The experience of Phylyce Thompson might be the best advertising for routine septic system inspection yet. The La Salle, Michigan, woman was pruning flowers in her garden recently when an aging septic tank below her caved in, plunging her chest-high into human waste. There were no warning signs of an impending problem. Everything looked normal above ground level, but there was clearly something wrong below grade.

“It was real close to a tragedy,” Phylyce’s husband, Jerry, told the Monroe News after the tank collapse. “I wouldn’t want her to go in that way.” The 72-year-old woman avoided being submerged in the waste by holding on to the edge of the septic tank while calling out for help. Her husband and son, Randy, pulled her out uninjured, but they wanted to bring attention to the risk of this happening to others.

“People need to be cautious,” Jerry Thompson said. “She was clinging for life.”

Then he said something you’ve heard over and over again from your customers. The couple had lived at the house since 1988 and had never given a thought to any dangers lurking underground. “I never thought twice about that septic tank,” he said.

The words “out of sight, out of mind” were used by the news reporter.

That about sums it up. Septic systems are out of sight, and therefore out of mind for millions of homeowners. They remain oblivious to very sudden threats like this tank collapse, but they also often maintain a cavalier attitude about recommended routine maintenance.

People are horrified by the image of an elderly woman being swallowed up when a tank suddenly collapses. They should be equally horrified at the prospect of a failing system tainting their water supply, bringing foul and infectious wastewater to the surface in their backyards and threatening the health and well-being of friends and neighbors.

How many situations like the Thompsons can you count in your work territory? How many septic systems are working beyond their expected expiration date? It’s likely there are thousands of aging septic systems within a half-hour drive of your onsite business. Like the Thompsons, so many of your neighbors have given little thought and spent little money maintaining their septic systems over the past 20, 30 or 40 years. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Trouble is, most of the time homeowners don’t even know “it ain’t broke.” They assume that since waste continues to flush down the toilet, all is well. They don’t see it as their responsibility to make sure the waste is being properly treated and that sludge is removed at regular intervals to ensure continued safe operation. And if they ignore routine pumping, you know they’re never having the systems inspected without being forced to do so.

This is where education plays such a vital role, and you as installers are on the front line of this education effort. Situations like this one point out that it’s not enough to sit on the sidelines and wait for systems to fail and your phone to ring with work. A failure of epic proportions like this illustrates an epidemic infrastructure problem in this country. So many septic systems were installed in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, and truthfully they are all at a growing risk of failure, either of the treatment process or a structural collapse.

We know this is true, so we shouldn’t sit back and play a passive role. We have information that can save people’s lives and prevent contamination of water supplies, which could lead to illness. It’s important we warn people about potential problems lurking below those carefully manicured lawns. Here are a few ways to get started:

Talk about the tank.

Use this story out of Michigan to let your customers know about the importance of inspecting components of their septic system. Concrete tank deterioration through hydrogen sulfide gas exposure is a risk being studied today. It is possible for a tank lid to cave in, potentially causing injury or death. Beyond that catastrophic result, tank corrosion can damage baffles or outlets and have a negative impact on system operation. Encourage homeowners to have their tanks pumped and thoroughly inspected for weaknesses that could cause big problems down the road.

Make a connection between waste and clean water.

So many septic system owners are most concerned about the bottom line: facing bills for repair or replacement when their systems seem to be operating correctly. They may be reluctant to spend money simply to make sure their waste is treated effectively. But if you can tie proper wastewater treatment to a clean drinking water supply, they will sit up and take notice. People will panic when faced with a tainted water supply, but until the worst happens, they don’t feel an urgency to take action. Make sure they understand the real link between wastewater and clean drinking water.

Offer inspections.

If you don’t already offer septic system inspections and regular maintenance, now is the time to consider providing this service. Knowing what you know, it’s not enough to simply repair or install septic systems on demand. Develop ongoing relationships with customers. Don’t simply install their systems and walk away assuming they will use them properly over the next 20 years. Make service after the sale a regular part of the way you do business. Include a few years of annual inspections when you sell a new system. Look for ways to make it affordable for customers to sign up for long-term oversight of their onsite systems.

Be the expert.

Think about it. You are the leading source of information on decentralized wastewater treatment. Nobody in your town or county knows more about onsite wastewater. Let people take advantage of your years of knowledge and background to educate and inform the public about septic system care. When water and wastewater issues come up in the local media, offer to answer questions from local media or groups of homeowners. Copy educational materials from your state trade association, local health department or other sources and distribute them to customers, local officials and reporters who need to know more about onsite topics. Remember your role in the community should go beyond excavating pits, laying pipe and installing tanks. To fulfill your professional duties, you need to be a teacher.