New septic rules may be costly

New and existing septic systems in California  may soon fall under new regulations that could cost land owners and developers in rural areas a chunk of money.

Among the proposed regulations is a requirement to have existing septic systems inspected and cleaned every five years, according to Dave Clegern of the State Water Resources Control Board. He estimated the cost at $325.

If analysis for sampling and reporting is required, that would cost another $325, he said.

New septic systems will require new designs.

Land surveyor and developer Steve Butler of Precision Surveying in Orland said, “leach lines will be a thing of the past. We’ll have irrigation systems much like a drip line in an orchard.”

“Systems are out there right now, but in many cases, they’re cost prohibitive” – about $30,000, Butler said.

Water safety

The draft EIR focuses on health and safety.

“The interest is water quality from the standpoint of overall groundwater and surface water,”  Clegern said.

Concerns include the density of septic systems in a given area, since too many can result in water contamination; soil conditions; and drainage into the water table.

“We are primarily concerned about water quality. As we become more crowded, we can’t do business as we have done in the past and expect taht things are going to remain good,”  Clegern said.

“At this point, we are proposing a system for monitoring and cleaning septic systems that may not be up to snuff. Determining where there arepotential problems” and the best way to go about correcting them, he said.

“It’s to everyone’s advantage to have high quality water,” Clegern said.

Locally, the transition may not be too difficult.

“Glenn County is already doing a version” of the state’s proposal,” Butler said. “The current standards are very, very good.”

New systems

In a 50-lot rural subdivision the new, more complicated septic systems are affordable, but for lots with one homeowner, $30,000 is expensive.

The new septic tanks are made of fiberglass and incorporate filters and recirculation pumps, he said.

The more sophisticated the system, the cleaner the water output will be.

For example, Butler is working a development in Chico that will include a golf course. with an elaborate septic system, he said the filtered water will be used to irrigate the course.

 Retired county environmental health director Don Holm, wrote the current standards, according to Butler.

It includes a list of the different systems that work with different soils as well as hydrometer tests and soil tests that determine where the ground water is, he said.

If the groundwater proximity is too close, a system cannot be installed.

“Between the bottom of the leach trench to groundwater, there must be a minimum of five feet of soils,” Butler said.

Glenn County regulations also “allow only one septic system for every two acres. One-acre parcels must have engineered systems,” he said.

He is working on one of the first pod systems for one-acre lots in a development near the Orland city limits, with the expectation that the area will be annexed into the city in the future.

At that point, “the treated water will go into the city’s system and the city will take over maintenance,” Butler said.

All in all, he said, while costs are high now, “someone will come along with a $15,000 system and start becoming competitive.”

Background

A draft of a new environmental impact report for septic systems is available for public review until Feb. 9.

The State Water Resources Control Board plans to review comments gathered through public hearings, e-mails and letters before proposing a final draft of the new regulations that will control onsite wastewater treatment systems, according Clegern.

The draft is one of many created after Assembly Bill 885 was signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000.

The law required implementation by 2004, but numerous complications in the varieties of systems and the stakeholders delayed it.

Clegern said that after all the imformation is in and the final proposal is made, the state water board determine what  regulations to enact.

“This is not the final document,” Clegern emphasized, adding that regulators want input from  people who use septic systems as well as developers and others.

“It is helpful to know the technical part of the system,” he said, “and the reality of their needs.”