What the property screen means — and what it does not.

1. CDC well-siting screen

CDC currently advises locating private wells at least 50 feet from septic tanks and 50 feet from septic leach fields. The calculator checks both measured distances against that 50-ft health-oriented baseline.

If you enter stricter local well minimums, Dakiv compares the tank-to-well and drainfield-to-well distances separately. The local requirements do not replace the CDC context; the result shows both.

2. Local setback comparisons

For house/foundation, property line, surface water and driveway/traffic clearances, Dakiv does not supply a made-up national minimum. You enter the official local minimum when you know it. A blank rule produces a “verify” status.

3. Overall status

Known conflict found means at least one CDC or entered local threshold is not met. Known checks clear — local rules incomplete means no known conflict was found, but at least one measurement or local rule is missing. All entered checks clear means every comparison you supplied is above its screening threshold; it still does not mean the property has a permit.

The decision pack also shows the tightest known clearance margin, unresolved rules or measurements, checklist gaps and a project-specific permit-office question pack.

4. What is deliberately excluded

The tool does not approve soils, determine a seasonal high water table, calculate a legally sufficient drainfield size, establish system technology, interpret easements, certify survey accuracy or grant a variance. These require the applicable program and site-specific professional work.

5. Source hierarchy

1. Current federal public-health guidance for the narrow national baseline it actually supports.
2. EPA statements describing the state/local regulatory structure.
3. User-entered local rules taken from an official permit source.
4. Historical EPA design material only as clearly labeled design context.

Sources are reviewed and dated in the source library.