TL;DR
A percolation test is the formal field procedure behind septic site approval: holes are dug or bored to the depth of the proposed drainfield, presoaked, then timed as water falls, with results recorded in minutes per inch for the permit file. Acceptable ranges vary by state — commonly between about 5 and 60 — and the test must usually be run or witnessed by a licensed evaluator or sanitarian.
What it means
A percolation test is the formal field procedure behind septic site approval: holes are dug or bored to the depth of the proposed drainfield, presoaked, then timed as water falls, with results recorded in minutes per inch for the permit file. Acceptable ranges vary by state — commonly between about 5 and 60 — and the test must usually be run or witnessed by a licensed evaluator or sanitarian. Landscape designers also borrow the method informally to check drainage before specifying rain gardens.
Where it sits in the glossary
Percolation test is part of the Certifications group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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