Onsite professionals often talk about the need to educate septic system owners – whether those systems are brand new or in service for years. Now the U.S. EPA has joined the education realm in earnest with its SepticSmart campaign (www.epa.gov/septicsmart).
Here’s a good solution for installers or service contractors who would like good educational “leave-behinds” but lack the resources to create their own materials and haven’t yet found publicly available items they can use.
The EPA calls SepticSmart “a nationwide public education effort that aims to inform homeowners living on properties serviced by septic systems on the importance of properly maintaining their septic system and provide valuable resources to help homeowners make important decisions regarding their wastewater management needs. The initiative also provides resources for outreach organizations and government leaders who seek promote this message locally.”
The SepticSmart program includes an Outreach Toolkit containing a variety of print-ready materials that can be downloaded from the website and taken to a local print shop. The items include:
- A SepticSmart graphic that can be easily posted on websites.
- A doorhanger advising homeowners to take proper care of their systems.
- A 9-page “Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems.”
- A 4-page homeowner’s guide in a “rack brochure” format.
- Postcards with basic system maintenance advice.
There are also links to web pages with basic information and to fact sheets on various more technical topics like large-capacity systems and flood recovery.
As a professional, what do you think of the SepticSmart program? Will you make use of it? What’s your opinion about the quality of information? We’d like to hear your opinions and ideas. Send a note to editor@onsiteinstaller.com and I promise to respond.
