With an appropriate design and users who follow best practices for care and maintenance, onsite systems are a suitable and efficient way to handle wastewater for millions upon millions of homeowners across the country. In the industry, we all know that and take pride in offering beneficial wastewater solutions every day.

Still, people often have lingering doubts about the effectiveness of decentralized wastewater systems. Misguided consumers are the worst enemy of the onsite industry and the ever-improving technologies we promote. A few angry or ignorant homeowners talking to their neighbors or venting their frustration on a home improvement website forum can have a damaging impact on the future livelihood of installers.

I recently ran into a good example of this kind of idle squawking when reading a poll titled “Sewer or Septic?” at the website www.houzz.com, which describes itself as a “community of more than 20 million homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals – across the country and around the world.’’

I don’t take issue with the folks at Houzz asking their community about its preference for waste disposal. I found it instructive to read wide-ranging posts including misinformation, misconceptions and the propagation of age-old wives’ tales about proper care for septic systems. I also find it gratifying to see a handful of rational, well-informed homeowners run to the defense of onsite wastewater systems, to both refute some wild claims and promote proper system maintenance.

In the interest of knowing more about our common enemy of ignorance, I’d like to share a few of the comments posted in this “Sewer or Septic?” survey and provide my own commentary.

They’re clueless:

“Please correct me if I’m wrong, but if your system is healthy and you are using it properly you don’t require pumping?’’ And one response: “Technically you are correct. The idea of a good working septic is that the live bacteria eats through the waste so it should not require pumping.’’

Arghh! Wastewater professionals lose sleep at night over comments like these. Users who think this way never monitor or maintain onsite systems, and when their systems fail, they complain to anyone who will listen. The shouts of a few misguided people can overwhelm the positive messages from 100 satisfied septic system users.

They get it:

“A big part of me prefers a septic because we have to be careful. It forces you to think about the ecosystem you are destroying when you use harsh chemicals to clean and wash paint or other products down the drain. The best thing is to thoroughly read up on them and treat them like you treat your stomach - after all, they are just big digestive systems for your house. Also have them checked regularly to ensure they are healthy.’’

If everyone had this level of understanding about how septic systems work, fewer people would be intimidated by the technology and communities wouldn’t be so quick to approve costly expansion of municipal sewer systems where it’s not warranted. And existing onsite systems would last longer and perform better.

They’re clueless:

“Our home has a septic system and it was completely new to me 14 years ago when we moved in. Boy have I learned a bunch about having an onsite wastewater treatment plant! We spent quite a bit of money to get the system trouble-free and up to current code. I had no idea how much work, worry and expense would go with a septic system and if I can avoid it, I will never be in this situation again.’’

I’ll bet the poster didn’t bother with a point-of-sale inspection from a certified onsite professional before buying this house. Rather than take responsibility for a mistake made during the home-buying process, the poster chooses to blame proven wastewater technology and smear the work of an entire industry. They should be embarrassed for not doing their due diligence and getting the home-seller to help foot the repair bill.

They’re clueless:

“Septic is a nuisance, as you are always checking to see if it’s close to being full, especially if you are getting company and they have children. It is especially troublesome if your company flushes feminine products. Pump-out fees are also getting expensive! I would never go back to septic!’’

Maybe if you would get on a routine maintenance schedule – the same way you have your furnace cleaned or the oil changed in your car – you wouldn’t have to worry about an overflowing septic tank. And did you ever think about asking your guests not to flush feminine products down the toilet? Foreign objects are just as troublesome for your indoor plumbing going to a sewer pipe as they are for the septic tank. As for the cost issue, see below.

They get it:

“Properly installed, [an onsite system] will work great for 20 or 30 years. Just do the math. Installation of septic tank and field lines is about the same as the connection fee to city sewage. But … the city sewage at $50 per month for 25 years = $15,000 down the drain. If for some reason you have a clogged [septic] tank, you can get it pumped out for $300.’’

From what I’ve seen over the years, most people don’t put a pencil to paper and figure out the true costs of owning an onsite system or hooking up to the big pipe. As with buying an automobile these days, consumers now have a “monthly payment” mentality. They assume it’s better to pay $100 per month for something than writing a one-time $5,000 check, regardless of the useful lifespan of the product.

They’re clueless:

“Years ago we moved into a brand-new rental home. The owner gave me a pound of hamburger and asked me to break it up and flush it to quickly build the good bacteria in the septic. I don’t know how true it is, but once a year I flush a pound just for good measure.”

I wish I could talk to this person directly to save them from wasting a pound of hamburger every so often. There is ample evidence that people still believe a dead chicken in the tank or a cup of yeast down the toilet is the key to having a long-lasting onsite system. It escapes me why many folks would rather trust a baseless wives’ tale than listen to the tried-and-true advice of an onsite professional when it comes to protecting what might be the most expensive and most important system connected to their home.

SPREAD THE WORD

Onsite installers have done a lot to build professionalism in their ranks. Across the country, continuing education for service providers is getting better and better. Engineers and manufacturers are designing onsite systems that produce cleaner effluent and open up smaller lots and land with poorer soil quality for development. Installers can proudly say that new onsite systems can compete with public sewers for effective waste disposal.

But clearly we have a lot more work to do on the public education front. One statement from the “Sewer or Septic’’ debate really sums it up for me: “I have NOT had my tank here cleaned during the 10 years of using it and I keep my fingers crossed,’’ the poster wrote.

We can’t rest until we can convince people to care for and routinely maintain their onsite systems instead of simply keeping their fingers crossed that everything will be OK.