The Norwesco 1500 Gallon One Compartment Septic Tank is built for installs where burial depth is the constraint. At 51 inches tall over a 69 x 157 inch footprint, this low-profile shape sits in a shallower excavation than a taller 1500-gallon tank, which is the whole reason to choose it on a high-water-table or shallow-bedrock lot: the shorter shell lets your inlet pipe arrive at a workable invert depth instead of forcing a deeper trench. It is rotationally molded from polyethylene in green, ships with loose plumbing so you set inlet and outlet heights to your design, and carries IAPMO certification for code-recognized septic use.
Will it work for your site
This is a single-compartment 1500-gallon tank measuring 157 inches long, 69 inches wide, and 51 inches tall. Filled to capacity with water it weighs roughly 12,510 pounds, so plan your excavation, bedding, and backfill for a fully loaded tank, not an empty one, and account for buoyancy if groundwater is present. Because it ships with loose plumbing, there is no pre-installed fitting spec to rely on: you control inlet, outlet, vent, and overflow placement, and you must confirm pipe size and grommet or gasket fit against the technical drawing on this page before you trench. Our tank plumbing system design walkthrough covers tie-in geometry, and the Tank Sizing Calculator and Tank Sizing Guide help you confirm capacity against household or daily-flow load. The drawing also carries the exact port locations, dimensions, and shipping weight you need for delivery-day handling and rigging.
IAPMO certification and code scope
This tank holds IAPMO certification, the listing many jurisdictions reference for plastic septic tanks. Approval scope varies by state and county, so verify the IAPMO file or listing number your local plumbing code accepts before purchase. It is also a single compartment, so confirm whether your design or local code requires a second compartment or a downstream effluent filter or dosing component. Our guide to Norwesco IAPMO and CSA B66 septic tank approvals explains how plumbing-code scopes can differ between jurisdictions.
The mistake to avoid
The low-profile design is what makes this tank fit a shallow hole, but that same wide, flat geometry makes it more sensitive to backfill quality and uneven bedding than a tall narrow tank. A poorly compacted or rocky base under a 157-inch-long shell creates point loading. Bed it on clean, uniform sand or pea gravel across the full footprint, fill the tank with water as you backfill to balance side loads, and keep the inlet and outlet inverts level. If you are moving or handling the tank in the field, the Norwesco low-profile field operations guide covers safe handling for this series.
Verify the IAPMO listing your jurisdiction accepts, then this tank ships LTL freight from the Norwesco plant in Lancaster, Ohio, with freight quoted live to your ZIP using our Freight Cost Estimator. For help confirming the right tank for your septic design or to place an order, call 866-418-1777.
