I purchased in March of this year, and I just learned today that the septic system on the house illegally runs to a creek.

When I bought the house, the inspection called for someone to come look at the septic. I was told it needed to be replaced and that it wasn't draining. I said I would still buy the house if the seller paid to have the septic replacement done. They agreed and contracted someone to do it. I realize now I should have asked more questions, but I just thought it was a really old septic system and it had degraded over time.

The contractor for the septic has been incredibly unresponsive over the past 7 months. I have had to call him multiple times asking if he knew when he would be able to start the job, and he just keeps telling me he doesn't know because it's been so rainy. In the times when it wasn't raining he said he was prioritizing people who could not flush their toilets and that my job was not a priority right now. So the check is still sitting with the title company and the work has still not been done.

The contractor has also given me no information about the work that he's doing. The invoice he gave me just says three bedroom septic and then gives the cost. Again, I just assumed that he was replacing the septic tank and/or fingers on my property.

For reasons mostly unrelated to my septic drama, I decided I want to sell this house. I spoke to a realtor about the contract to replace the septic and that it still hasn't been completed after 7 months. She knows the contractor so she called him to try to understand why this job hadn't been completed after all this time.

What my realtor learned today is that the septic actually drains to a nearby creek, and this is obviously illegal. No one mentioned this at any point during the sale process. If I'd know that the house I was looking to buy had an illegal septic system, I wouldn't have closed unless the replacement was finished.

I've looked through the seller's disclosure and my inspection, and neither of them mention anything about the illegal septic system. Is there any place else that I should be looking in my paperwork to see if this was disclosed?

Can I take legal action against the seller of this house for not disclosing that the septic system here is illegal?