Home Sewage Treatment Systems
and the Impact on Yellow Creek Watershed
By Nancy L. Cushing and Michael Samolis
Editor’s note: Yellow Creek has been profiled in these pages in the past as
an invaluable Bath resource. It is recognized locally, statewide and even
nationally as an integral part of this community with immeasurable scenic
and ecological value. This article, by two members of the Yellow Creek
Watershed Committee, discusses the use, effect and impact of home sewage
treatment systems (septic systems) in our watershed.
Yellow Creek is one of only two remaining high water-quality tributaries of
the Cuyahoga River. Its beauty and ecological importance are unquestionable.
However, with continued development, inappropriate land-use practices and
failing septic systems, the health of its waters is being compromised.
The Yellow Creek Watershed Committee was formed to ensure the preservation
and protection of Yellow Creek and its tributaries. This citizen committee
is developing programs to educate and assist landowners in methods that can
prevent erosion and water contamination and encourage natural habitats.
A watershed is an area that drains surface water to a particular body of
water. Throughout the Yellow Creek Watershed, a significant number of
homeowners depend on home sewage treatment systems (HSTS). All of their
household water goes to a septic tank where the wastewater is held long
enough to allow solids to settle out and cooking oil and grease to float to
the top. The remaining wastewater flows out into a surrounding drain field
area. Over time, some of the treated water makes its way to creeks and
ponds.
The failure of HSTS is one of the biggest public health threats to the
Yellow Creek Watershed. When a system fails, the untreated or under-treated
wastewater can contaminate nearby wells, groundwater and other drinking
water sources with dangerous disease-causing bacteria and nutrients,
becoming a significant source of surface water pollution.
Compounding the issue, the majority of the Yellow Creek Watershed is
underlain by soils that have slow permeability, making them poorly suited to
septic systems. At one time, excess water from a heavy rainstorm caused an
unusually high fecal count in the creek in O’Neil Woods Metro Park, which
made it unsafe for wading, swimming and fishing.
Some of the causes of HSTS malfunction include:
• When too much wastewater enters the system it can flood and subsequently
flush solids into the drain field;
• Household and hazardous chemicals washed down sinks can kill the natural
bacteria that break down solids in the system; and
• Bulky items flushed or put into drains can clog pipes and the drain field.
Signs of HSTS problems are: temporary backing up of sewage, especially at
drains; sewage odors in house or yard; slow draining sinks and toilets;
gurgling sounds in plumbing; tests that show the presence of bacteria in
nearby well water; or ground above a system that is mushy, odorous or
appears gray, black or lush green grass. If any of these signs are evident,
a professional should inspect the system.
Failing systems can affect property values in addition to polluting the
environment. To prevent problems and extend the life of a HSTS:
1. Pump it out. Summit County mandates that septic tanks be pumped once
every three years; however, once per year is recommended.
2. Conserve water. Repair water leaks, install water-conserving devices and
divert water from roof drains, sump pumps, water softeners and hot tubs away
from the system.
3. Protect your system. Do not dump the following into drains or toilets:
cooking fats or grease, hazardous wastes, sanitary products, kitty litter,
coffee grounds, vegetable trimmings, septic tank additives, motor oil, paint
thinners or pesticides.
Individual homeowners are responsible for the maintenance and operation of a
HSTS. An additional incentive to maintaining an existing HSTS is that as of
Jan. 1, 2007, new laws will require different systems to be installed when
replacing failed systems (see www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/final/f3701-29.aspx for
the full text of Ohio rules). Already existing systems are “grandfathered”;
however, should that existing system fail, the new regulations and
requirements will apply. According to the Environmental Division of the
Summit County Health Department, it could cost between $5,000 and $15,000 to
replace a failing system.
There is a hearing scheduled regarding the new HSTS laws at Mill Creek Metro
Park on Nov. 8, at McMahan Hall, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road in Canfield.
The public is encouraged to attend.
Visit www.yellowcreekwatershed.org for facts about HSTS and other important
information concerning the Yellow Creek Watershed.
Editor’s note: The Yellow Creek Watershed Committee will provide BCJ readers
with periodic updates on matters of importance in the Yellow Creek
Watershed.
From the November 2006 issue of the Bath Country Journal. Reprinted with permission of the Bath Country Journal.