Retrieving False Teeth: Every Day Presents a New Wastewater Challenge

The president of the Michigan Septic Tank Association reflects on strange workplace stories and the great networking opportunities he gets from being involved in a professional group

Retrieving False Teeth: Every Day Presents a New Wastewater Challenge

Dave W. Snyder

In States Snapshot, we visit with a member of a state, provincial or national trade association in the decentralized wastewater industry. This time, we learn about a member of the Michigan Septic Tank Association.

Dave W. Snyder, VP

Business: West Michigan Septic Sewer & Drain Service and Heckman’s Contracting, Muskegon, Michigan

Age: 60

Years in the industry: 20

Association involvement: 

I’m currently president of the Michigan Septic Tank Association. I’ve been involved for 20 years and have been a director that long. I have also held the vice president position.

Benefits of belonging to the association: 

The benefits of being involved in this 66-year-old association have been plentiful. Some that stand out are the legislative involvement to help our industry, the professionalism it has brought to our work, and some insurance benefits that have helped our member businesses. But an important one is the friendships I have had over the years with different business owners like us throughout our state and beyond. You can get some valuable ideas from folks who do the same things you do, and you can also give your information to them. It’s a win‑win.

Biggest issue facing your association right now: 

Some of our biggest issues involve legislation within our state. In 2004, when the state was trying to cut costs, they were talking about doing away with the septage program, which had regulations for disposal and other things. We didn’t want to see that happen. We’re trying to make the industry a little bit more professional and make everyone legal. Otherwise everybody and their brother can go buy a truck and pump tanks for next to nothing. So we offered to pay more in costs for licensing, and that kept the program going. Currently the state of Michigan is trying to create a sanitary code and has asked our association to help. We have a great relationship with the Department of Environmental Quality, and it has been good for all.

Our crew includes: 

Our business of 30 years includes my business partner and president, Terry B. Kiel. Jonathan Stephens is our septic truck leader and has done it all here for 23 years. T.J. Stariha and Jacob Kiel have been here for numerous years and are our top guys for sewer and drain work. Ron Williams and Joe Magner are our newest employees and are becoming valuable to our companies. We have had many others over the years to help us move to the position we are at now.

Typical day on the job: 

My daily role is running the office, dispatching, scheduling, invoicing and running some service calls. Terry Kiel does most of the excavating duties with the guys, so it’s usually just me in the office.

The job I’ll never forget: 

In 1998, a storm in our area carried straight winds up to 120 mph. We were called to the city of Grand Haven to help pump lift stations that were down due to power loss. The city was a twisted mess of broken trees, power poles, siding, roofing, etc. We worked around the clock to keep things from backing up in the hospital that was taking in elderly and hurt folks. When I was ready to be relieved by one of the guys, my wife picked me up and we drove through the area and couldn’t believe the destruction.

On a funnier note, I was on call one Easter weekend and got a call from an elderly woman who was out for Easter dinner and got sick. She had thrown up her false teeth and flushed the toilet in a panic. I retrieved the stuck false teeth from the toilet. She snatched them from me, washed them quickly and put them back in her mouth. I had a hard time eating my ham dinner after I got home.

Most challenging site I’ve worked on: 

We had one situation where the house was way down the hill, and we couldn’t get down there with a piece of equipment to move stones. We ended up using chutes. We had the stone brought in by a cement truck. They rolled it out onto the chute and then we were down there at the bottom to catch it and build the drainfield by hand. We are on the shore of Lake Michigan and have had to put systems in where there isn’t much room. On a lake, the homes all get built right next to each other. So, as installers, we have had to come up with different ideas.

The craziest question I’ve been asked by a customer: 

“Do you need to clean a septic tank?” My partner and I still use the same answer and explanation — “Nope, and you don’t ever have to change the oil in your car either. Just replace the engine!” They seem to understand after that.

If I could change one industry regulation, it would be:

I’d like to see a statewide sanitary code in place with mandatory system inspections and cleaning. I believe we need to be accountable for taking care of our environment and should start at our little piece of the world called home.

Best piece of small-business advice I’ve heard:

After 30 years in the industry and being 60 years old, I can’t remember all of the advice I’ve heard, but one would be “Honesty is still our policy.” We use that in our business, and I believe it came from my partner Kiel. The odds of having a partnership survive in business are not good, but we have made it work. We take it for granted because it wasn’t that difficult for us. We still enjoy it but know our goal now is retirement and hope someone taking over will carry our company to the future with our standards.

If I wasn’t working in the wastewater industry, I would: 

I left a good job in the vending industry to go into partnership with Kiel. Just before I decided to leave, they were promoting me to management. So who knows?

Crystal ball time – This is my outlook for the wastewater industry: 

I believe the industry has shown great professional growth over the years but still can move forward. Hopefully we’ll see a sanitary code for the state of Michigan and more education with certification for installers of septic systems.



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