This summer marks three years of the State of the States feature in Onsite Installer magazine. We’ve covered the people and programs of many state and provincial wastewater trade associations across North America. It’s enlightening to see how issues differ from the southeast United States in Florida to the western reaches of Canada in British Columbia. It’s good to follow how these grass-roots groups work to enhance the professionalism of onsite and pumping industries … and in so doing, improve the environment of their friends and neighbors.

We’ve covered most of the states and provinces, but we look forward to talking to professionals in the remaining regions. Writer Doug Day has reached out, but has had no response from trade associations in Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky and Maine. He has also called on regulators in states that don’t have organized wastewater associations. Those are Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

If you are involved in associations in the states yet to be featured, or if you are a regulator in the wastewater field where no association has been established, please contact me and help us cover industry initiatives in your area. In some cases, it’s possible we have the wrong contact person for some of these states. I’d appreciate your help in rectifying that so we can be sure to truly provide coast-to-coast coverage of the industry.

In addition to the State of the States (or Provinces) feature, we track wastewater news from across the U.S. and Canada every month as part of our Rules and Regs column. From those reporting efforts, we have a suggestion for leaders of the many regional trade groups: Look to update your website with new content on a more regular basis.

Just like any business going online, constantly adding new information will make your web presence more relevant for association members and the general public who visit to learn more about their onsite systems or wastewater hauling options. It appears that too many trade association websites suffer from neglect — whether it’s through turnover in leadership or lack of volunteer content contributors.

The first rule of a dynamic web or social media presence is keeping materials fresh. Be sure to post contact information for your latest slate of association officers. Seek out contributions from your members, whether it’s a legislative update, company ownership changes or updates, or photos of work being done in the field. The more you post, the more exciting your website will be … and that will prompt a lot of return traffic from people who want to learn more.

One piece of content to consider is a member profile to bring your community closer together. Include a photo and a brief story about some of your most active members and encourage others to contact them and discuss the programs and benefits of getting more involved in the work of the association. This is a concept we’re exploring for a potential new feature in Onsite Installer. Stay tuned.

BULLISH ABOUT ONSITE

There’s good reason to be upbeat about the state of the onsite industry. Good things happen when studies show there is a need to build and improve the wastewater infrastructure at the same time that state and federal funds are being earmarked for septic system upgrades and replacements. Every month I read about at least one community introducing a grant program for septic system maintenance, repair or replacement.

As an example, the Georgia Department of Public Health recently announced funds would be available through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve decentralized wastewater systems in the Silver Creek Watershed (in Polk and Floyd counties in northwest Georgia). Qualifying residents could receive as much as $1,115 in financial aid for repair and replacement of systems, while other residents may apply for a $200 voucher to go toward pumping a septic tank. One installer estimated the cost of replacing a septic tank is between $2,500 to $3,000.

“While no one is sure about all the sources of contamination in Silver Creek, there’s a good reason to suspect that some of it is coming from malfunctioning septic tanks. We’re trying to address that part of the problem,” Tim Allee, district environmental health director, told the Northwest Georgia News.

This is evidence that federal money is starting to trickle toward improving the infrastructure of private onsite systems like it has steadily flowed toward public wastewater treatment systems for many years. The change is the result of a realization by federal and state health officials that an estimated 25 to 30 percent of Americans utilize septic systems to treat their wastewater. This information is being pushed by wastewater industry associations that believe assistance has been unfairly weighted toward municipal treatment systems in the past.

You want to hear some staggering numbers? Try $353.7 billion. That’s what the environmental services industry — which includes onsite installers — generated in 2014, according to a report released recently by Environmental Business International. The number was up 3.9 percent over the previous year, with 14 sectors in environmental services representing almost 3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.. The conglomerate of industry companies employed a staggering 1.74 million workers in 2014, and it’s trending upward. Wastewater treatment has consistently exceeded the GDP by 1 to 3w percent since 2000, according to the report.

This bodes well for installers. The demand for your services has been established and continues to grow in importance as private wastewater systems are aging and standards for clean water are strengthening. At the same time, your potential customers are now starting to enjoy government assistance to offset the costs associated with upgrading or replacing onsite systems.

More and more customers will be in the pipeline, calling on your expertise. Now it’s your job to be prepared to serve them. That means bolstering your crews that may be challenged by an aging workforce, and the need to train young people with strong backs and technical know-how. But that’s a topic for another time.