Education/Training

If a tank is operating properly, solids are retained and take up increasingly more volume. At some time they must be removed....

Despite efforts by the onsite industry to delay or overturn it, a ban on land application of septage in Florida went into...

Trees don’t ask for much — soil, water, sunlight. And they provide a wealth of benefits: They improve the air you breathe,...

The problem with many toilet cleaners is they contain corrosive ingredients: sulfates, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite (bleach) or phosphoric acid. Also, toilet...

Recent testing of hundreds of lakes and rivers in northcentral Minnesota showed no signs of contamination from septic systems. The Minnesota Pollution...

Antibacterial soaps and wipes are now used by 75 percent of American households, according to a recent report. Products designed to kill...

The Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association was formed in 1995 over concerns about a substantial rewrite of regulations in the state. Designed as...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has proposed a ban on labeling wipes as “flushable” or “safe for septic or sewer systems.’’ Instead,...

Septic systems rely on natural bacteria to treat wastewater. Harsh chemicals used in many drain cleaners kill the essential bacteria needed by...

More than a dozen NOWRA members traveled to Washington, D.C., June 14-15, 2016, to participate in the association’s Legislative Fly-In, and made...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is working on a rule change that could require that septic tanks be pumped dry prior to...

A “quat” is a shorthand term for a type of chemical known as a quaternary ammonium compound. Put in the simplest terms, a quat is...

It’s a time of transition for the Mississippi onsite wastewater industry. While the number of state health department inspectors is being reduced...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has warned five states they aren’t doing enough to reduce nitrogen in Long Island Sound. EPA proposed...

Wearing the proper personal protective equipment when doing any maintenance or repair on a septic system should be nonnegotiable. Aside from the...

Microbeads became a national issue a few years ago. Microbeads or microplastics are particles less than 5 mm in their longest dimension...

Kent and Peggy Affolter received a surprise recently when their septic system backed up into their downstairs shower, and it wasn’t sewage.The...