KANSAS: Rewarding Endeavor
The Johnson County Environmental Department contacted the Kansas Small Flows Association to help sponsor a humanitarian project for an elderly gentleman who needed a new onsite system and could not afford it. A soil analysis by the county found that only a bottomless sand filter could be permitted for the lot. The association solicited donations of materials, labor and equipment, then used the installation as a two-day training course for installers and regulators.
MISSOURI: Scholarship Recipients
The Missouri Smallflows Organization awarded the 2009 Daryel Brock Memorial Scholarship to Anne Dohmen of Jefferson City and Lee Ann Rustemeyer of Salisbury. Each received $500. Dohmen is specializing in renewable resources through the environmental engineering program at Washington University, St. Louis. Rustemeyer, a freshman at Central Methodist University in Fayette, is specializing in elementary education.
OREGON: Mystery in Oregon
The Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association newsletter carried an article by Kim Aldrich, a Yamhill County regulator. Called out for an authorization inspection to connect a replacement dwelling to an existing onsite system, she found the drop box concrete lids uncovered. They fell apart when Aldrich tried to lift them. The box interiors for the first and second lines were decomposing into a white, semi-solid mush. Aldrich tested the pH of the soil, which was 6.1 and not acidic enough to cause the destruction from the inside out. The owners, who have lived in the home for 10 years, said no one was using chemotherapy medication. Anyone who knows what is destroying the concrete should e-mail aldrichk@co.yamhill.or.us.
WASHINGTON STATE: Future Control
The Washington On-Site Sewage Association hosted discussions on potential revisions to the designer licensing legislation. Current needs include updating the language and timeline dates, and the onsite community’s need for education, entry barriers, and opportunities to expand into stormwater design on residential sites. Visit www.wossa.org.
TEXAS: Wetland Research
Researchers at Baylor University in Waco constructed five different submerged gravel wetlands and tested their ability to remove contaminants against various dosing systems. Joe Yelderman, professor of geology, and Margaret Forbes, research associate of biology, found that wetland with gravel and plants discharged cleaner water during batch dosing when compared against more continuous dosing. Yelderman believes that batch dosing allows the wetland to dry out enough for the gravel and plants to better oxidize the wastewater, and the aerobic bacteria to better decompose the organic matter.
The results also showed that wetlands with expanded shale aggregate did not perform as well as expected, but did perform as well, if not better than using standard septic gravel. The majority of the wetlands reduced BOD, phosphorus, and ammonia.
Training & Education
Online Courses For Wastewater Practitioners
Oregon State University is offering online courses approved by the Oregon Environmental Services Advisory Council for continuing education credits. The Wastewater Installer course covers the physical properties of soil, hydrology of soil materials, soil chemistry, soil morphology and soil color, landscape position, and landform geology of Oregon. The university also offers an Introductory Soils for Onsite Wastewater Practitioners course. Call the university at 800/667-1465 or e-mail ecampus@oregonstate.edu.
National Association of Wastewater Transporters
NAWT has these sessions:
• Nov. 5-6 — Operations and Maintenance 1, Sonora, Calif.
• Nov. 12-13 — Onsite Inspector Training, Malibu, Calf.
• Dec. 3-4 – Onsite Installer Training, Sacramento, Calif.
• Jan. 12 – Vacuum Truck Technician, East Lansing, Mich.
• Jan. 26-27 – Onsite Inspector Training, Laughlin, Nev.
• Feb. 13-14 – Onsite Inspector Training, Georgetown, Del.
• Feb. 13-14 – Operation and Maintenance Training, Georgetown, Del.
Call NAWT at 800/236-6298 or visit www.nawt.org. For California classes, call the California Onsite Wastewater Association at 530/321-2207. For Michigan classes, call Mark Scott at 989/275-5011. For Nevada classes, call Kitt Farrell-Poe at 928/782-3836. For Delaware courses, call Jerry Williams at 302/855-5904.
Alabama
Licensing classes are the joint effort of the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association and University of West Alabama. Courses are at the UWA Livingston campus.
• Dec. 3-4 – Continuing Education
• Dec. 9-11 – Advanced Level II Installers
Call 334/396-3434 or visit www.aowa.org.
California
The California Onsite Wastewater Association offers the following NAWT training courses:
• Nov. 5-6 — Operations and Maintenance 1, Sonora
• Nov. 12-13 — Onsite Inspector Training, Malibu
• Dec. 3-4 — Installer Training, Sacramento
Call 530/321-2207 or visit www.cowa.org.
Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Extension has these classes:
• Jan. 4-6 – Introduction to Onsite Systems, Hinckley
• Jan. 7-8 – Installing Onsite Systems, Hinckley
• Jan. 11-12 – Maintainer CE, Brainerd
• Jan. 13-14 – Installer Continuing Education, St. Cloud
• Jan. 14 – Pipelayer Certification, Rochester
Call Nick Haig at 800/322-8642 (612/625-9797) or visit http://septic.umn.edu.
Missouri
The Missouri Smallflows Organization is offering these CEU courses:
• Dec. 8-9 – Dispersal and Water Management, Hillsboro
• Dec. 8-9 – Onsite Wastewater Loan Inspection and Evaluation, Columbia
• Dec. 15-16 – Operation and Maintenance, El Dorado Springs
Call 417/739-410 or visit www.mosmallflows.org. Call Randy Miles at 573/882-6607 for the Columbia course.
New England
The New England Onsite Wastewater Training Program at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston has these workshops:
• Dec. 3 – Regulatory Setback and Buffers
• Dec. 10 – Nitrogen in the Environment and Onsite Systems
• Dec. 15 – Designing Nitrogen Removal Technologies
Call 401/874-5950 or visit www.uri.edu/ce/wq.
North Carolina
North Carolina Soils and On-Site Wastewater Training Academy has the following courses at Raleigh unless stated otherwise:
• Dec. 1 – Inspector Field Practicum, Bolivia
• Dec. 2 – Introduction to Advanced Pretreatment Technologies, Bolivia
• Dec. 8 – Inspector Field Practicum, Plymouth
• Dec. 9 – Introduction to Advanced Pretreatment Technologies, New Bern
• Dec. 9-10 – Troubleshooting and Remediation of Septic Systems
• Dec. 11 – Advanced Design Lab
• Dec. 11 – Pumps and Controls, Manteo
• Dec. 15 – Basic System Troubleshooting, Greensboro
• Dec. 16 – Remote Systems, Greensboro
• Dec. 17 – The Science Behind the Soil and Site Rules, Greensboro
Call Joni Tanner at 919/513-1678 or visit www.soil.ncsu.edu/training.
Virginia
The Virginia Center for Onsite Wastewater Training has an Effluent Dispersal Systems course on Dec. 2-3 in Blackstone. Call Lydia Cox at 434/292-3101 or visit www.southside.edu.
Washington State
The Washington On-Site Sewage Association and Washington State Department of Health in cooperation with Washington State University are offering these certification courses at the training center in Puyallup unless stated otherwise:
• Dec. 2 – Troubleshooting Onsite Systems
• Dec. 3-4 – Advanced Soils
• Dec. 9-10 – Washington Administrative Code/Recommended Standards & Guidance Review, Moses Lake
• Dec. 16 – Troubleshooting Onsite Systems, Mt. Vernon
• Jan. 6 – Maintaining Onsite Systems
• Jan. 7 – Proprietary Systems
Call WOSSA at 253/770-6594 or visit www.wossa.org.
Pumper invites state associations to post notices and news items in this column. Send contributions to editor@pumper.com.
