Septic Education Program
The community of Prescott, Ariz., has an ongoing debate about whether to sewer certain areas. As a result, Lowell Fagen, Brian Bishop, Suzanne Ehrlich, Geoff Meek and Lou Brown, board members of the Arizona Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, developed a Septic Education Program for Homeowners.
Two presentations taught home-owners how their onsite systems work, how to recognize problems, and how to maintain and operate the systems to extend the service life and save money. Attendees received an operation and maintenance manual developed by the team. The program is available to all Arizona communities.
Wetland Research
Researchers at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, constructed five different submerged gravel wetlands and tested their ability to remove contaminants against various dosing systems.
Joe Yelderman, Ph.D., professor of geology, and Margaret Forbes, Ph.D., research associate of biology, found that the wetland with gravel and plants discharged cleaner water during batch dosing when compared against more continuous dosing. Yelderman believes batch dosing allows the wetland to dry out enough for the gravel and plants to better oxidize the wastewater, and allows the aerobic bacteria to better decompose the organic matter.
The results also showed that the wetlands with expanded shale aggregate did not perform as well as expected, but did perform as well as, if not better than, using standard gravel. The majority of the wetlands reduced BOD, phosphorus, and ammonia.
Rewarding Endeavor
The Johnson County Environ-mental Department contacted the Kansas Small Flows Association to help sponsor a humanitarian project for an elderly gentleman who needed a new onsite system and could not afford it. A soil analysis by the county found that only a bottomless sand filter could be permitted for the lot. The association solicited donations of materials, labor, and equipment, then used the installation as a two-day training course for installers and regulators.
Scholarship Recipients
The Missouri Smallflows Organi-zation awarded the 2009 Daryel Brock Memorial Scholarships ($500 each) to Anne Dohmen of Jefferson City and Lee Ann Rustemeyer of Salisbury. Dohmen is specializing in renewable resources through the environmental engineering program at Washington University, St. Louis. Rustemeyer, a freshman at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo., is specializing in elementary education.
Mystery in Oregon
The Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association newsletter carried an article by Kim Aldrich, a Yamhill County regulator. Called out for an authorization inspection to connect a replacement dwelling to an existing onsite system, she found the drop box concrete lids uncovered. They fell apart when Aldrich tried to lift them.
The box interiors for the first and second lines were decomposing into a white, semi-solid mush. Aldrich tested the pH of the soil, which was 6.1 and not acidic enough to cause the destruction from the inside out. The owners, who have lived in the home for 10 years, said no one was using chemo-therapy medication. If someone knows what is destroying the concrete, you should e-mail aldrichk @co.yamhill.or.us.
Future Control
The Washington Onsite Sewage Association hosted discussions on potential revisions to the designer licensing legislation. Current needs include updating the language and timeline dates, and the onsite community’s need for education, entry barriers, and opportunities to expand into stormwater design on residential sites. Visit www.wossa.org.
Training & Education
Online courses for wastewater practitioners
The Oregon State University is offering online courses approved by the Oregon Environmental Services Advisory Council for continuing education credits. The Wastewater Installer course covers the physical properties of soil, hydrology of soil materials, soil chemistry, soil morphology and soil color, landscape position, and landform geology of Oregon. The university also offers an Introductory Soils for Onsite Wastewater Practitioners course. The course modules and exams are hosted in Blackboard. Call the university at 800/667-1465 or e-mail ecampus@oregonstate.edu.
NAWT
The National Association of Wastewater Transporters has these sessions:
• Dec. 3-4 – Onsite Installer Training, Sacramento, Calif.
• Jan. 12 – Vacuum Truck Techn-ician, East Lansing, Mich.
• Jan. 26-27 – Onsite Inspector Training, Laughlin, Nev.
• Feb. 13-14 – Onsite Inspector Training, Georgetown, Del.
• Feb. 13-14 – Operation and Maintenance Training, George-town, Del.
Call NAWT at 800/236-6298 or visit www.nawt.org. For California classes, call the California Onsite Wastewater Association at 530/ 321- 2207. For Michigan classes, call Mark Scott at 989/275-5011. For Nevada classes, call Kitt Farrell-Poe at 928/ 782-3836. For Delaware courses, call Jerry Williams at 302/855-5904.
Alabama
Licensing classes are the joint effort of the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association (AOWA) and University of West Alabama (UWA). Courses are at the UWA Livingston campus.
• Dec. 3-4 – Continuing Education
• Dec. 9-11 – Advanced Level II Installers
Call 334/396-3434 or visit www.aowa.org.
California
The California Onsite Waste-water Association has the NAWT Installer Training course Dec. 3-4 in Sacramento, Calif. Call 530/321-2207 or visit www.cowa.org.
Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Extension has these classes:
• Jan. 4-6 – Introduction to Onsite Systems, Hinckley
• Jan. 7-8 – Installing Onsite Systems, Hinckley
• Jan. 11-12 – Maintainer CE, Brainerd
• Jan. 13-14 – Installer Continu-ing Education, St. Cloud
• Jan. 14 – Pipelayer Certifi-cation, Rochester
Call Nick Haig at 800/322-8642 (612/625-9797) or visit http://septic. umn.edu.
Missouri
The Missouri Smallflows Organ-ization is offering these CEU courses:
• Dec. 8-9 – Dispersal and Water Management, Hillsboro
• Dec. 8-9 – Onsite Wastewater Loan Inspection and Evalu-ation, Columbia
• Dec. 15-16 – Operation and Maintenance, El Dorado Springs
Call 417/739-410 or visit www. mosmallflows.org. Call Randy Miles at 573/882-6607 for the Columbia course.
New England
The New England Onsite Waste-water Training Program at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston has these workshops:
• Dec. 3 – Regulatory Setback and Buffers
• Dec. 10 – Nitrogen in the En-vironment and Onsite Systems
• Dec. 15 – Designing Nitrogen Removal Technologies
Call 401/874-5950 or visit www. uri.edu/ce/wq.
North Carolina
The North Carolina Soils and Onsite Wastewater Training Academy has the following courses at Raleigh unless stated otherwise:
• Dec. 1 – Inspector Field Prac-ticum, Bolivia
• Dec. 2 – Introduction to Advanced Pretreatment Tech-nologies, Bolivia
• Dec. 8 – Inspector Field Practicum, Plymouth
• Dec. 9 – Introduction to Advanced Pretreatment Tech-nologies, New Bern
• Dec. 9-10 – Troubleshooting and Remediation of Septic Systems
• Dec. 11 – Advanced Design Lab
• Dec. 11 – Pumps and Controls, Manteo
• Dec. 15 – Basic System Trouble-shooting, Greensboro
• Dec. 16 – Remote Systems, Greensboro
• Dec. 17 – The Science Behind the Soil and Site Rules, Greensboro
Call Joni Tanner at 919/513-1678 or visit www.soil.ncsu.edu /training.
Virginia
The Virginia Center for Onsite Wastewater Training has an Effluent Dispersal Systems course Dec. 2-3 in Blackstone. Call Lydia Cox at 434/ 292-3101 or visit www.southside.edu.
Washington
The Washington Onsite Sewage Association and Washington State Department of Health in cooperation with Washington State Univer-sity are offering these certification courses at the training center in Puyallup unless stated otherwise:
• Dec. 2 – Troubleshooting Onsite Systems
• Dec. 3-4 – Advanced Soils
• Dec. 9-10 – Washington Admin-istrative Code/Recommended Standards & Guidance Review, Moses Lake
• Dec. 16 – Troubleshooting Onsite Systems, Mt. Vernon
• Jan. 6 – Maintaining Onsite Systems
• Jan. 7 – Proprietary Systems
Call WOSSA at 253/770-6594 or visit www.wossa.org.
