Some 200 residents of Port Charlotte, Fla., were shown in a recent TV news story chanting “save our septic, save our septic’’ and carrying signs imploring the government to leave their functioning systems alone. What was the hubbub about?

It turns out the local county commission is considering forcing the residents living around a local harbor to move onto a municipal sewer and shut down their septic systems. The county claims the septic systems are polluting the waterway, while the residents are pushing for evidence showing their onsite systems are causing any problems.

One resident told the NBC 2 news crew that the neighbors are just as concerned about water quality and the environment as anyone, and they just want proof of malfunctioning systems before taking on the estimated $10,000 cost per home to hook up to the big pipe.

“They've told us that the septics are polluting the harbor. We simply ask for the science because we want clean water,” Scott Andrichak said in the report.

You can see the full news report here:

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/22615840/charlotte-neighbors-upset-over-proposed-sewer-system#.UcMse-D5E04

It might have taken the threat of an expensive conversion to municipal sewers and the monthly bills for sewage disposal to raise awareness, but these residents are mobilized to argue the onsite systems in and of themselves are not a problem. If there is leakage into the waterway, it could be that a handful of systems that are not monitored or maintained properly are could be partly at fault.

Users of decentralized wastewater systems need to be ever-vigilant about regular maintenance or risk being in the position of having to fight to keep the systems that are often the most practical and effective homeowner solution for handling wastewater. If your customers ever hesitate to have their systems checked, tell them about these Florida residents.

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