Tag Archives: water quality

Why do I need to clean my septic tank every three years?

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By Beth Clawson, Michigan State University Extension

 

Michigan is home to more than 1.3 million onsite wastewater treatment systems. Most are for single family homes that include a septic system. Indeed, the onsite wastewater treatment system including a septic tank and soil absorption field is the most common domestic wastewater treatment system in rural homes in the United States. In Michigan, it is estimated that 10 percent of these systems are in some level of malfunction or have failed.

 

Malfunctioning and failed onsite waste water systems make our ground and surface waters susceptible to fecal contamination. Several rivers in the Lower Peninsula have been tested during low-flow conditions and were found to contain genetic markers indicating the presence of human fecal matter. This contamination can come from leaky septic systems. Keeping septic systems in good repair can protect Michigan’s water quality.

 

Rural homes in Michigan include onsite wastewater systems that require regular maintenance. Maintenance and inspection of your system depends upon its size, the number of people that live in the home and what county you live in. Michigan is the last state to still adopt uniform onsite wastewater regulations. Lack of uniform statewide laws leaves regulation and inspection laws up to local officials through county health departments and districts. This means that rules for onside wastewater system laws vary between counties.

 

Most counties have a sale transfer ordinance requiring septic tank inspections but few have the same or similar size and installation regulations. Most ordinances cite the average of pumping and inspecting recommendation of every three years for a family of four. Many also require inspection of newly installed systems. None return a year or two later to ensure that the system is functioning properly.

 

An onsite wastewater system typically consists of three basic parts:

  1. The drain waste pipes from the house into a septic tank;
  2. The septic or settling tank, sometimes divided in half with a baffle; and
  3. The dispersion box and soil absorption or drain field.

Waste water flows from the toilets, laundry and sinks in the home through the drain pipes to the septic tank. The septic tank, made of solid cast concrete (in most cases) has an inlet and an outlet for effluent. Once the waste enters the tank the solids settle to the bottom to decompose and become the sludge layer. Effluent water is in the middle and the lighter grease and soaps float to the top to create the scum layer. The effluent water flows out through a pipe to the drain field. Newer tanks sometimes contain a baffle creating a second settling area before water is released to the soil absorption field. Michigan State University Extension’s webpage on Septic systems gives more detail on this topic.

 

If the sludge is not pumped out on a regular basis then the layer gets thick allowing solids to flow into the drain field. This plugs and compacts in the drain tiles and the soil causing failure. Many times people think that this is a sign that the septic is full, and indeed it is but it is also a failure. Drain field failure requires soil removal and replacement and can become an expensive repair. This is one of the most common failures. Other common causes of septic failure include tanks collapsing from being driven or parked on; tree roots; excessive water from parties or heavy rains; pipes clogged from flushing items other than toilet paper such as, feminine products and personal sanitary wipes; biological processes stopped from over use of chlorine or antibiotic soaps.

 

If you are experiencing sewage waste backup into your house from your septic tank this may indicate a total blockage of the tank and drain field and could indicate a costly repair or replacement. Regular inspections and pumping can prevent expensive repairs later. Just as it is recommended to regularly inspect our cars and furnaces, we should also inspect and clean out our onsite waste water systems. The average recommendation is every three years for a typical family home with three bedrooms equipped with a 1000 gallon tank. It’s important to know the size of your septic tank.

 

Older homes may have smaller tanks. Smaller tanks need to be pumped more often. For example, if a three-bedroom home has a 900-gallon septic tank with six people living there, they should schedule their pumping for every one and one half to two years to avoid failure. If a home uses a garbage disposal, consider that they are increasing the amount of solids (pre-digestion) going into the tank. This home will require more frequent pumping.

 

Concrete, plastic and fiberglass tanks are not infallible, lots of things can cause the material to fail resulting in collapse. Inspectors look at the integrity of your system. Fractures caused by frost/freeze break up, ground heaves, earthquakes, manufacturer defect, burrowing animals, and tree roots all have an impact on our systems. Michigan DEQ does have a guide on subsurface onsite wastewater treatment systems but its recommendations are not enforceable by law. Michigan County Environmental Health departments have laws, consult your County for its recommendations for onsite waste water system maintenance.

 

For more in depth information the National Environmental Services Center, West Virginia University has a good publication that includes a time table in years for pumping recommendations at http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/ww/septic/pl_fall04.pdf.

 

If you want to learn more there are videos available: Click here for a short video (under five minutes) about onsite wastewater septic systems, or click here for a longer training video (about 110 minutes) about onsite wastewater septic systems.

 

For more information about and water quality contact Beth Clawson, MSU Extension Educator. To learn more about onsite waste water treatment septic tanks, contact Michigan State University Extension  Natural Resources educators who are working across Michigan to provide water quality and septic tank maintenance educational programming and assistance. You can contact an educator through MSU Extension’s “Find an Expert” search tool using the keywords “Natural Resources Water Quality.”

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Government Matters: Week in review, March 13-17

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Stabenow, Peters, Kildee introduce resolution opposing nuclear waste storage site in Great Lakes Basin

By WKTV Contributor

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) have introduced resolutions, in both the House and Senate, expressing opposition to construction of a nuclear waste repository less than a mile from Lake Huron in Ontario.

“The Canadian proposal … could cause significant, lasting damage to the Great Lakes and undermine the progress we have made cleaning up the water quality in the Great Lakes Basin,” said Senator Peters.

“President Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson should make every effort to prevent the Canadian government from moving forward with this proposal and work to find an alternative solution that does not jeopardize the health of the Great Lakes.

“Surely in the vast land mass that comprises Canada, there must be a better place to permanently store nuclear waste than on the shores of Lake Huron.”

Over 40 million people in Canada and the United States get their drinking water from the Great Lakes and the highly toxic waste could take tens of thousands of years to decompose to safe levels. Ontario Power Generation is currently seeking approval from the Canadian Ministry of Environment to build a deep geologic repository to permanently store 7 million cubic feet of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste less than one mile from Lake Huron in Kincardine, Ontario.

Peters, Portman & Stabenow introduce bipartisan legislation to boost Great Lakes funding

Legislation would help modernize research capabilities, bring Great Lakes on par with ocean coasts

By WKTV Contributor

U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have introduced bipartisan legislation to spur Great Lakes funding and research efforts and help support effective fishery management decisions.

The Great Lakes Fishery Research Authorization (GLFRA) Act gives the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) the legislative authority to support the $7 billion Great Lakes sport and commercial fishery industry. Despite holding one-fifth of the world’s fresh water, the Great Lakes science program does not have the same funding authorization as science centers on saltwater coasts, and this legislation will close the resource gap between the Great Lakes Science Center and other fishery research centers across the country.

“Our Great Lakes and waterways are part of who we are and our way of life,” said Senator Stabenow, Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force. “From water quality issues to invasive species, there are so many challenges facing our lakes and fisheries, which is why funding for cutting-edge research is so important.”

Peters statement on President Trump’s proposed budget

By Allison Green

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Federal Spending Oversight Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding President Trump’s proposed budget that dramatically cuts critical domestic programs:

Sen. Gary Peters

“President Trump’s proposed budget makes drastic cuts that will hit Michigan families and businesses in both urban and rural areas especially hard, including cuts to transportation services education, job training and programs that are essential for protecting the economic and environmental health of the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water to 40 million people and support Michigan’s multi-billion dollar shipping, fishing and agricultural industries.

“I am particularly disappointed that President Trump still has not put forward a comprehensive strategy to grow our manufacturing industry and create jobs. Instead, his budget proposal eliminates or slashes funding for critical programs that support the small businesses and manufacturers that are our country’s greatest job creators. Instead of gutting programs that Michigan families, seniors and businesses rely on, the President should focus on making smart investments to boost innovation and American manufacturing, strengthen our infrastructure and ensure our country remains economically competitive.

“As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I believe it is important for us to have a strong and innovative military, but we must also invest in our people to maintain our nation’s competitive edge. Congress has a responsibility to use taxpayer dollars efficiently and effectively, and members of both parties must work together to reduce wasteful spending and help shrink the deficit, but this proposal does more harm than good.”

Senator Stabenow statement on President Trump’s budget request that completely eliminates Great Lakes funding

Sen. Debbie Stabenow

By Miranda Margowsky

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Co-Chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget request, which completely eliminates funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative:

“It is outrageous that President Trump’s budget request completely eliminates funding to protect the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has always received bipartisan support and continues to be absolutely critical to protecting our Great Lakes, including fishing, boating, hunting, and fighting invasive species. Our Great Lakes economy creates 1.5 million jobs and are part of our Michigan way of life.

“I will continue working across the aisle to not only stop cuts to Great Lakes funding but  also to other important initiatives that are important to Michigan families, manufacturers, farmers, and small businesses.”

Could a Flint-like drinking water crisis happen in the City of Wyoming?

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UPDATE: The City of Wyoming has published a FAQ sheet about the quality of our drinking water. Go here to download the pdf.

By Victoria Mullen

By now, you’re likely aware of the Flint water crisis—residents of Flint have been using contaminated drinking water beginning in April 2014, when the city switched water sources from treated Lake Huron water via Detroit to the Flint River. The idea was to save money, but the corrosive river water, with its lower pH and higher saline content, eroded the protective coatings in household lead pipes, exposing bare metal and allowing lead to leach into the water supply.

Even though Flint residents had been complaining about the quality and odor of the water since mid to late 2014, state officials didn’t acknowledge the situation until the late fall of 2015. By then, between 6,000 and 12,000 Flint residents had already presented with severely high lead levels in their blood and a wide range of serious health problems. An outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease that killed 10 people and sickened 77 may also be linked to the change.

The crisis is both tragic and ironic. Michigan is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, a huge source of drinking water for many cities and towns. This never should have happened. (As an aside, the Flint water crisis has caused such an uproar that it now has its own Wikipedia page.)

Why is lead so dangerous?

It’s a heavy metal that doesn’t belong in the human body. When you ingest helpful minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc, your body distributes it to the bloodstream, nervous system, tissues and organs. The same goes for lead, which can cause harm wherever it ends up. For example, in the bloodstream, lead can damage red blood cells, limiting their ability to carry oxygen to the organs and tissues. This can cause anemia. In the brain and nervous system, it can be disastrous.

Lead is particularly dangerous to children because their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. The kids in Flint affected by this crisis will have lifelong health and learning deficits.

We take a lot for granted
At the turn of the 20th century in the U.S., the life expectancy for men was only 48 years; for women, it was 52. Compare that to 75 and 80, respectively, in 2000. Common outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery took a huge toll on human life.

The addition of chlorine to drinking water in 1908 resulted in a dramatic decline in fatalities from waterborne illnesses.

And we use a lot of water
Just turn on the tap and voila!, safe drinking water, right? Since 1966, City of Wyoming’s water treatment capacity has grown from 32 million gallons per day to 90 million gallons per day. We sell some of the water to Kentwood
, Byron Center and Gaines Township, so as a bonus, Wyoming residents pay less for their water than Grand Rapids residents do. Plant improvements have occurred over the years to accommodate continued growth in the region. As changes in our region occur, the Drinking Water Plant will continue to evolve.

Five years ago, Wyoming’s Lakeshore water plant north of Holland pumped about 30 million gallons to more than 220,000 users in 13 communities each day. Water use varies with the seasons; more water is used in the hot summer months. In 2011, Wyoming spent $73 million expanding the plant, increasing the daily capacity to 120 million gallons—an annual capacity of about 44 billion gallons.

While the City of Wyoming is responsible for providing high-quality drinking water, it cannot control the variety of materials used in household plumbing. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can lower the risk of lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking.

Could a Flint-like crisis happen to us here in the City of Wyoming and Kentwood?
The answer is no, and here’s why: We’ve been using Lake Michigan as our source for drinking water since 1966 and will continue to do so. The water is treated before it reaches your tap.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) that limit the amount of certain contaminants in our drinking water. Wyoming’s water treatment process provides multiple barriers, including clarification, filtration and disinfection, to lower the risk of contaminants in finished tap water. In 2014, monitoring of treated water samples from the lakeshore treatment plant yielded a 100% contaminant removal rate, highlighting the effectiveness of the treatment system in microscopic particle removal.

Testing is also performed to detect the presence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia, which are protozoan parasites that occur in natural surface waters such as lakes, rivers and streams.

Each year, the City of Wyoming sends out a water quality report to its residents. In 2014, water quality met and exceeded all state and federal guidelines for safe drinking water.

For more information about our drinking water, go here.