Education Is the Solution to Securing Septic Tank Lids

Another child drowns after falling into a septic tank. Industry professionals voice frustration with a pattern of safety lapses.

Back in January, I wrote about my frustration over the ongoing problem of unsecured septic tank lids and numerous instances of children being injured or dying when falling into an exposed tank. No matter how many times we read about these tragedies, it seems like a solution to the problem remains elusive.

The day after Trent Wren read that column, the chief septic inspector for the Warren County Health District in Ohio was called out to look at a dosing tank following a recent service call. What he found was dismaying.

“There were eight screws, all standing up real proud. They were all unscrewed when somebody serviced that tank, I presume. And my hunch is they didn’t screw them back down,” Wren recalls. “Not too far away, I went to a second house and the lady said we had to (secure the lid) because it had not been screwed down by the service provider.”

This happens occasionally, says Wren, who has inspected an estimated 7,000 tanks during his 30 years with the county. So he keeps an assortment of stainless steel screws and a power screwdriver in his car to lock down the neglected lids. Each time he finds a plastic lid with missing screws, a broken or deteriorated concrete lid or no cover at all, he shudders at the potential tragic consequences.

He couldn’t take it anymore, so he shot me an email recently out of desperation.

“Since your editorial, I am watching like a hawk,” he wrote. “But me watching and you preaching probably won’t be enough.”

Sadly, I think he’s right. I have written about this issue a lot over the years. And I don’t think I can ever write about it too much.

ANOTHER TRAGEDY

Shortly after the January column was published, a 2-year-old boy in Washington state fell into an unsecured septic tank and drowned. Mozzie Herrera died because homeowners are often oblivious to the dangers posed by an unsecured septic tank and, unfortunately, some service providers and local officials with oversight responsibility are uninformed or not diligent about safety.

You want evidence in this most recent case? A news report about the child’s death featured a TV reporter saying responding police “secured” the lid so no one else would fall in. The camera panned down to show the tank covered by a scrap of plastic with a few bricks on top to keep it from blowing off the riser. The authorities should have made sure the tank was properly safeguarded before leaving the scene.

According to the KIRO 7 report, when parents Kiersten Lawing-Pletcher and Eddie Herrera couldn’t find the toddler, they frantically ran through the yard and passed the septic tank several times, never thinking he could have fallen in. A responding police officer checked the tank and discovered the boy’s body.

“It’s killing me inside that my son passed away due to this. And it shouldn’t have happened,” a distraught Herrera told the reporter. “We want you guys to know that it is dangerous. Please don’t hesitate. Take care of (the tank lid) as soon as possible. Don’t wait until tomorrow because tomorrow is not promised.”

BRINGING AWARENESS

This news story made me wonder how long the tank was uncovered before the little boy fell in. How many people spent time in that backyard with the tank in that condition, with the potential danger never occurring to anyone until it was too late?

Educating the septic system user and constant training of service providers is the best way to reduce the risk of these tragic events, according to Wren. In the Washington state case, he isn’t so hard on the news reporter or the police who responded.

“It’s not really a police matter. I would expect them to think they did what they could with what they had on the scene. We can’t rely on police or the fire department to seal up our septic tanks,” he says. “And I don’t expect a news reporter to know much about septic tanks.”

Of course a case like this could be traced to a poorly trained do-it-yourselfer who was ill equipped for maintaining safety. But qualified contractors need to be diligent whenever they service a septic system, Wren says.

“It’s about professionalism and our industry taking responsibility for what we should be responsible for,” he continues. “Every pumper and service provider needs to be thinking there is a chance for something terrible to happen.”

And the way the onsite industry is evolving, there should be a greater concern about tank security, according to Wren. Before Ohio rewrote its wastewater rules in 2015, he says most systems used conventional concrete tanks and drainfields. Access was either buried or the riser was covered by a 100-pound concrete cover that was difficult for anyone to move, especially children.

Today, most new systems in Ohio utilize advanced technology, have plastic tanks and require risers to the ground surface for easier inspection. Where before there was usually one tank access point, now there are multiple tanks and lids at the surface, creating more safety risks. At the same time, the majority of homeowners are away during inspections and service calls, reducing the opportunity to educate users about safety.

TAKING STEPS

There are a few things Wren can do to improve septic system safety. First, he can track how many unsecure lids he encounters. Also, he advises installers during new-system inspections that they need to secure lids every night when they leave the job site. And he needs to speak to homeowners as often as possible. And lastly, Wren can lobby about enhancing safety requirements every five years when wastewater regulations are updated, something that is happening this year.

The National Association of Wastewater Technicians addresses tank safety in all of its designer, operations and maintenance, and inspector training classes, according to Kim Seipp, education coordinator. Safety awareness and proactive work with users of septic systems will be the most effective way to prevent tragic incidents, Seipp says. New regulations may be a more difficult route.

“At this point it’s education, education, education. Practitioners should take every opportunity to talk to homeowners. Most people get it when you educate them about why this is important to do and they get on board,” Seipp says. “When you start looking at instituting rules and regulations, where are the teeth? It costs too much money to try and enforce them.”

EVIDENCE IN THE FIELD

Seipp and her husband, Jeff Seipp, work for their family company, High Plains Sanitation Service, in Colorado and pride themselves on ensuring tank safety when they leave a job.

“If you’re the last one to touch it, you better make sure it’s secure. The lack of common sense with this septic stuff is mind-boggling,” she says. “People come from the city and have never been on a septic system. As long as the toilet flushes and things go away, they don’t think about it all.”

The Seipps have encountered a lot of dangerous situations typically brought on by homeowner ignorance or service provider error. Oftentimes homeowners want to dig up and open their lids to make the job easier for the pumper, and they have rolled up on several tanks with drowned pet dogs in them. Discourage homeowners from opening the tank before your arrival, Seipp tells pumpers.

The Seipps once went through an entire subdivision providing inspections and found screws missing from the lids at every house.

“It’s really important that people understand these things need to be secured. If people choose not to do the right thing, it drives you crazy,” she says. “As a practitioner, our policy is if we see something like a broken or crumbling lid, we have a conversation with the owner and help them to help themselves. I call it an educational opportunity. Don’t just do the job and walk away.”

A TICKING TIME BOMB

Like Wren, I am haunted by all-too-frequent stories like the senseless death of little Mozzie. Someone, somewhere along the line either had no concept of the dangers or just didn’t care enough to secure that tank — and walked away with it wide open. It was like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. We all need to do whatever we can to prevent sad stories like this one from happening in the future.  



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