If your county or HOA mandates connection, you typically must comply within a set timeframe (1-3 years). Connection costs $5K-$25K. Some grants are available; check with the Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund.
More detail
Ohio law allows counties to mandate sewer-connection in newly-served areas typically within 1-5 years of the mainline becoming available; HOAs in some communities have similar deed-restriction provisions. Total connection cost typically runs $5,000-$25,000 covering the lateral install (95-200 feet of pipe from house to main), tap fees ($1,500-$4,500 by county), septic abandonment (pump-out, tank crushing or filling, drain-field abandonment per code), yard restoration, and county inspection. Subsidies and grants: the county health districts administer income-based Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund money for failing systems, which in Hamilton County can cover an ordered sewer connection at 100, 85, or 50 percent depending on household income; availability changes every year. Refusing to connect when mandated typically triggers escalating fines and ultimately involuntary connection at the homeowner's cost; engaging early with the program is the right path. Cincinnati assistance note: the county health districts administer income-based Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund money for failing systems, and Hamilton County Public Health can apply it to an ordered sewer connection. Money is limited each year, so ask the health district and the sewer utility what is currently available.