Whenever a community wants to expand its municipal sewer service territory, government leaders are quick to point out the benefits of hooking up the big pipe. Doubtlessly you’ve heard it many times if you live near a sprawling urban area. They say the expansion represents progress and that it allows property owners with higher wastewater demands to receive more reliable service. These may be businesses, residential health care facilities, and apartment complexes. 

Additionally municipal sewer proponents are quick to say it’s a good trade-off for homeowners currently being served by onsite wastewater systems; these residents will no longer have to worry about maintenance or repairs on their systems … and all they’ll have to cover is one small quarterly wastewater bill from the city. Certainly there is a reward for some property owners who fill in their septic tanks and tap into the big pipe.

But this is not always the case. Those who favor constant expansion of municipal sewer lines don’t want to hear it, but oftentimes folks are perfectly content with their onsite systems. Their systems function as designed, effectively handling their small-flow treatment needs and return valuable clean water to the groundwater aquifers right in their backyards. They think onsite wastewater treatment is reasonable, prudent and economical.

Such is the case in the town of Coventry, Rhode Island, located just south of Providence, where residents are fighting back against municipal sewer expansion. They don’t want to hook up, so they banded together and recently convinced the Town Council to suspend further sewer construction without considering the socio-economic demographic data and impact on neighborhoods.

HEAR BOTH SIDES

According to a story in The Coventry Courier newspaper, a hookup to the new lines costs an average of $20,000 per property. That’s an expense many don’t want to bear, especially since they are happy with the performance of their individual septic systems.

“I have a septic tank that works perfectly, and now they tell me I have to come up with another $20,000. I’m 84 years old. I’m a senior citizen. There is no way I can come up with that kind of money,” one resident says. Those thoughts were echoed over and over during a public debate. An engineer at the meeting countered that onsite systems are not meant as a permanent solution to handling wastewater.

“Generally, they fail over time,” says Kent Nichols, of engineering firm Weston & Sampson. “A small amount of solids escape the tank. It’s not something you can prevent, so over time, the field tends to plug. There are septic systems that can be in place and appear functional but are not performing up to standard. They can stop treating and discharge things into the environment. Just because the water goes away doesn’t always mean it’s working.”

As professionals in the wastewater industry, you know he is partially right and partially wrong. And he’s furthering a common argument made by those who would dismiss decentralized wastewater treatment through broad generalities.

Nichols is right about the potential for failure in onsite systems. But that goes for any system that is not properly maintained by its caretakers — even a municipal sewer system. If any utility, large or small, public or private, is not maintained to an accepted standard, it can stop working effectively. Yes, many homeowners ignore necessary inspection, maintenance, and repair of their septic systems, and they help the pro-sewer faction make its point. As installers, you are constantly engaged in consumer education to change all of that. And I believe your efforts are making a difference.

A CHANGING DEBATE

Where Nichols is wrong is in not understanding how the debate over onsite wastewater is changing. It is no longer always thought of as a stopgap wastewater solution until a sewer line comes along. Onsite systems are being recognized as a permanent solution and a way to prevent costly expansion of sewer lines. Perhaps Nichols isn’t aware of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Memorandum of Understanding with numerous onsite septic groups that states decentralized treatment can be a once-and-forever solution for wastewater in many circumstances.

Sure, there’s a long way to go to assure the engineers, local governments and general public that septic systems are a safe and effective treatment alternative. Ongoing education programs are a big part of that effort. So is continuing to enhance the technologies used in the onsite industry. The infrastructure of manufacturers are constantly looking for new ways to improve septic system components. It’s the job of the entire installer community to preach maintenance and mandatory inspections of aging systems. 

Together, with a little help from citizens like those in Coventry, onsite will thrive as a viable alternative to the big pipe.

Counting Our Blessings

A sanitation story that has spanned the globe in recent months hits home in a sobering way. It involves a centuries-old method of disposing of human waste in India called “manual scavenging.” Maybe you’ve never heard this term before, but it explains how waste removal is still done by hand in regions that are still struggling for a basic, safe lifestyle. I am reminded of this practice often through seeing frequent news dispatches about sanitation workers being overcome by hydrogen sulfide fumes and dying. We hear of this happening a few times a year in the U.S., but these tragedies are a regular occurrence in parts of the developing world.

Human rights groups in India have been trying to bring these dangerous working conditions to light through news stories and documentary films. One worker told the Society for Participatory Research in Asia about his experience cleaning septic tanks for years. “There are certain safety measures which are mandatory while going to clean a septic tank air manhole, but I have been working without any ask apron, safety jacket and no one pinpoints or questions,” he explains. Another says, “Once I asked my contractor for safety gear before going down a manhole but that made him only furious and I was thrown out of my job.”

Reports indicated that a staggering 22,000 sanitation workers die every year on the job. The Intercontinental Journal of Human Resources Research Review in 2014 stated that on average almost 20 sewer workers were dying per month in Mumbai from suffocation, exposure to toxic gases and other accidents. If you search out this topic on the internet, it doesn’t take long to find horrifying video of workers standing in septic tanks, knee-deep in wastewater, pulling out trash or buckets of waste with their bare hands. These images are deplorable and should sadden any of us who enjoy safe working conditions and a privileged life in the Western world. 

I applaud anyone who would take action to help change these unsafe practices, but it’s easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed at that prospect from halfway around the world. I’m sure many relief agencies and church-based charities in the U.S. and Canada are aware of the suffering of the unfortunate poor in India and countries are trying to make a difference.

These stories should, at the very least, make us thankful that our wastewater industry at home is so far advanced and protects our workers from these tragedies, the general public from disease, and the quality of groundwater and waterways. Sometimes your customers will complain about health department regulations that can raise the cost of installing onsite systems. And I know installers can have difficulty meeting increasing job site safety requirements, for example. But these rules protect people and the environment.

I am humbled and grateful for my own good fortune when I read about ongoing problems with wastewater in other parts of the world. And I appreciate how hardworking installers and onsite system manufacturers are always striving to make this industry better.