The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding its third annual SepticSmart Week Sept. 21-25. As an industry trade association, the National Association of Wastewater Technicians asks you to join in during SepticSmart Week and encourage homeowners and communities to care for and maintain their septic systems.

Across the country, local environmental groups, health departments and governments face the challenges posed by improperly maintained and failing septic systems. The EPA and NAWT, along with your help, seek to assist these local agencies in promoting homeowner education and awareness.

Statistically, nearly one-quarter of all American households depend on septic systems to treat their wastewater. Failure to maintain a septic system can lead to backups and overflows. As we know, this can lead to costly repairs, well contamination, polluted local waterways and risks to public health and the environment.

The EPA and NAWT seek to inform homeowners on proper septic system care and maintenance and assist local agencies in the same mission.

The SepticSmart website (www.epa.gov/septicsmart) features materials that can assist us with our efforts in providing this information to homeowners and communities. Additional materials are being updated on an ongoing basis. If you can’t find what you are looking for on the EPA website, contact the SepticSmart staff at 208/378-5626 or email decentralized@epa.gov. We hope that you will join us in this fight to educate our communities on how important SepticSmart Week is to their way of life.

EPA MOU partnership

The EPA Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, is undertaking large initiatives (details which can be found on the EPA website www.epa.gov). These initiatives are regarding the Chesapeake Bay data-sharing effort and a Suffolk County Comprehensive Water Resource Management Plan. Along with these details, a link associated with the EPA Water Finance Center can be found on the website.

As an EPA MOU partner, NAWT is tracking these efforts for our membership. If issues arise that could impact pumpers and service providers, NAWT will inform the membership so that NAWT can provide input to the EPA from the industry perspective.

NAWT 7th Waste Treatment Symposium

The National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), NAWT, the State Onsite Regulators Alliance (SORA) and the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (VOWRA) are holding respective annual conferences together in the same location. This joint effort will also serve as the annual Waste Treatment Symposium for NAWT.

These four organizations share numerous issues, including national and local regulations and policies, research, design, installation and maintenance of decentralized systems. The conference’s exposition hall provides an invaluable opportunity to network and view current and emerging technologies in decentralized wastewater treatment.

The conference will be used to convey new research, regulations and policy, and experience and practices in the decentralized onsite wastewater industry.

Those who attend will be the winners with a great breadth of topics, vendors and educational tours.

If you have questions regarding NAWT, please feel free to contact us at 800/236-6298 or info@nawt.org.