New construction
New septic system installation across Citrus and Hernando counties
Building in Citrus or Hernando County usually means building on septic: large stretches of both counties sit beyond central sewer, from the platted quarter-acre grids of Citrus Springs and Beverly Hills to acreage outside Brooksville. A new septic system here is a designed, permitted piece of infrastructure, and on the Springs Coast the design question starts with the parcel: its soil, its water table, and whether it sits inside a spring Priority Focus Area.
What decides your system type
Three things: the county health department's site and soil evaluation, your lot size, and your parcel's Priority Focus Area status. Inside a PFA, lots under one acre cannot take a new conventional system (FS 373.811), and the 2025 county notices apply enhanced nitrogen-reducing requirements on all lot sizes for covered permit applications. Outside a PFA, conventional designs remain available where the soil supports them.
The geology does real work here. Gulf Coastal Lowlands sand percolates fast but filters little before effluent reaches the limestone of the Floridan Aquifer, and the water table rises toward the coast. That is exactly why the springs rules exist, and it is also why two lots a mile apart can need different drainfield designs. The evaluation, not a guess, settles it.
The sequence that keeps a build on schedule
- Application and soil evaluation. The county health department evaluates the site and soil profile: DOH-Citrus Environmental Public Health, (352) 513-6100; DOH-Hernando Environmental Public Health, (352) 540-6812. Hernando's DH 4015 permit instructions put the new-construction permit at $350.00 plus $100.00 application and plan review (read 2026-07-18); confirm current Hernando amounts and all Citrus figures with the office directly.
- Design. Tank capacity, drainfield sizing, and system type are drawn to the evaluation. On PFA parcels this is where the nitrogen-reducing design comes in; the ENR upgrade page explains the qualifying technologies.
- Permit, then construction. No compliant contractor breaks ground before the construction permit issues. Installation ends with the county's final inspection.
The step-by-step detail, both counties side by side, lives in the septic permit process guide, and the evaluation itself is covered under permitting and soil evaluation.
Where new installs cluster
The sub-acre platted lots of Citrus Springs and Beverly Hills generate steady design-and-permit work in Citrus County, and Spring Hill with wider Hernando growth does the same to the south. Around Inverness and the Tsala Apopka chain, parcels lean outside the coastal PFAs, which usually keeps conventional designs on the table; around Homosassa and the coastal strip the PFA and the water table push toward advanced systems. The mandate guide maps the framework parcel by parcel.
What the project costs
Labeled estimates from published Florida data: conventional installs roughly $5,000 to $12,000; enhanced nitrogen-reducing or aerobic systems in a BMAP springs zone roughly $15,000 to $35,000 or more. A perc or soil test nationally runs roughly $600 to $2,000 where ordered privately, though in these counties the health department performs the official evaluation as part of permitting. The full banded breakdown: ENR septic system cost in Florida. Collect a written, itemized estimate before committing; any compliant contractor provides one.
Verify Your Septic Contractor's Florida Registration and Permits
Septic work in Florida is performed by a state-registered septic tank contractor. Registration runs under Chapter 489, Part III, Florida Statutes and has been administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since the Onsite Sewage Program moved there from the Department of Health on July 1, 2021 under the Clean Waterways Act. The registered tier requires three years of experience, demonstrated by 6,000 hours, and a 100-question state exam passed at 75 percent or better; registrations renew annually by September 30. A septic business normally also holds its own Certificate of Authorization, though a registered contractor trading under their own given name as a sole proprietor is exempt from that certificate. Details: Florida DEP septic tank contractor registration and the exam and experience rules in DEP's Septic Tank Contractor Registration Handbook.
Registration comes in two tiers, and the difference decides who can do what. Section 489.551, Florida Statutes puts installing, maintaining, repairing and altering a system, plus site evaluations for repairs, in a registered septic tank contractor's scope, while designing a system, performing and submitting a soil evaluation, and closing repairs sit with a master septic tank contractor. Ask which tier the person quoting your job holds, and who is signing the design.
The construction permit is separate from the contractor's registration. In Citrus and Hernando counties the county health department issues the onsite sewage construction permit and performs the site and soil evaluation: Florida Department of Health in Citrus County, Environmental Public Health, (352) 513-6100, and Florida Department of Health in Hernando County, Environmental Public Health, (352) 540-6812.
Where a parcel sits inside a spring Priority Focus Area, a repair or modification permit application filed on or after December 15, 2025 must include an enhanced nitrogen-reducing (ENR) system design, per the DOH-Citrus (2025-10-09) and DOH-Hernando (2025-10-10) notices. An ENR system is one approved for at least 65 percent total nitrogen reduction (or at least 50 percent before the drainfield), per section 381.0065, Florida Statutes.
Check the record yourself
- Look up an individual's registration or a business's authorization in the Florida DEP registration search tools.
- Confirm permit requirements for your parcel with your county health department office at the numbers above.
Three questions worth asking any contractor
- What name is your Florida septic tank contractor registration under, and can I verify it in the DEP search?
- Will you pull the county health department construction permit before work starts, and is the permit fee in your written estimate?
- If my parcel is inside a Priority Focus Area, which ENR technology are you quoting, and what does its maintenance contract cost per year?
Springs Coast Septic is a referral service, holds no contractor registration, and performs no septic work. The registration and permit obligations described here belong to the independent licensed contractor who does the work.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who installs the system?
- An independent state-registered septic tank contractor, registered under Chapter 489, Part III, Florida Statutes. That contractor pulls the construction permit and installs the system. Worth knowing: section 489.551 puts designing a system, and performing and submitting a soil evaluation, in the scope of a master septic tank contractor rather than a registered one, so on many jobs the design comes from a master contractor or a Florida-registered professional engineer working to the county's evaluation. Springs Coast Septic is a referral service and performs no work.
- Can I install a conventional system on a small lot?
- Not everywhere. Section 373.811, Florida Statutes prohibits new conventional systems on lots under one acre inside an Outstanding Florida Springs Priority Focus Area, and since December 15, 2025 the county notices apply enhanced nitrogen-reducing requirements inside the PFAs more broadly. On platted sub-acre lots in places like Citrus Springs and Beverly Hills, the parcel's PFA status decides the system type, so check it before pricing anything.
- How long does permitting take?
- Plan in weeks, not days. The sequence is application, site and soil evaluation by the county health department, permit issuance, then construction and final inspection. Actual timelines vary by county workload and season; the permit process guide covers what each step involves.
- What does a new install cost in these counties?
- Labeled estimates from published Florida data, not quotes: a conventional install runs roughly $5,000 to $12,000, and an enhanced nitrogen-reducing or aerobic system in a BMAP springs zone roughly $15,000 to $35,000 or more. Site conditions, tank size, and system type move the number; the contractor prices your parcel after the soil evaluation.