depths up to 36 inches or greater may be used if warranted by conditions of topography or more favorable absorption capacity of soil at that depth.
I. 
Disposal of sewage in practically impervious, Class D, or wet soil: Where such conditions exist, no sewage-disposal system shall be built, unless special plans are prepared and carried out in accordance with requirements of the Town Sanitary Authority. In impervious soil or rock it may be necessary to install a chemical toilet or privy vault instead of having a water-carriage system.
J. 
Escape of overflow: No drainage from sewage-disposal system shall be discharged into a street gutter or onto the surface of the ground.
K. 
Privies: Privies shall be constructed with adequate storage space for excreta, with self-closing seat covers and flytight vault, and with screened vent from the vault to the atmosphere. Privies shall be constructed so as to permit ready cleaning.
L. 
Other drainage: No ground-water drainage or drainage from roofs, cellars or yards shall discharge into any portion of a sewage-disposal system. Separate facilities shall be provided for such drainage.
M. 
Sink drainage: Sink drainage or laundry-water systems, where no water-flush toilet fixtures are used, shall be constructed with at least 1/3 (if the garbage grinder is provided, at least 1/2) the capacity specified for usual house-sewerage systems.
N. 
Final inspection and approval: No part of a septic-tank system shall be covered before it shall have been inspected and approved by the Town Sanitary Authority.
A. 
No well shall be dug, drilled or otherwise constructed for any dwelling, apartment, boardinghouse, hotel, restaurant or other building, unless an application for a permit has been filed with, and a permit issued by, the Town Sanitary Authority.
B. 
No well shall be constructed in any manner within 75 feet of any discharge part of sewage-disposal system.