Board of Health Tightens Control on Septage DisposalEvery year more than 360,000 gallons of septage, the liquid and solid material pumped from septic tanks and portable toilets, is spread on farmlands in Mahoning County by the 40 septage pumpers registered by the County Board of Health. Paul Cramer, plumbing supervisor for the Board of Health, wants to make sure that this material doesn't end up in the county's streams, ponds and drinking water. That's why Cramer is promoting strict compliance with new standards for land application of septage adopted by the Board of Health in 1996.
The new rules call for neutralization of odors and disease organisms in the septage before spreading it on farmland and better tracking of where the septage comes from and is dumped. Landowners must adhere to crop harvesting, animal grazing and site access restrictions, and prevent insect and rodent problems.
"If every homeowner pumped his septic system as recommended, we would have to dispose of five million gallons of septage every year," Cramer said. He is concerned that better care of septic systems not create new nuisances and public health problems.
Cramer and other health officials are working with municipal sewage treatment plants to take more septage during the winter months, when pumpers have difficulty getting into farm fields. The Board of Health plans to start an educational campaign in 1997 to encourage homeowners to pump their septic tanks more often, and Cramer wants to be ready for the expected increase in septage production.