A few months ago, I used this space to propose wastewater industry recognition of an educator who goes above and beyond to help consumers understand the need for proper maintenance of septic systems. I heralded the efforts of Sandy May, the wastewater system specialist for St. Charles County, Missouri, who has helped countless homeowners extend the lives of their onsite systems and protect the environment around them.

Folks like Sandy do a great job of explaining how ever-more-complex wastewater systems work — and that they require periodic inspection and pumping. Through her career-long efforts, Sandy has helped homeowners save money and deal with the heartaches felt when a system fails. There are many good people like Sandy working on behalf of our industry, showing the value of private onsite wastewater treatment and its important role in developing rural and suburban areas.

But all of septic educators’ good work can be quickly undone. Sometimes it seems there aren’t enough top-notch educators to make up for the ignorance of so many people who boldly speak out on a topic about which they know little or nothing. You know who I mean:

• It’s the homeowner, so certain in his opinion, who stands up at a town board meeting to explain his secret to caring for a septic system. Maybe he advocates for putting a chicken from the supermarket in the septic tank once a year to raise bacteria levels.
• It’s the state legislator from a rural district so opposed to any environmental regulations that he refuses to listen to county or state health officials who try to explain the science of wastewater treatment. Playing up to a voting block that doesn’t want to open their wallets — even if it’s in their best interest to do so — he fights tooth and nail against even the least restrictive pumping rules.
• It’s the Realtors group in Anytown, U.S.A., that values a quick sale over well-informed buyers and sellers every time. “Point-of-sale inspection? There’s no reason for a point-of-sale inspection. That’s just the septic service companies putting dollars in their pockets.” Let’s not paint Realtors with too broad a brush, but you’ve all heard this argument at one time or another.

I KNOW WHEN TO PUMP!

This is an exaggeration, some critics might say. People in positions of power don’t spout unqualified opinions just to score political points, they argue. Why, people with little or no knowledge of septic systems would never give advice that would actually hurt homeowners, right?

Thanks for raising those points. So let’s look at a few recent examples of the septic maintenance deniers who are doing a grave disservice to users of onsite systems. These both came from Ontario, Canada.

In the communities surrounding Thunder Bay, officials have universally opposed new rules that would require septic tanks to be pumped every five years or when the sludge fills one-third of the tank. Particularly interesting was the response from Oliver-Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis, as reported at tbnewswatch.com:

“We all know when it’s time to have our septic tanks pumped out and we pump it out,” said Kloosterhuis, adding that her tank hasn’t been pumped since 2006. Her response to provincial officials who would mandate pumping: “We more or less told them to ‘mind their own business,’ kind of. Nobody tells us when we have to clean out our chimneys for our wood stoves or pump out our septic tanks. They’re just getting a bit too much in our face.”

Stop and think about what Kloosterhuis said. How does she know when it’s time to pump her tank? I doubt she’s digging up the lid and checking the sludge level, cleaning her outlet filter or inspecting her drainfield lines. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess she’s basing her strong opinion about septic maintenance on exactly no expert knowledge.

It sounds to me like Kloosterhuis is precisely the type of person who needs to be told when to pump her septic tank. And while they’re at it, provincial officials might want to look into her chimney to protect her from a fire hazard.

TOO MUCH MAINTENANCE?

My second example comes from Central Frontenac, north of Lake Ontario, where town council member Jamie Riddell spoke out against a septic system maintenance and assessment program. This is what he said at a meeting while trying to rescind the maintenance provisions, as reported by kingstonregion.com:

“From my understanding from people who sell septic systems is that over-maintaining can have just as much harm on a septic system as under-maintaining,” he told the governing members.

Let that sink in. While I’m sure every pumper has heard a customer question whether pumping is necessary, I wonder if you’ve heard anyone say it’s harmful to provide too much maintenance to a septic system? I’m trying to conceive of the situation where a pumper would stand over the open lid, suction hose in hand, and tell Riddell, “Well, we probably shouldn’t inspect your system too often, because, you know, that could be a lot worse than never looking at it. Better to put that lid back on and come back and talk about it again in 20 years.”

SOME NEED REGULATIONS

Many people are opposed to rules from the government in general — fearing over-regulation in many areas of life. I won’t dispute that concern. But let’s look at septic systems and where mandated maintenance might be a prudent idea.

Many homeowners build relationships with septic service providers and rely on them to take care of their systems. Some people with septic systems further make it their business to learn how they work. A few will go so far as to check the depth of sludge and clean their own outlet filters. Maintenance regulations are not aimed at these people and, frankly, they probably don’t need them.

But how about people like Kloosterhuis and Riddell? Some people refuse to listen to sound, expert advice about maintaining these complex and expensive systems. We may need to mandate septic inspections and pumping intervals to protect them from themselves — and perhaps more importantly, protect their neighbors from them. Those of us who know a thing or two about septic systems and want to protect the general public and the environment may choose to support reasonable maintenance rules.

THUMBS-DOWN

Just like we could give an award to a fine septic educator every year, we could give a Siskel and Ebert-style “thumbs-down” every year to a person or persons who set back those education efforts through their ignorant public remarks. I’ve suggested a few candidates and maybe you have a few more for consideration. Share them with me at editor@pumper.com.