Loic Rogers would be 10 years old this year. Maybe he’d be in the fifth grade at his elementary school, perhaps involved in Little League baseball or the Cub Scouts. He’d probably enjoy fishing or exploring the great outdoors like many boys growing up in Kalispell, Mont.

Tragically, none of those things happened for Rogers. He died at age 3 when he fell into a septic tank through a damaged and unsecured lid and drowned. It was a heartbreaking story that generated national headlines in January 2007 and sticks with me to this day. And unfortunately, stories like Loic’s have been repeated many times since his senseless death.

Early this year, a little girl in Arizona fell into a septic tank with no cover and was saved by brave passersby who heard her screaming. And in February, a Florida toddler fell into an uncovered septic tank and drowned. How can these hazardous situations not be noticed or go on ignored until an innocent child happens by and falls in? I’d hoped the public would have learned something about the importance of securing septic tank lids after the Loic Rogers tragedy. But apparently not.

Always Preventable

Every time I hear of a case where someone falls into a neglected septic tank, I recall the little boy in Montana and conversations I had with a pumper who felt it was his duty to raise awareness about securing tank lids. Wade Dooley, of Little Stinkers Septic Service and Portable Toilet Rentals, in Bozeman, Mont., wrote letters to the editor to local media at the time, imploring homeowners to make sure their septic tank lids were secured to protect children.

I hadn’t talked to Wade in seven years, so I called him to ask if there’s been an improvement in septic tank maintenance among his customers. Sadly, he still encounters broken lids and does everything he can to educate homeowners about the hazards. The young boy’s death seemed to raise awareness for a time, but that hasn’t been sustained.

“It’s 100 percent preventable. It’s just a tragedy when we see something like that,’’ he says. “We do our due diligence to make people aware of their responsibilities and what the hazards are, but you still see broken lids and poor maintenance. When you service so many properties, you’re going to see it from time to time. It’s frustrating that people don’t recognize how big of a hazard this is. It’s generally life or death for those kids.’’

I know pumping professionals preach safety and proper tank maintenance all the time. Dooley, like so many others in the industry, considers customer education a top priority and won’t leave an unsafe situation unaddressed. While I’m convinced septic service contractors are conscientious about bringing needed repairs to light, can we do more as an industry to raise awareness about the dangers of neglected lids and risers?

National Safety Campaign

Dooley thinks so. He’d like to see pumpers nationwide partner with local county health departments to create a campaign to promote safety inspections of septic tanks. He doesn’t know how interested parties could get together and coordinate the message, but he thinks it’s time to do something.

“People hear about tragedies like this and then go six or seven years where it’s out of sight, out of mind,’’ he says. “We need a top-of-mind awareness campaign out there; and easy-to-read literature you could supply to customers to say that even if you’re not in violation, you need to be aware of this potential hazard.’’

Maybe Dooley is onto something. A coordinated effort to promote safe tank lids is a lofty goal for the industry, but I think pumpers are up to the task. Wouldn’t it be great if we never again had to hear a story about an innocent child like Loic Rogers dying because someone ignored their septic tank?