Servicing Residential and Commercial Customers and Contracts
Sullivan Septic in the News
The Daily Times-Call
News and information for Longmont and Northern Colorado
www.timescall.com
Published August 21, 2006
By Brad Turner
Boulder County officials to push septic overhauls
BOULDER — Health officials will launch an ambitious plan next month to inspect and regulate thousands of aging septic systems throughout Boulder County by 2018.
Of the roughly 14,100 homes in the unincorporated county with septic systems, about 5,6000 never received approval from regulators, Boulder County Public Health chief Chuck Stout said last week.
Officials fear the lack of oversight, which they discovered after comparing health department records to assessor's records two years ago, could lead to groudwater contamination in the comind decades, he said.
"We're in a position to begin rolling out one of the most important public health initiatives in a decade, maybe longer," Stout said. "We basically have 14,000 people operating wastewater-treatment plants in their backyard."
Under the proposed SepticSmart program, officials would require an inspection every time a rural home with a septic system is bought or sold. Malfunctioning systems would be tagged for repair or replacement before the property can be sold.
| What will it cost? |
Boulder County health officials studied the costs of repairing or replacing poorly functioning septic systems.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contractors' fees for septic system work vary depending on the situation. For example, repairing a system on flat land is easier than fixing a system on a sloping mountain property, Stout said.
An inspection also miht be required qhenever a homeowner replaces a septic system that has failed or brings a home expansion to the county's land-use officials for approval, Stout said.
Many existing systems were designed decades ago for small homes and are being overburdened by new owners who expand existing homes, he said.
Ultimately, officials hope to inspect every septic system in the county over the next 12 years, Stout said.
A recent study estimated the average age of Boulder County septic systems to be 23 years. Eighty percent to 90 percent of septic systems fail or malfunction after 30 years of use and can contaminate nearby watersheds, health officials said.
"We basically have
14,000 people
operating
wastewater-
treatment plants in
their backyard."
Boulder County Public Health
chief Chuck Stout
The goal is a sustainable watershed for our county and future generations," county environmental health planner Lane Drager said.
The health department will identify every homeowner in the county with a septic system and notify them of the SepticSmart initiatice in September, Stout said.
Officials will hold several meetings to discuss the program before creating new requirements for septic system owners, he said.
Brad turner can be reeached at
720-494-5420, or by e-mail at
bturner@times-call.com
PO Box 1288
Longmont, Colorado 80502-1288
(303) 772-4019
Fax: (970) 535-9424