Bringing a Challenging Lakefront System up to Code

Six homes in a subdivision along the shore of the Bull Shoals peninsula in north-central Arkansas had individual septic tank effluent pump systems pumping to a 1970s gravel filter bed. The system, operating under an Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality permit, surface-discharged to the lake, which had consistent nitrogen and phosphorous exceedances. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains the dam and area around the lake. It also leased the land for the filter bed, but the Corps wanted to terminate the lease. Relocating it was the responsibility of the subdivision owner-developer. Furthermore, the Corps’ revised shoreline management plan banned surface discharge. The