Inspection Expectations

Who is qualified to sign off on the health of septic systems in your hometown? A trend in local inspection certifications may offer some surprising answers.

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“Our goal is to protect the public health,’’ a county environment and water quality official in the state of Washington told a local newspaper, explaining a new septic system inspection initiative under consideration. The county had formulated a plan to certify inspectors for periodic onsite system inspections in an environmentally sensitive area along the Puget Sound near Seattle.

Finally, I thought, here’s someone who values the work of routine inspections by onsite system professionals. I guess the liquid waste industry is getting its message through about the importance of proper maintenance and its role in ensuring clean water. The work many pumpers are doing to promote maintenance contracts as a way of preserving expensive septic systems is paying off.

 

NOT SO FAST

But wait, there’s more to the story. The proposed ordinance in Washington offers homeowners the opportunity to pay $10 and attend a class to become the certified inspectors and place them in charge of evaluating their own systems. The online or in-person classes would qualify homeowners to determine the effectiveness of their onsite systems between required professional inspections coming at either six- or nine-year intervals, a longer period for systems in high-risk watersheds.

I’ve been seeing a number of these proposals for homeowner self-inspection programs cropping up across the country over the past year and I have to speak up. Taking homeowners who’ve never so much as flipped a septic tank lid and certifying them as inspectors for $10 and a quick online class is reckless, irresponsible and an insult to pumping professionals. Can I be any clearer about my opinion?

Do local building inspectors charge homeowners $10 to certify them as electricians so they can upgrade the wiring? Does a department of transportation charge car owners $10 and certify them to determine the roadworthiness of their vehicles? Does the local health department charge citizens $10 and declare them qualified to perform their own physicals to put off going to the doctor?

The Washington proposal and others like it send a message that in the time it takes to attend a brief classroom session, any homeowner can attain the technical expertise necessary to protect their $20,000 septic system and the good health of their neighbors. These rules say, indirectly, there is no significant value in hiring a trained professional to keep your system in tip-top shape.

I guess all those continuing education classes pumpers attend and the 20 or 30 years of experience in the field many of you have are not so important after all. I guess a homeowner with little knowledge about onsite systems and little motivation to find – and therefore have to pay to repair – a problem is a suitable replacement for professional diagnostics.

Of course, that is absurd. You and I know the skills to detect issues with a septic system aren’t developed overnight. It takes years of training and experience to build these skills and a significant investment in equipment to perform thorough and reliable inspections. This is your livelihood and your profession, and you take pride in your expertise.

Beyond that, your work is insured, which should give customers further confidence that their systems are being well cared for. What confidence are most homeowners going to have in their own self-inspection? Would most truly believe their look into a full septic tank is going to replace – or even adequately delay – a professional examination?

 

CUSTOMER EDUCATION

It seems odd that at a time when concerns about pollution and public health are ramped up on many fronts, local and state governments are looking for ways to slack off on oversight of backyard wastewater treatment systems. With so many aging systems, and with the complexity of many new systems going in the ground, the last thing regulating bodies should be doing is certifying untrained people as inspectors.

It’s a great idea to involve homeowners in the care and upkeep of their septic systems. Consumer education is a vital component in extending the life cycle of a personal wastewater system. Pumpers everywhere are looking for ways to improve customer education programs because they know the value of an informed user.

And I would allow that a few high-functioning do-it-yourself homeowners would be up to the task of performing a legitimate inspection with training and practice.

But bestowing an official inspection certification to anyone with $10 and an hour to kill is like handing a badge to Barney Fife and expecting no problems in Mayberry.



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