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Public Wastewater
Education It’s a septic system. Not a black hole.
Stu Campana
Water Team Leader
Ecology Ottawa
Step 1
Where Misunderstanding Prevails
Survey discovers 1,000 failed
septic systems in a rural
Michigan county
300 homes found to be
without any septic system
at all
Pumping sewage into
farms, lakes and streams
The EPA Despairs
“Homeowners are frequently uninformed about how their
conventional onsite systems work, how to maintain them, and
about the potential for human health and ecosystem risks
from poorly functioning systems. The prevailing public
perception of conventional onsite systems is they are
maintenance free.” (EPA 1997)
Why?
They don’t understand how their system works
They’re afraid
Consequently, system failures seem like acts of God,
rather than avoidable (or at least delayable) problems
Why it Matters
Homeowners are more willing to pay for new services if
they understand why they are necessary. E.g. advanced
systems with filters, pumps and controls
“Informed, responsible homeowners would help ensure
that their systems are operated and maintained
properly, and they will be more likely to support new
management programs.” (EPA)
Environmental protection
Education Strategy Overview
Explain how the system works. Like, really explain.
Engage community leaders
Social marketing: Identify key barriers to specific
behaviours
The problem needs to seem immediate and tangible
San Fernando, Philippines
“Several communities in San
Fernando already have
groundwater so polluted
that you cannot dig an
uncontaminated deep well.
If we start now we can
prevent it from getting even
worse.”
San Fernando: Problems
Poor septic tank location
Clean-outs covered by flooring or non-existent
Drinking water contamination
56 of 59 surveyed wells showed high levels of E-coli
contamination
Exposed effluent
54% of homes with septic tanks discharge their effluent and
greywater through open channels that lead to off-site
surface waters
San Fernando: The Proposed Solution
A septage management program to properly maintain
septic tanks
Emptying every tank in the city once every five years
A sewage treatment system for the city
Reduce the cost of desludging by almost 50% by
doing it locally
Reduce the incidence of illegal septage discharge
San Fernando: Education Plan
Workshops
Youth Sanitation Symposium at the Provincial
Capitol, with representatives from four local
universities
The City invited the Barangay Councils and
Barangay Health Workers of all 59 barangays to orientation meetings, totaling 555
individual attendees.
Media
Brochures
Radio ads
Comic strips
San Fernando: Education Execution
The messenger
USAID found that house-to-house campaigns are the preferred outreach method for receiving information about septic tanks and household sanitation
Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) are a trusted source of information
The message
General information about the city's sewerage and septage management program and how participation in the program helps improve environmental health in the community
Proper care and use of septic tanks, including signs that septic tanks should be pumped out
How to install proper septic tank cleanouts
Information on proper treatment and reuse of greywater to families where problems are evident
San Fernando: Eco Tanks
Eco Tanks are small-
scale sewerage
treatment systems
composed of a
disposal tank that
receives and purifies
wastewater before
discharging it into the
environment.
San Fernando: Results
A fully functioning septage treatment
facility
Homeowners now pay an annual tax
which funds the septic tank pumping
program
The City has announced improved
environmental outcomes
San Fernando: What Worked, What
Didn’t
Worked
Health worker
advocacy
Probably the comic
strips
Did not work
Pilot projects with no
community input
San Fernando: Education Strategy
Checklist
Explain how the system works. Like, really explain.
Engage community leaders
Social marketing: Identify key barriers to specific
behaviours
The problem needs to seem immediate and tangible
Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
45% of the population rely on
on-site septic tanks
One-third of the on-site septic
systems in Nova Scotia are
inadequate or degraded and
contribute to pollution of
ground and surface waters
Annapolis Valley: Problems
The economic value lost as a result of shellfishery closures (due to contamination) is estimated in the millions of dollars annually in Nova Scotia
Beach closures due to high coliform counts
Decline in the recreational salmon fishing industry because of the degradation of their traditional spawning areas
High percentage of dug wells means high risk of E.coli contamination
Re-contamination every time it rains
A lot of very old septic systems
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
5 years 7 years 15 years 20 years 25 years 35 years 45 years 50 years
% of problematic systems by age
Series1
Annapolis Valley: The Proposed
Solution
Environmental Home Assessment Program (EHAP)
Free inspection
Province-wide
Delivered by local environmental organizations
Overcoming financial barriers
Annapolis Valley: Education Plan
The messenger:
Not the government. Anyone but the government
Word of mouth was how news of the program spread
The message:
Full education on septic system use. E.g. don’t do 7
loads of laundry on a single day
Annapolis Valley: Education Execution
One-on-one meetings
with homeowners across
the valley
Full property tour
Address the entire scope
of possible septic
impacts
Economic incentives
Annapolis Valley: Hobby Farm
Rural hobby farm with an ancient
septic system
No possibility of throwing money at
the problem
Children running around and a
wetland within 30m
Convincing the family to take the
problem seriously without causing
them to panic
Annapolis Valley: Results
The EHAP project has been renewed for the 9th year in a
row
10 homeowners received a grant toward a new septic
system
138 homeowners received a pumpout voucher
The EHAP program showed that regular septic tank
pumping becomes routine for homeowners once
educated on the importance of proper maintenance of
their septic system
Annapolis Valley: What Worked, What
Didn’t
Worked
Economic incentives
Giving the full picture
Did not work
Stressing the urgency of the problem
Annapolis Royal: Education Strategy
Checklist
Explain how the system works. Like, really explain.
Engage community leaders
Social marketing: Identify key barriers to specific
behaviours
The problem needs to seem immediate and tangible
Challenges: Rural vs. Urban
Rural
Distrust of
authority
Problem
immediacy not
always obvious
System poorly
understood
Urban
Tragedy of the
commons
Sense that on-site
solutions are
second-rate
System poorly
understood
The Big Picture
Not possible to automate proper on-site wastewater
system maintenance
Education (and lack thereof) is at the core of many of
these technological uptake and environmental
problems
Taking the time to understand why maintenance is not
taking place can go a long way
Consider incentives, prompts and social norms
