by Beth Ruhl
People drinking their own sewage is only one of many things that Douglas County's Director of Environmental Health, Richard Ziesenis, for the Lawrence Douglas County Health Department has to deals with daily. on a daily basis.
Douglas County is the last of its surrounding counties to implement a new sanitation code requiring yearly inspection of septic tanks, but all of this is about to change due to a recent influx of calls to the Health Department regarding septic tank malfunctions that resulted in Lawrence residents becoming ill.
"You should see the look on people's faces when they find out they are literally drinking their own sewage. They are speechless," said Richard Hird, owner of Honey-Bee Septic Service. The new city codes require that any Lawrence resident with a newly constructed alternative septic system must perform yearly maintenance and pass an inspection given out by the Health Department.
"We all get together and tell war stories," said Ziesenis of the Health Department's Environmental Health Division. Ziesenis, who received his bachelor of science in Environmental Science from Ottawa University, has seen numerous cases of septic system malfunctions in Douglas County. He said one of the biggest red flags that the Health Department looks for is if they get a call from someone who lives in the country and their house is over 40 year old.
"It is usually a bad sign if we don't have any inspection records for a house. If you haven't had your septic system inspected in over 40 years, there is probably something wrong," said Jim McDaniel, Environmental Health Specialist for the Health Department. Septic System malfunction occurs when the solid waste inside of the septic tank is not cleaned out every 3-5 years. The buildup causes cracking and then seepage of the sewage to places such as yards or drinking water supplies.
"People take their septic systems for granted," said Lisa Horn, communications coordinator for the Health Department. "They just want to be able to flush their toilets, but when they find out the health risks of a leaking septic system, they will often change their minds." She said most diseases that come from drinking water with sewage in it affect the gastro-intestinal tract. The treatment for these diseases is most often antibiotics.
Another provision under the city code is that realtors are now required to have any septic systems inspected before they sell a house. The house must also pass water tests that are done by the city.
"It's an extra step, but it's a win-win situation for everyone," said McDaniel. He said it is protection for both the buyer and the seller. Real estate agents can be held liable for septic system malfunctions if they are not inspected before a house is sold. "It is a preventative step to keep Lawrence residents healthy and to keep real estate agents from being sued."
They new sanitation codes are also an attempt to stop pollution of natural resources and city water. Ziesenis said that once every year or so the Health Department goes out to inspect a septic system on a farm and they will find a pipe running directly from a septic system out to a ditch.
"Not only is this an extreme health hazard, but it is an environmental one as well," said Ziesenis. He said this kind of situation is detrimental to any kind of plant and wildlife that is around the affected creek or ditch. "This will hopefully be prevented now that we are required to do inspections more diligently."
New Septic Tank Requirements for Dougals County
People drinking their own sewage is only one of many things that Douglas County's Director of Environmental Health, Richard Ziesenis, for the Lawrence Douglas County Health Department has to deals with daily. on a daily basis.
Douglas County is the last of its surrounding counties to implement a new sanitation code requiring yearly inspection of septic tanks, but all of this is about to change due to a recent influx of calls to the Health Department regarding septic tank malfunctions that resulted in Lawrence residents becoming ill.
"You should see the look on people's faces when they find out they are literally drinking their own sewage. They are speechless," said Richard Hird, owner of Honey-Bee Septic Service. The new city codes require that any Lawrence resident with a newly constructed alternative septic system must perform yearly maintenance and pass an inspection given out by the Health Department.
"We all get together and tell war stories," said Ziesenis of the Health Department's Environmental Health Division. Ziesenis, who received his bachelor of science in Environmental Science from Ottawa University, has seen numerous cases of septic system malfunctions in Douglas County. He said one of the biggest red flags that the Health Department looks for is if they get a call from someone who lives in the country and their house is over 40 year old.
"It is usually a bad sign if we don't have any inspection records for a house. If you haven't had your septic system inspected in over 40 years, there is probably something wrong," said Jim McDaniel, Environmental Health Specialist for the Health Department. Septic System malfunction occurs when the solid waste inside of the septic tank is not cleaned out every 3-5 years. The buildup causes cracking and then seepage of the sewage to places such as yards or drinking water supplies.
"People take their septic systems for granted," said Lisa Horn, communications coordinator for the Health Department. "They just want to be able to flush their toilets, but when they find out the health risks of a leaking septic system, they will often change their minds." She said most diseases that come from drinking water with sewage in it affect the gastro-intestinal tract. The treatment for these diseases is most often antibiotics.
Another provision under the city code is that realtors are now required to have any septic systems inspected before they sell a house. The house must also pass water tests that are done by the city.
"It's an extra step, but it's a win-win situation for everyone," said McDaniel. He said it is protection for both the buyer and the seller. Real estate agents can be held liable for septic system malfunctions if they are not inspected before a house is sold. "It is a preventative step to keep Lawrence residents healthy and to keep real estate agents from being sued."
They new sanitation codes are also an attempt to stop pollution of natural resources and city water. Ziesenis said that once every year or so the Health Department goes out to inspect a septic system on a farm and they will find a pipe running directly from a septic system out to a ditch.
"Not only is this an extreme health hazard, but it is an environmental one as well," said Ziesenis. He said this kind of situation is detrimental to any kind of plant and wildlife that is around the affected creek or ditch. "This will hopefully be prevented now that we are required to do inspections more diligently."
New Septic Tank Requirements for Dougals County
Leave a comment