Cesspool Pumping: What a Cesspool Is, Why It Is Treated as Outdated and What Replacement Involves

A cesspool is a bottomless or perforated tank that lets untreated wastewater into the ground. It is not a septic tank. Washington's Department of Health says a cesspool may meet the definition of a failure and need to be abandoned and replaced. Pumping empties it, but pumping does not make it a treatment system.

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Last reviewed: October 26, 2026

What a cesspool is

EPA describes a cesspool as a shallow underground system for disposing of sanitary waste, usually a concrete cylinder with an open bottom or perforated sides. Waste from toilets, sinks and washing machines enters and percolates out. EPA is blunt about the difference: cesspools are designed to capture sanitary waste, but they do not treat waste. A septic system has a tank, an effluent distribution system and a soil absorption area, and provides some treatment. The Washington Department of Health puts it the same way: untreated wastewater going directly into a bottomless tank is a cesspool.

Seepage pit. The Department says a septic tank gives first-level treatment and the liquid flows into a bottomless chamber, usually several feet deep, where oxygen is not usually present, so untreated wastewater discharges into the ground. It may meet the definition of a failure.
Old tanks. Before the 1970s, tanks could be cinderblock, wood, 55-gallon drums or homemade concrete. From about 1965 to 1975 single-compartment concrete or steel tanks were common, and metal tanks corrode and have been known to collapse.
Combined systems. Some older systems sent part or all of the wastewater with no tank at all.

Contact the local health department to identify outdated systems and get advice on upgrades or replacement, the Department says. The district may have a permit or drawing for the property. See finding your septic tank.

Why pumping a cesspool is different

Pumping a cesspool removes accumulated solids and liquid. It does not change what the structure is. Because a cesspool provides no treatment, pumping does not make it meet a septic standard. It may help for a short time if the cesspool is clogged. The sources used for this page do not give an interval for cesspool pumping. For septic tanks the usual interval is 3 to 5 years, and that figure does not apply to a cesspool.

WAC 246-272A-0310 and SRHD's pumper conditions apply to the person removing septage. Idaho DEQ includes cesspools in its definition of domestic septage, alongside septic tanks, portable toilets, privy vaults, holding tanks and RV tanks. An approved or permitted pumper handles the load in either state.

What Washington rules do with a failed cesspool

WAC 246-272A-0280 says that when a failure occurs the local health officer shall allow repair using the least costly alternative that meets standards and is likely to give comparable or better long-term results, and gives first priority to repair and second priority to replacing an existing conventional system with a similar one. The owner must notify the health officer of a failure, and the options in the rule's Table IX run from repair or replacement, to a system built to current standards, to connection to sewer, to reduced-standard repair, to a holding tank or a discharge permit, in that order. See septic system replacement.

Where sewer is available, WAC 246-272A-0025 may require connection. The Northeast Tri County Health District notes that its Craft3 Clean Water Loan can be used to connect to municipal sewer.

Closing a cesspool

WAC 246-272A-0300 says a person permanently abandoning a sewage tank, seepage pit, cesspool or other sewage container shall have the septage removed by an approved pumper, then either remove and dispose of the structure as the health officer approves or leave it in place with the lid removed or destroyed if possible and the void filled with soil or gravel, and grade the site to the surroundings. An open cesspool is a fall hazard, which is part of why the rule exists.

EPA has a separate nationwide ban on large-capacity cesspools: multiple-dwelling, community or regional cesspools, and nonresidential cesspools serving 20 or more people a day. That ban does not apply to single-family cesspools or to small nonresidential cesspools serving fewer than 20 people a day. Closure options EPA lists for those larger systems are a septic system, a sanitary sewer hookup or a package plant, and EPA calls sewer hookup the best option for the environment, though possibly an expensive one. Single-family cesspools are regulated by the state and the health district.

Idaho

IDAPA 58.01.03 governs individual and subsurface sewage disposal in Idaho. The Panhandle Health District issues permits and keeps records for the northern counties, and DEQ says it assists with questions about existing systems and permit records. Ask the district about a property with a cesspool, since the sources used here do not give a separate Idaho rule on single-family cesspools.

Buying or selling a property with a cesspool

Washington requires an inspection at property transfer beginning February 1, 2027. A property whose record shows a cesspool or a seepage pit gives the health district a reason to look closely at the system. Ask the district what the record shows. See the home sale inspection page.

How to prepare

Ask the district what its record shows for the parcel.
Find out whether a sewer main is within reach. WAC 246-272A-0025 mentions 200 feet in some failure cases.
Ask whether the property has a reserve area for a new drain field.
Do not open or enter the structure.
Ask any company how the structure will be closed and who files the paperwork.

What changes the price

This site does not quote prices. Pumping a cesspool is a smaller task than designing and permitting a new system or connecting to sewer, and those cost differently from one another. Soil, groundwater, sewer distance, design, permits and closure all matter. The pumping cost guide describes general ranges with sources.

Reasons to trust this page

Definitions come from EPA and the Washington Department of Health.
Rules come from WAC 246-272A-0025, 0280, 0300 and 0310 and IDAPA 58.01.03.
Whether a specific system is a failure is a decision for the health district.
No company is recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a cesspool and a septic tank?

A septic tank is a watertight tank that treats waste and sends liquid to a drain field. A cesspool is a bottomless or perforated tank that lets untreated wastewater into the ground. EPA says cesspools do not treat waste, and the Washington Department of Health says a cesspool may be a failure.

Does pumping make a cesspool acceptable?

No. Pumping removes contents but does not add treatment. The Department of Health says a cesspool may meet the definition of a failure and need to be abandoned and replaced. Ask the health district what applies to your property before spending money on a structure that may need to be closed.

How is a cesspool closed in Washington?

WAC 246-272A-0300 says an approved pumper removes the septage, and then the structure is either removed as the health officer approves or left in place with the lid removed or destroyed if possible and the void filled with soil or gravel. The site is graded to the surroundings.

Does EPA ban cesspools?

EPA banned large-capacity cesspools nationwide: multiple-dwelling, community or regional cesspools, and nonresidential ones serving 20 or more people a day. The ban excludes single-family cesspools and small nonresidential ones. Single-family cesspools are handled by the state and the health district.

What replaces a cesspool?

Usually a permitted septic system or a sewer connection. Washington gives first priority to repair and replacement with a similar system, then to a system built to current standards, then sewer connection. Sewer connection may be required where service is available within 200 feet. Financing programs such as the Craft3 Clean Water Loan may apply.

Sources

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