Unlike in the past, design practices vary widely between states. When I started 40 years ago, environment health specialists (then sanitarians) were responsible for the design of nearly every system. They did bring engineers in to design some more complex systems, but still under their supervision.

Much has changed. The science and technology of onsite system design has grown considerably. Onsite systems are being installed on much more challenging sites, system flows of tens of thousands of gallons per day are more common, and more of these systems are being designed by engineers and designers from the private sector. For these reasons and more, the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association is developing training materials and a standard of practice for decentralized wastewater systems.

Training materials have been developed by many industry groups, including the National Association of Wastewater Technicians (NAWT), the Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment (CIDWT), the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), NOWRA and universities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has funded training centers, operator training, installer training, work on a model code and more. The only missing part seems to be designer training. To address this, in 2011, then-NOWRA President Richard Otis formed a task force to develop designer training.

At NOWRA’s 2013 annual conference in Nashville, the NOWRA Standard of Practice for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Soil-Based Treatment System Selection and Design was presented. This standard was adopted at the NOWRA October board meeting and was also presented at the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (VOWRA) annual conference in Roanoke, Va. Participants agreed with the elements of design and we discussed the widely varying authorities and responsibilities of designers in various states.

While the discussion highlighted the various approaches to licensing and training designers, everyone agreed that there is a need for both good design and for training, including engineering designers. We also received good comments on the Standards of Practice, including some elements that will make good additions to the standards.

Clearly, good design makes for good installations and good systems. The national training programs for operators and installers have made for more consistent practices. Consistency from state to state has also improved due to the extensive use of third-party-tested advanced pre-engineered systems.

Currently, NOWRA has developed 13 modules for designer training. The training describes the Standard of Practice elements applicable for each design. These modules were developed for design training NOWRA will conduct for the Maryland Association of Onsite Wastewater Professionals (MOWPA) this spring. The advanced designs covered will include mounds, at-grade, low-pressure distribution (LPD) and drip.

NOWRA’s goal is not to turn designers into engineers. Rather, it is to make sure designs of onsite systems – especially more complex designs – are done properly and that nonengineering practitioners – designers, regulators and others – have a better understanding of requirements for each design. Our approach combines classroom training with examples in the field and is fairly mathematics intensive. Readers can review the Standard of Practice and see course module summaries developed to date at www.nowra.org.

Again, good design makes for good installations and the more knowledge we can feed new designers, the easier life will be for installers and future operators.