Sourced from Ohio EPA’s 2026 Water Pollution Control Loan Fund program plan, USDA Rural Development, and the published pages of individual Ohio health districts — last checked 27 August 2026.
Quick answer: Ohio does have a statewide program, and it is better than most people are told. Ohio EPA’s Water Pollution Control Loan Fund forgives 50%, 85% or 100% of the cost of repairing or replacing a failed septic system, depending on income, with no cap per household and nothing to repay. Eighty health districts share $11.9 million for 2026 — but ten Ohio counties, including Montgomery, received nothing, and your health district chooses the contractor, not you. USDA Section 504 is the fallback, and the route where you hire your own installer.
Which Septic Assistance Routes Are Worth Your Time?
Ohio has five separate routes to help with a failing septic system, and they have different rules, different administrators and very different odds. Answer five questions and this will tell you which ones could apply to you and which ones will not — because knowing what to stop chasing is worth as much as knowing where to start.
This is not an application, and it is not a decision. We are not affiliated with the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Department of Health, your county health district or any other agency, and we cannot approve anything on behalf of any program — only the program itself can do that. What this tool does is read the published rules against the answers you gave, so you can spend your time on the routes that are actually open to you. Income thresholds are the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines, effective January 20, 2026; USDA figures are Rural Development’s published Section 504 terms. Confirm everything with the administering office before you rely on it.
Ohio’s statewide program: WPCLF principal forgiveness
Ohio EPA’s Water Pollution Control Loan Fund pays for repairing or replacing failed home sewage treatment systems, and it does not ask for the money back. Ohio EPA calls it “grant-like funds” that “do not require repayment.” It is administered by your local health district, not by Ohio EPA and not by the county commissioners.
How much is forgiven depends on your household income:
| Household size | 100% forgiven — you pay nothing | 85% forgiven | 50% forgiven |
| 1 to 4 | up to $33,000 | up to $66,000 | up to $99,000 |
| 5 | up to $38,680 | up to $77,360 | up to $116,040 |
| 6 | up to $44,360 | up to $88,720 | up to $133,080 |
| 7 | up to $50,040 | up to $100,080 | up to $150,120 |
| 8 | up to $55,720 | up to $111,440 | up to $167,160 |
Read the first row again if you live alone. Ohio EPA does not use the ordinary federal poverty figure for one person, which is $15,960. Its own eligibility table — Table H-2 of the 2026 program plan — puts every household of one, two, three or four people on the same $33,000 line.
So a single person earning $60,000 falls in the 85% band and pays about 15% of the job. Most pages that cover this program reprint the federal table instead and understate what a small household can get, often by a lot.
Above 300% of that line — over $99,000 for a household of one to four — there is no tier and nothing is forgiven.
There is no cap per household. Ohio EPA states plainly: “No minimum or maximum amounts per household.” Individual districts may set their own, though none of the ones we checked publish one.
What else you have to show
- Documented household size and income, verified the way federal programs verify it
- Your health district has documented that the system is failing — a system you simply dislike does not qualify
- You are the titled owner of the property
Eligible costs run wider than most people assume: system design, the site and soil survey, demolishing and abandoning the old system, the health district’s own plan review and permit fee, connection to public sewer, and in some cases correcting indoor plumbing. Not eligible: abandoning a drinking water well, insurance, bonds, tax, a system at a new build, or a first system at a house that never had one.
The one thing to understand before you apply: you will not choose the contractor.
Under the state program the health district advertises for bids and pays the installer directly. Ohio EPA’s own procedure reads: “The local government agency advertises (formally or informally) for bids from contractors.” Some districts, such as Hamilton County, ask you to gather three bids — but the district still awards the work on lowest and best price.
We looked specifically for an Ohio district that lets the homeowner hire, and did not find one. If having your own installer matters to you, USDA Section 504 below is the route where that is your decision.
And be honest with yourself about the odds
Since 2016 the program has awarded over $112 million and paid out $78.6 million, covering 4,152 replacements, 790 repairs and 529 sewer connections. That is roughly 580 systems a year, against about a million systems in Ohio and 193,988 reported failing.
It reaches well under one percent of the need each year. Apply — but do not leave a failing system in the ground waiting on it.
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What your county was given for 2026
Ohio EPA does not publish a list of which health districts are running this program, or how much each one has. There is no map and no county page. The figures below come from Appendix B of the 2026 Water Pollution Control Loan Fund program plan, where they sit in a table titled “Projects Receiving Household Sewage Treatment System Principal Forgiveness Funds in PY 2026”, dated 22 January 2026.
Eighty awards, totaling $11.9 million, all dated 30 July 2026. These are estimated allocations, not money already spent. Districts have eighteen months from signing to use it.
| County or city | 2026 award | Worth knowing |
| Allen | $200,000 | — |
| Ashland | $50,000 | — |
| Ashtabula | $150,000 | — |
| Athens | $250,000 | — |
| Belmont | $200,000 | — |
| Brown | $150,000 | — |
| Butler | $150,000 | — |
| Carroll | $100,000 | — |
| Clark | $200,000 | — |
| Clermont | $100,000 | — |
| Columbiana | $200,000 | — |
| Columbus (city) | $50,000 | — |
| Coshocton | $50,000 | — |
| Crawford | $150,000 | — |
| Cuyahoga | $200,000 | — |
| Darke | $150,000 | — |
| Defiance | $150,000 | — |
| Delaware | $150,000 | — |
| Erie | $150,000 | — |
| Fairfield | $200,000 | — |
| Fayette | $200,000 | Soil & Water Conservation District, not the health department |
| Franklin | $50,000 | — |
| Fulton | $150,000 | — |
| Gallia | $200,000 | — |
| Geauga | $150,000 | — |
| Greene | $50,000 | — |
| Guernsey | $200,000 | — |
| Hamilton | $150,000 | Replacement and sewer connection only — no repairs |
| Hancock | $150,000 | — |
| Hardin | $50,000 | — |
| Harrison | $50,000 | — |
| Henry | $150,000 | — |
| Highland | $50,000 | — |
| Hocking | $200,000 | — |
| Holmes | $150,000 | — |
| Huron | $150,000 | — |
| Jackson | $150,000 | — |
| Jefferson | $150,000 | — |
| Knox | $175,000 | — |
| Lake | $150,000 | — |
| Lawrence | $50,000 | — |
| Licking | $250,000 | Award not mentioned anywhere on the county’s own site |
| Logan | $50,000 | — |
| Lorain | $150,000 | — |
| Madison | $200,000 | Soil & Water Conservation District, not the health department |
| Mahoning | $150,000 | — |
| Marion | $250,000 | — |
| Medina | $100,000 | — |
| Meigs | $200,000 | — |
| Miami | $150,000 | — |
| Middletown (city) | $150,000 | — |
| Monroe | $50,000 | — |
| Morgan | $150,000 | — |
| Muskingum | $100,000 | Award not mentioned anywhere on the county’s own site |
| Ottawa | $150,000 | — |
| Paulding | $150,000 | — |
| Pickaway | $150,000 | — |
| Pike | $150,000 | — |
| Portage | $250,000 | Application must be notarized |
| Preble | $200,000 | — |
| Putnam | $150,000 | — |
| Richland | $150,000 | — |
| Ross | $200,000 | — |
| Sandusky | $125,000 | — |
| Scioto | $150,000 | — |
| Seneca | $150,000 | — |
| Shelby | $150,000 | — |
| Stark | $200,000 | Award not mentioned anywhere on the county’s own site |
| Summit | $100,000 | Run by county economic development, not the health district |
| Toledo–Lucas | $150,000 | — |
| Trumbull | $200,000 | — |
| Tuscarawas | $150,000 | — |
| Union | $50,000 | — |
| Vinton | $200,000 | — |
| Warren | $150,000 | Suspended — see below |
| Washington | $200,000 | Award not mentioned anywhere on the county’s own site |
| Wayne | $200,000 | — |
| Williams | $200,000 | — |
| Wood | $150,000 | — |
| Wyandot | $100,000 | — |
Ten Ohio counties received nothing for 2026: Adams, Auglaize, Champaign, Clinton, Mercer, Montgomery, Morrow, Noble, Perry and Van Wert.
Montgomery County — Dayton — is the significant one. If you are in any of these ten, there is no WPCLF route for you this program year no matter what your income is. Go to USDA Section 504 below.
Three places people call the wrong office
- Fayette and Madison counties run this through the Soil & Water Conservation District, not the health department. The state program allows that delegation, and the health department may not know the program exists.
- Summit County runs it through County Community & Economic Development, not the health district — and structures it as a five-year deferred, forgivable mortgage rather than a straight grant. Call 330-643-8013.
- Columbus and Middletown hold their own city awards, separate from Franklin and Butler counties.
Four counties hold real money their own websites never mention: Licking ($250,000), Washington ($200,000), Stark ($200,000) and Muskingum ($100,000). We checked all four sewage pages and none of them refers to the program at all. The money exists. Call and ask for it by name — the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund HSTS program.
What districts say about applying right now
Almost nobody publishes a plain open-or-closed status, and many pages are a year or more out of date. Checked 27 August 2026:
| District | Status in its own words | Phone |
| Warren | Suspended. “has suspended accepting applications for WPCLF HSTS grants due to an abundance of submissions and limited funds” | 513-695-1220 |
| Hamilton | Year-round. Apply in August, notified February or March, contractor chosen April or May, installed May to December. Repairs are not funded — replacement and sewer connection only. | 513-946-7966 |
| Portage | Open, “first come, first serviced basis”. The application has to be notarized. | 330-296-9919 ext. 124 |
| Knox | Open. No deadline published and no application fee. | 740-392-2200 ext. 2009 |
| Tuscarawas | 2026 application posted. Ranked on “financial need and the severity of the sewage system failure”, with severity counting most. | — |
| Richland | Rolling — “through the duration of the grant program or until all grant funding is expended” | — |
| Clermont | “Once we have secured funding for the program, applications will be accepted.” The page still shows 2023 dates. | — |
| Toledo–Lucas | Not stated. Works as a reimbursement. | 419-213-4100 |
| Seneca | Not stated. | 419-447-3691 ext. 6327 |
| Madison SWCD | 2025 application posted, no deadline given. | 740-852-4003 |
| Franklin | Not stated. | 614-525-3909 |
Call before you plan around anything here. Lake County’s published income guidelines are still the 2023–24 set and Ross County’s are older still. Warren’s own page describes a $200,000 award while the 2026 state table lists it at $150,000 — almost certainly last year’s figure left up.
USDA Section 504
The primary federal program covering septic repairs, administered through USDA Rural Development.
Loans: up to $40,000 at 1% fixed over 20 years — far below any commercial financing.
Grants: up to $10,000 lifetime for homeowners aged 62 and older. Grants don’t have to be repaid but must address a health or safety hazard. A failing septic system qualifies.
Combined: loan and grant funds can be combined up to $50,000.
Eligibility: primary residence, USDA-eligible rural area, household income at or below the very low income limit USDA sets for your county, and unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere.
Much of rural Ohio qualifies on location. The USDA property eligibility tool settles that question in about a minute, and an informal prequalification conversation with USDA Rural Development is the sensible first step.
The other local routes, if WPCLF is closed to you
If your county got nothing this year, your district has suspended applications, or your income is above the 300% line, there are three further places to ask. None of them is septic-specific, which is exactly why they get overlooked.
- CHIP — the Community Housing Impact and Preservation program. Ohio Development Service Agency money, passed to counties and administered by county commissioners or a community action agency. Home repair is the point of it and septic work qualifies in most counties. Ask the county commissioners’ office, not the health district.
- CDBG home repair. Same idea, different federal source, usually run by the same county office.
- Your community action agency. Ohio has a full statewide network of them and they administer several housing repair pots that are not advertised as septic programs.
Ask the question in the right words. Almost nobody at a county office recognizes “is there a septic grant?” The question that gets a useful answer is: “Do you run a home repair program — CHIP, CDBG or anything else — and does it cover a failed sewage system?” The money is usually filed under housing, not under water.
One thing worth knowing about these routes: because they are housing programs rather than public-works programs, they generally let you choose your own contractor. That is the opposite of WPCLF, and for some people it is worth more than the size of the award.
How Ohio compares, honestly
It is often said that Ohio has no statewide septic program like Pennsylvania’s PENNVEST. That is wrong, and it is worth correcting because it sends people to the wrong place. Ohio does have a statewide program. It is simply built on a different principle.
| Ohio — WPCLF principal forgiveness | Pennsylvania — PENNVEST | |
| What you get | 50%, 85% or 100% of the cost forgiven | A loan of up to $25,000 |
| What you repay | Nothing on the forgiven share | All of it, at about 1.75% |
| Income test | Yes — nothing above 300% of the poverty line | No income limit |
| Who hires the contractor | The health district | You |
| Cap per household | None stated | $25,000 |
For a household under the income line, Ohio’s program is substantially better than Pennsylvania’s — forgiveness beats a loan. For a household over it, Ohio offers nothing at all where Pennsylvania would still lend. And in Ohio you give up the choice of installer.
What Ohio genuinely lacks is scale. Around 580 systems a year statewide, against nearly 194,000 reported failing. The program is good and it is small, and those are two separate facts that both belong in your planning.
If Your System Discharges Off Lot
Factor the ongoing costs into whatever you’re financing. A discharging system carries a service contract with a registered provider and annual diagnostic sampling on top of installation — recurring obligations that don’t appear in a repair quote.
If replacing the system would let you move to on-site dispersal and eliminate the discharge entirely, that changes the long-term math considerably. Worth asking your health district whether it’s feasible on your lot.
Practical Sequence
Get a current evaluation from your health district so you know what’s actually required. Ask them about county assistance in the same conversation. Check USDA eligibility on location and income. And get multiple quotes — the spread on identical septic work is routinely larger than people expect.
Need Help With Your Septic System?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there financial help for septic repairs in Ohio?
Yes, and the biggest one is easy to miss. Ohio EPA runs principal forgiveness for household sewage treatment systems through the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund, forgiving 100, 85 or 50 percent of the cost depending on where your household income falls against the federal poverty guideline. It is administered by your local health district. USDA Section 504 also offers loans up to $40,000 at 1 percent and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older in eligible rural areas.
Does Ohio have a state septic loan program?
Yes, though it is not structured as a loan to you. Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund provides grant-like principal forgiveness for household sewage treatment system repair and replacement, administered through your local health district rather than by the state directly. Around 70 of Ohio 88 districts take part in a typical year. One thing to know going in: the district generally selects the contractor, not you.
How do I find county septic assistance in Ohio?
Call your local health district. They administer permitting, see failing systems constantly, and generally know what local water quality funding exists. These programs are rarely advertised well.
Should I factor in ongoing costs for a discharging system?
Yes. A service contract with a registered provider and annual diagnostic sampling are recurring obligations that do not appear in a repair quote.