Granby Board of Health rejects Title V pass for undersized 56-year-old septic system

Board of Health · Meeting of July 15, 2026

Granby Board of Health rejects a 56-year-old septic system at 2 Barton Street, blocking a planned July 30 sale. The board unanimously voted to classify the Title V inspection as a failure after designer Neil Jackson's camera scope found only 77 lineal feet of leach pipe against the 204 lineal feet called for in the original design — roughly one-third of the required footage and far below the town's 60-percent-capacity threshold. Chair Bill Shaheen also cited a second violation: a 15-inch water-table offset from the system's bottom, short of Granby's 18-inch requirement.

Property owner Eva Gingras told the board she purchased the property after her husband's death and relied on a passing 2017 Title V. Shaheen, speaking to attorneys for both buyer and seller, repeatedly urged a 50-50 cost split on a replacement system, warning that a post-transfer failure on a "grossly undersized" system could expose the selling party to "double or triple damages." The board also opened its first regulatory review session, debating the scientific basis for Granby's March-and-April percolation test season, and agreed the written regulation should be updated to explicitly acknowledge the availability of out-of-season percolation tests.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,108 words

Source: the Board of Health meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.