A home can look ready to tear down while its service lines are still very much live. In Hernando County, utility disconnection is part of the permit and inspection sequence, not an informal task left until the excavator arrives. The exact plan depends on whether the property uses county water and sewer, a private well and septic system, LP gas, or some combination.

Map every service first. Then decide what is being removed, what will remain for future use, which licensed trade handles each line, and what documentation the Building Division or Health Department needs.

Put every service on the site plan

Hernando County’s demolition packet requires the site plan to show the structure being removed along with septic tanks, wells, LP-gas tanks, water lines, underground electric, sewer, and other site features. The packet also says those locations must be physically marked at the job site.

Do not rely on a quick visual walk. Ask about buried feeds to sheds, old well equipment, abandoned service lines, septic drain fields, and additions that may have their own circuits or plumbing. Mark overhead lines and the equipment access path too.

Electric service

The utility must be notified before demolition, and the electrical scope may require a separate permit or licensed electrical work. Clarify whether the service is being fully removed, temporarily disconnected, or preserved for a future replacement home. A meter being pulled does not by itself prove every downstream conductor is safe.

The demolition contractor should verify the disconnect status before mobilizing. Keep the utility confirmation and any electrical inspection record with the permit file.

County water and sewer

For county service, the packet calls for notice to Hernando County Utilities and requires building sewers to be effectively plugged at the property line or as directed by the Building Official. The checklist asks for a contractor letter confirming notice to the Utilities Department when water or sewer service will be capped.

Ask who will expose, cap, inspect, and protect the line. If the parcel will receive another home, the future-service plan may affect where the cap is placed and how it is documented.

Private wells and septic systems

A well or septic system is not treated like ordinary demolition debris. The county checklist calls for a Health Department abandonment permit or approval letter for septic tanks. The packet’s final-inspection language says the septic tank must be filled and the debris removed, while remaining holes and irregularities must be filled and graded for effective drainage.

Confirm whether the system is being abandoned or preserved. If preserved, protect the tank, drain field, well head, and lines from tracked equipment and heavy loads. If abandoned, use the required process and do not bury a tank or well based only on a contractor’s usual practice.

LP-gas tanks and lines

Hernando County’s packet says LP tanks should be removed by the company that installed them. If a tank is not removed, the packet provides specific emptying, filling, and line-capping directions. Contact the propane supplier early; unknown ownership or a leased tank can take time to resolve.

How the inspection sequence works

The county packet describes a rough inspection after electric, water, and sewer services have been disconnected. The final inspection follows demolition, septic-tank work, site clearing, and debris removal. Do not schedule demolition ahead of the required rough approval.

A clean scope assigns each step: utility notices, trade permits, physical disconnects and caps, rough inspection, demolition, septic or well disposition, grading, and final inspection. That division of responsibility should appear in the written estimate rather than being assumed.

Owner checklist before work starts

  • Identify electric, water, sewer, septic, well, and LP-gas service at the property.
  • Decide which systems are removed, abandoned, capped, or preserved for reuse.
  • Show every system and access constraint on the site plan and mark it in the field.
  • Assign utility notifications and separate trade or abandonment permits.
  • Collect written disconnect or cap confirmations before the rough inspection.
  • Protect any system that remains and retain the rough and final inspection records.