Throughout my time as editor of Pumper since 2005, I have had the privilege of working with septic system experts from the University of Minnesota through technical collaborations and the Septic System Answer Man column, which has run continuously for the better part of four decades. I believe our readers have benefited greatly from the continuity we’ve enjoyed working with these researchers and educators who ushered in the modern age of decentralized wastewater treatment.
Our first septic expert was Roger Machmeier, who was an Extension Agricultural Engineer at the University of Minnesota. In the pioneer years of septic system design, Machmeier
