Septic vs Sewer in Pennsylvania: Which Does Your Home Have?
Around Milford, it is almost always septic. The 2021 Eastern Pike County sewage plan found no central sewer in Milford Borough or Milford Township. Across its study area, it counted about 2,115 homes on on-lot systems. Only part of Westfall Township has public sewer.
The new sewer plan keeps it that way for Milford’s residential areas. Milford Township withdrew in July 2024, and Milford Borough’s residential streets sit outside the proposed sewer service area. So for most owners here, the question is how to keep a septic system working. That is the job of septic system repair.
What is the difference between septic and sewer?
A septic system treats your wastewater on your own lot, and the EPA puts its upkeep on the owner. Public sewer carries it to a treatment plant run by an authority, and you pay a monthly rate.
| Question | Septic system | Public sewer |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns and maintains it | The owner, including repairs or replacement | The local authority owns, operates and maintains its lines |
| The monthly bill | A $0.00 sewer charge, or no utility bill | $60 a month per EDU, Westfall’s current rate in the plan |
| Routine upkeep | Inspection every 1 to 3 years and pumping every 3 to 5 years, in general | Paid through the rate, which covers the debt plus operation and maintenance |
| What usually fails | After 25 to 30 years, a drainfield can lose some of its ability to take water | Grinder pumps average 10 years between service calls |
| Who pays to fix it | The owner | The authority for its lines; in Port Jervis, the owner for the lateral |
The septic column comes from the EPA, and pumping and inspections are work for a pumping company or an inspector. Penn State Extension calls the drain field the most expensive and difficult part to correct or replace. Price ranges are in our repair or replacement guide.
The sewer column comes from the Eastern Pike County plan and the Port Jervis sewer use law. A single-family home counts as one EDU, or equivalent dwelling unit. The grinder pump figure is vendor literature cited in the plan. Sewer service through a power outage would need a generator, the plan adds.
How can you tell whether your home is on septic or sewer?
Start with the utility bill. The EPA says a home on septic shows a $0.00 sewer charge, or gets no utility bill. The deed, building permit and design plans will likely say too.
In the yard, some drainfields sit under a mound or small hill. A black or green access riser over the tank usually sits about 10 feet from the building.
Location settles most cases. Port Jervis has a city sewer system, and the township authority serves part of Westfall Township. Hawley has a small authority system. Milford Borough, Milford Township and Matamoras run on on-lot septic.
Is public sewer coming to Milford?
To parts of the area. The Eastern Pike County Act 537 Plan Update proposes sewer extensions to the Westfall authority’s treatment plant. Milford Township formally withdrew in July 2024. A force main planned along Route 6/209 there is a transmission line, with no connections proposed in the township.
The plan proposes sewer here:
- Milford Borough: a line that primarily serves the commercial district along Broad and Harford Streets. That service area is almost entirely zoned commercial.
- Matamoras: low-pressure sewer along Pennsylvania Avenue, plus Tenth Street, Seventh Street, Avenue Q and Avenue N.
- Westfall Township: a low-pressure line that extends the current one on Route 6/209 to the Milford Township line.
The borough’s residential areas stay on septic, and Milford Borough will study the shallow groundwater beneath them. Milford Borough, Westfall Township and Matamoras Borough must each adopt an ordinance to manage on-lot systems. In a public survey for the borough’s long-range plan, most residents opposed sewer for the residential areas.
Timing is a plan target, not a date for any street. The January 31, 2025 responses to public comment say the project will be bid in 4 years. Construction, with sewer service connections made, is expected to be complete around year 7.
In July 2026, $1.25 million in federal funding was announced for the extension to Matamoras and Milford Boroughs. When sewer reaches a given property is for the borough or the authority to decide.
What does it cost to connect to sewer?
Where the new lines run, connecting will not be optional. The comment responses say favorable financing such as PennVEST requires mandatory connection ordinances. Westfall’s ordinance, listed in the 2021 plan, gives improved property next to the sewer 60 days to connect. This is general information, not legal advice.
The plan’s numbers, in 2024 dollars:
- Monthly rate: projected at $64 per EDU in Westfall, $99 in Milford Borough and $108 in Matamoras.
- Grinder pump: $9,000 for a simplex, furnished and installed, financed into the construction cost and the monthly bill rather than charged upfront.
- Your own pipe: Westfall’s ordinance puts the cost to build and connect the building sewer on the owner.
Those rates assume the plan’s targeted 45 percent grant with USDA financing. The responses add that grant money is not assured. National ranges for the lateral and the hookup are in our sewer line replacement cost guide.
What happens to the old septic tank?
Local rules decide. The EPA says some rules require removing an abandoned tank or drainfield, while others allow abandoning it in place. For on-lot questions in Pennsylvania, Penn State Extension points owners to the sewage enforcement officer through their township or borough.
A national cost guide updated in June 2026 puts ending a septic tank’s use at $500 to $1,000. It says most pros recommend emptying the tank and filling it with a stable material like sand. That is a published market number.
Should you repair a failing septic system or wait for sewer?
For most homes around Milford, there is no sewer line to wait for. The plan leaves Milford Township and the borough’s residential areas on septic. Under 25 Pa. Code 72.22, repairing or replacing a soil absorption area takes a permit. It comes through a certified sewage enforcement officer.
Age matters as much as the map. The 2021 plan found many systems in Milford Borough and Milford Township predate the 1969 construction rules. For a system past 25 to 30 years, the EPA says to plan the upgrade before a failure forces it. Backups into the house and soft, spongy ground over the field are failure signs on its list.
Where should you start?
Sawkill Environmental is based in Milford. We repair and replace septic systems and install new ones across the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York corner. Where public sewer exists, we repair sewer laterals and dig new lateral connections by open trench. We are licensed and insured, PA HIC #PA225040, and we run our own excavators and equipment.
When one part has failed, start with septic system repair. When the field is done, the answer is a new septic system or a full septic system replacement. Where a sewer main already runs, see sewer line repair. Estimates are free, so call or text (973) 552-8580.