Soil App for Smartphones

The Soil Web application for iPhone and Android smartphone platforms uses GPS to access the phone’s location, then downloads real-time soil survey information anywhere in the lower 48 states. The graphic summary includes links to the descriptions of soil layers and to laboratory data archived at the National Soil Survey Laboratory in Lincoln, Neb. Visit http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov.

 

Educational Conference

The State Onsite Regulators Alliance and Captains of Industry (SORA/COI) Conference is June 28-30 at the Marriott Marquis and Marina in San Diego, Calif. Held with the National Environmental Health Association Conference, it offers a forum for regulators and industry representatives to discuss wastewater issues and manufacturers to present their products. Educational tracks cover technology, research, environmental health issues, and new federal regulations affecting the onsite industry.

The California Onsite Wastewater Association collaborated with NEHA and the National Association of Wastewater Transporters to include its annual educational conference in the event and to produce more than 15 hours of online educational materials. Visit www.nesc.wvu.edu/sora and www.neha2012aec.org, or www.cowa.org.

 

Agency Reactivates Advisory Committee

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality reactivated its Onsite Wastewater Advisory Committee to critique regulations. The department chose these Arizona Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association members: Richard Bartholomew, Bryan Chiordi, Suzanne Ehrlich, Lowell Fagen, Kitt Farrell-Poe, Jake Garrett, Dusty Lewis, Dawn Long, Justin Ramsey, Charles Moses, and Richard Sinclair. Other committee participants were Paul Miller, Stu Spalding, Ed Swanson, and Paul Trotta.

 

Association Saves Home

Members of the Kansas Small Flows Association helped a family in Pottawattamie County avert the condemnation of the home they purchased without knowing that it had a failed onsite system. KSFA offered to install a new system in exchange for the $1,500 in state cost-sharing money and used the installation for training.

Charlene Weiss of Weiss Water and Wastewater Consulting and Tod Hettenbach of Kansas Pumping Service conducted the soil profile. KSFA president Mark Sheppard worked with the fundraising chairman to enlist donations. To continue the program, KSFA asked members to contact the board if they knew of families needing assistance with a system repair or replacement. The board of directors is listed at www.ksfa.org.

 

Tire-Derived Aggregate

As of July 2011, installers in Nova Scotia had access to approved tire-derived aggregate for use in drainfields. Waste Water Nova Scotia Society produced a training video last summer on the installation of a raised C2 (mound) disposal field, one with chambers, and another of gravel and pipe.

 

Measuring Temperatures

The lack of data on sewage temperatures in winter prompted the Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre in Guelph to measure them. The study found that temperatures varied throughout the year, but day-to-day variations were small. Researchers are now studying the affect of insulating the tanks.

 

Delaware Conference

The Delaware Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association Conference and Exhibition is Oct. 9-10 at the Dover Downs Casino and Conference Center in Dover. Call Niki Glanden at 302/359-2210, Hollis Warren at 302/284-9070, or visit www.dowra.org.

 

Calendar

April 2-5

NOWRA Technical Education Conference and Fourth Northeast Onsite Wastewater Short Course, Biltmore Hotel, Providence, R.I. 800/966-2942; www.nowra.org.

 

April 15-17

Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association Conference and Exhibition, Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville. Contact Denis Orendt at 905/372-2722 or dorendt@yahoo.ca; www.oowa.org.

 

Training & Education

Alabama

Licensing classes are the joint effort of the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association (AOWA) and University of West Alabama (UWA). Courses are at UWA Livingston campus unless stated otherwise:

• May 2-4 – Advanced Installer II Class

• May 23-25 – Basic Installer Class

• June 21-22 – Continuing Education Class, Dothan

The first day of Continuing Education classes is for installers and the second day for pumpers and portable restroom operators. Call the training center at 205/652-3803 or visit www.aowatc.uwa.edu.

 

Arizona

The University of Arizona Onsite Wastewater Education Program has these classes:

• May 7 – Inspecting Pumps and Using Them in Designs for Arizona Onsite Systems, Payson

• May 8 – Inspecting Subsurface Drip Dispersal Systems and Using Them in Designs for Arizona Onsite Systems, Payson

Call Kitt Farrell-Poe at 520/621-7221, email kittfp@ag.arizona.edu, or visit www.ag.arizona.edu/waterquality/onsite.

 

California

The California Onsite Wastewater Association is offering these NAWT classes:

• May 17 – Principles of Plan Checking, Sacramento

• June 26 – Installation of Onsite Systems (NAWT course), San Diego

• June 28 – Outreach (NEHA schedule), San Diego

Call Kit Rosefield at 530/513-6658 or visit www.cowa.org.

 

Florida

The Florida Onsite Wastewater Association Training Center is offering these courses with master credit hours in Lake Alfred unless stated otherwise:

• May 9 – Advanced Treatment Systems II, Tallahassee

• May 10 – Operations and Maintenance B, Jacksonville

• May 14 – Master I: Onsite Wastewater Concepts, Mats, Regulation and Application Process

• May 15-16 – Master II: Intro to Florida Soils and Site Evaluation

• May 17-18 – Master III: Onsite Construction Permits and Inspections

• June 19 – Operations and Maintenance A, Fort Myers

• June 20 – Operations and Maintenance B, Fort Lauderdale

• June 21-22 – Alabama and Florida Combined Training Sessions, Dothan, Ala.

Contact FOWA at 321/363-1590 or www.fowaonsite.com.

 

Iowa

The Iowa Onsite Wastewater Association has these courses:

• May 11 – Operation and Maintenance Workshop, Creston

• June 14-15 – Habitat for Humanity Systems Installs, Waverly

Contact Alice Vinsand at 515/225-1051, execdir@iowwa.com, or visit www.iowwa.com.

 

Kentucky

The Kentucky Onsite Wastewater Association has six hours of continuing education for certified installers of onsite wastewater disposal systems on June 15 at the Bluegrass Community Technical College in Lawrenceburg. Call 270/401-2301 or visit www.kentuckyonsite.org.

 

Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center has these classes:

• May 1-4 – Service Provider, Mankato

• May 22-24 – Basic Onsite System Designs, Farmington

• May 30-June 1 – Soils, Grand Rapids

• June 5-6 – Inspecting Onsite Systems, St. Cloud

• June 7 – Soils Continuing Education, Rushford Village

• June 14 – Soils Continuing Education, Detroit Lakes

• June 19-21 – Soils, Rochester

• June 27 – Soils Continuing Education, St. Cloud

Call Nick Haig at 800/322-8642 or visit www.septic.umn.edu.

 

New England

The New England Onsite Wastewater Training Center at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston has these courses:

• May 3 – Functional Inspections

• May 10 – Innovative and Alternative Technologies

• May 17 – All About Series: Sand Media

• May 31 – Installing Advanced Onsite Treatment Systems

• May 31 – Innovative and Alternative Technology Field Training at Peckham Farm

• June 6 – Soil Basics for the Onsite Wastewater Contractor

• June 13 – Advanced Soil Morphology

• June 14 – Hands-On Component Installation

• June 21 – Bottomless Sand Filter Design and Installation

• June 27 – Advanced Soil Morphology

Call 401/874-5950 or visit www.uri.edu/ce/wq. For soil courses, call Mark Stolt at 401/874-2915 or email mstolt@uri.edu.

 

North Carolina

North Carolina State University has the following courses:

• May 9 – Why We Study Soil, Web-based

• May 16 – Formation of Soil, Web-based

• May 23 – Identification and Classification of Soil, Web-based

• May 30 – Physical Properties of Soil – Texture, Structure, and Density, Web-based

• June 6 – Cycling of Water Through Soil, Web-based

• June 13 – Chemistry of Soil, Web-based

• June 20 – Role of Soil in Plant Nutrition, Web-based

• June 27 – Soil Ecosystem, Web-based

Call Joni Tanner at 919/513-1678 or visit www.soil.ncsu.edu/training.

 

Washington State

The Washington On-Site Sewage Association and Washington State Department of Health in cooperation with Washington State University are offering these certification courses at the training center in Puyallup unless stated otherwise:

• May 1-2 – O&M Certification for Proprietary Devices

• May 16 – Design of High-Strength Waste Systems

• May 22 – Electrical Control Panels, Bremerton

Call WOSSA at 253/770-6594 or visit www.wossa.org.