Bad news, as someone once said, travels fast. And wildly inaccurate information about septic system mishaps travels lightning fast. Bill Bergh can attest to that after overhearing a water cooler discussion this spring at his office.
Bergh, owner of Geotech Soil & Site Evaluation in Chippewa Falls, Wis., had just opened the morning paper to find a story about a local man who fell into a septic tank and drowned. The elderly man apparently removed the tank lid and was in the process of diagnosing a problem when he fell in, headfirst.
In the story, (retold in our Association News column this month) a volunteer firefighter at the scene pulled some numbers out of the air, telling a reporter that eight to 12 people die in septic tanks in Wisconsin every year.
It seemed like an outlandish death toll to Bergh, and he wasn’t alone. Soon his phone was ringing as fellow members of the Wisconsin Onsite Water Recycling Association called to complain about the story that ran in the local newspaper and was spread across the state by The Associated Press.
Bergh walked up to the drinking fountain at the office he shares with another business, just as a group of workers were gathered. “I had no idea septic systems were so dangerous,’’ one remarked about the news account. They all nodded. Bergh was upset that his industry’s image was being unfairly tarnished.
“You know what happens when there’s misinformation out there. It’s pretty much gospel and there’s not much you can do to retract it,’’ Bergh recalled. “People tend to remember the bad stuff. That’s with anything, not just our industry.’’
A member of the WOWRA board of directors, Bergh was determined to do what he could to get accurate information in the public’s hands. The trade group looked for statistics on deaths involving septic tanks, and could find just one incident in the state in more than a decade. Bergh set up an interview with the local Eau Claire Leader-Telegram — which printed the original story — and set the record straight.
HIRE A PROFESSIONAL
“A writer called and spent 15 minutes with me, then published an article the next day pointing out that septic tank deaths are a rarity,’’ Bergh said. “I think he was trying to get the right information out there.’’
Bergh and WOWRA should be applauded for quickly countering misconceptions about the safety of septic systems. But a bigger issue than a tarnished image, according to Bergh, is that more pumpers and onsite installers should be promoting maintenance contracts.
“There’s no good reason for anyone who’s not licensed by the state of Wisconsin and working in this industry to be entering a septic tank. None whatsoever,’’ Bergh said. It saddened Bergh to say that the elderly man might be alive today if he’d called a professional and spent $100 to take care of a problem.
“There’s still a lot of people who want to fix it themselves,’’ he said. “I liken this to the guys who still go up on the roof to clean out their gutters, and somebody always falls off and dies.’’
Bergh hopes more homeowners get their systems checked regularly and that pumpers do what they can to make sure tank lids are secured to reduce the odds of this situation being repeated.
“I encourage people to call me, even for the smallest things. Call me if you think something’s not right,’’ he said. “Just call me.’’
