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NOWRA Instructors and Class
Information • Instructors
– Sara Heger, University of Minnesota
– Tom Fritts, Residential Sewage Treatment
– Allison Blodig, GYST Consulting
• Moderator
– Eric Casey, NOWRA Exec. Dir.
• Presentation binder
Please turn off or
silence your cell phone
Thanks!
Who is NOWRA?
• Association formed in 1992 to promote the onsite wastewater treatment industry through training, education and promotion on a national level
• We bring together professionals from around the country to address:
– regulatory issues,
– provide training and education, and
– conduct business among our membership
Map of NOWRA Affiliate
States • AzOWRA
(Arizona)
• COWRA (Carolinas)
• CPOW (Colorado)
• DOWRA (Delaware)
• FOWA (Florida)
• IOWWA (Iowa)
• KSFA (Kansas)
• MAOWP
(Massachusetts)
• MOWPA (Maryland)
• MOWRA (Michigan)
• MnOWA (Minnesota)
• MSO (Missouri)
• NmOWA (New Mexico)
• OWAI (Idaho)
• POWRA-NM (New Mexico)
• POWRA (Pennsylvania)
• TOWA (Tenn)
• UOWA (Utah)
• VOWRA (Virginia)
• WOSSA (Washington)
• WOWRA & WPCA (Wisconsin)
Key NOWRA Activities
1. Advocate with USEPA A. NOWRA was specifically asked by the Decentralized
Wastewater Office to comment on and help implement the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Data Sharing Initiative
B. EPA is exploring Data Sharing on a national basis. They
held a meeting in DC in November and NOWRA was
specifically asked to comment
C. Decentralized Wastewater Partnership – NOWRA is a
charter member
Key NOWRA Activities
2. Lobbying at a Federal Level A. Hired Arnall, Golden & Gregory in March, 2014. Oversight by
the NOWRA Board of Directors
B. First event organized by Tom Cassidy was Technology Expo on
Capital Hill, July 30, 2014. Held again in 2015.
C. Plan for 2016 includes lobbying for SRF funds, more resources
at EPA be allocated to decentralized, and designating
onsite/decentralized as Green Infrastructure
D. These cannot be done on a local or state level
E. Forming a Decentralized Caucus in Congress
Key NOWRA Activities
3. National Conferences and Education A. Largest annual national onsite/decentralized
conference
B. NOWRA is the only authorized training entity for the
NEHA Certified Installer of Onsite Wastewater
Treatment Systems (CIOWTS) to prepare installers
for the exam
C. NOWRA to launch Online Training in 2016
D. Septic Locator on NOWRA website free to members
E. Partnership with State Onsite Regulator Alliance
2016 Mega-Conference in
Reno, Nevada
• Joint conference between
– NOWRA
– NAWT (National Association of Wastewater Transporters)
– FOWA (Florida Onsite Wastewater Association) and Western State Organizations
• October 26-29, 2016
• The Nugget Hotel and Resort, Reno, NV ($69 room rate)
• Call for Papers available at - nowra.org
Key NOWRA Activities
4. Specific Benefits for Installers/Contractors: A. CEU’s and contact hours available from NOWRA conferences
and training by nationally known instructors
B. Lobbying to increase SRF funding which would directly benefit
installers via increased work
C. Admiral’s Bank financing program exclusive to NOWRA
D. Educational Resources: CIOWTS exam, etc.
E. Septic Locator on website
F. Liability Insurance program in MN and MO
G. Resource Library
NOWRA Making a Difference…..
With People - Includes You!
For More Information
Website: www.nowra.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (800) 966.6942
MAOWP (formerly YOWA)
For More Information
Website: www.maowp.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 781-939-5710
Disposal • Goal: limit human
contact
• Keep wastewater below
ground
• Disposal options
• Public health
– “Disposing” of pathogens
– Treatment?
• Management:
install, flush and forget
Why Do We Treat Sewage?
• Protect
– Public Health
– Environment
• Key issues evaluated while assuring
protection
– Good treatment
– Economical
– Sustainable
Public Health
• Making people sick
• Good systems are the
KEY to protection
Septic Tank & Soil Treatment Area • Evolving goal:
– Disposal: effluent goes away versus
– Dispersal: TREATMENT
• Public health AND environmental issues addressed
• Management:
– Disposal: often none at all;
– Dispersal: System management is critical
Groundwater
Well
Aerobic soil
Goal: Treatment AND Dispersal
• Starting to address environmental concerns in addition to public health concerns
• Technological advancements now allow removal of: – Pathogens
– Solids
– Nutrients
• System management is vital to treatment
• Goal is now DISPERSAL – Hydrologic cycle
Impermeable Layer
Ground Water
Stream Water Table
Septic System
Wastewater
Input Runoff
Hydrologic Cycle
Reuse
• Goal: careful use of a
valuable resource
• Wastewater vs. water
• Potable vs. Non-
potable uses
– Landscape reuse
– Toilet flushing
– Some areas are
looking at it as potable
• Management: O&M
is even more critical
What is Wastewater?
All wastewater must be treated
The Problem Biology - Pathogens
• Bacteria
– Cholera
– Typhoid
– Salmonella
– Shigella
– Water-borne diseases
• Fecal coliform • Indicator
• Virus
– Hepatitis A
– Acute gastroenteritis
– Polio
• Parasites
– Protozoa
• Amoebiasis
• Giardia
• Cryptosporidiosis
– Roundworm
Level of Risk
• It depends-
– On how well the system was designed, installed, and maintained
– If there is wastewater draining to or surfacing in the yard
– Installed in an area with high groundwater levels
– Close to a drinking water well
– Cleaning effluent screens
• If systems is designed, installed, and maintained properly risk to an ordinary individual is minimal
1) Centralized
2) Decentralized
• Collection network for
many homes
• Central treatment
facility
• Discharge – surface
requires state permit
• Individual or small group of homes
• Onsite treatment facilities (near site)
• Soil based dispersal or subsurface discharge
Three Approaches to Wastewater
Treatment
3) Combination
Decentralized Approach
The Model
25% of population served
33% of new construction
Small communities: 11% of need
> 50% in suburbs or cities
Decentralized Treatment is
Important Nationally
Where Septic Systems Are Used
What Is an Onsite Wastewater
Treatment System? 1. Wastewater Source
2. Collection and Storage
3. Pretreatment components
4. Final Treatment and Dispersal components
Wastewater Source
• User
– Domestic
– Commercial
– Industrial
Do you
mind?
Collection
• Piping from facility
with cleanout
– Blackwater
– Graywater
Collection
• Holding tanks
• Composting toilets
• Incinerating toilets
Pretreatment
• Septic tanks
• Aerobic treatment
units
• Media filters
• Constructed wetlands
• Membrane
bioreactors
• Disinfection
Septic System Incorporating
Pretreatment
Septic Tank
What is a Soil Treatment Area?
• A soil treatment system:
– Safely treats and disperses and recycles
wastewater
– All the treatment and dispersal takes place on
site or close by
– Natural physical, chemical, and biological
processes occur primarily in the soil
Septic Tank: Primary Treatment
• Job of tank: catch the solids
• Water tight tank, inlet, inlet baffle, inspection
pipes, manhole, outlet baffle, outlet pipe
• Layers in tank
– Scum layer: floating soap, grease, toilet paper, etc
– Liquid layer: water, liquid, and suspended solids
– Sludge: heavy organic and inorganic materials in
the bottom of the tank
• Anaerobic bacteria breakdown organic solids
Components of a Septic System
Source
Primary Treatment
Soil Treatment
Septic System Components
Source
Tank Soil Treatment Area
Treatment in Soil
Limiting Condition, Saturated Soil
Well
Process When Wastewater Enters
Soil
• Biomat forms
• Results in unsaturated conditions
• Aerobic organisms treat the wastewater
Aerobic zone
Groundwater
Well
Aerobic soil
Unsaturated Soils
Pores are
filled with
Air & water
along the
soil
particles
Saturated Soils
Pores are
filled with
water
BIOMAT
1. Effluent
flows into
pipe
2. Effluent
flows out of
pipe and into
gravel
3. Effluent
begins to
pond and
flows across
soil
interface.
5. Effluent flows into soil
4. Biomat
begins to
form
NOT TO SCALE
NOT TO SCALE
Regulatory/Code Goals
• Performance
• Management
• Treatment
– Deals with all the problems
• Acceptance
– Goes where it is suppose to
– Stays underground
System Type and Size • System type based upon soils and site
– Depth to limiting condition
• Bedrock or saturated soils
– Area available
• System size based upon:
– Use
• Number of bedrooms
• Garbage disposal
– Soils
• Percolation test results,
• Soil type (sand, loam, clay)
Color & Saturation
Well Drained
Moderately Well Drained Poorly Drained
Management
• Out of site, out of mind
doesn’t work!
– Regular inspection &
maintenance can prevent
system failure
– Proper care & maintenance will
prolong system life & save
money
– Selling is easier
QUESTIONS?
QUESTIONS
SEPTIC.UMN.EDU
WWW.NOWRA.ORG
