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Missouri | Pennsylvania
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Virginia
Rockbridge,
Missouri
Background
The Rockbridge site was chosen
because it resides in a major geological area of karst terrain that
includes fractured limestone bedrock, sinkhole plains, and caves
with underground drainage systems. The residential sites (five)
chosen lie within a major sinkhole plain with most of the underground
drainage going to Devils Icebox Cave, which runs through the park.
In addition, the soils of the area are high in clay content with
moderate to high shrink-swell potential and low permeability.
Objective
The objective of this project
is to demonstrate innovative/alternative onsite wastewater technologies
that protect ecological and water quality in an environmentally
sensitive karst terrain.
Centerville,
Pennsylvania
Background
The Centersville project is
situated in southern Bedford County, Cumberland Valley Township,
which comprises the entire watershed of Evitts Creek that drains
into Koon and Gordon Lakes. These lakes provide water for more than
50,000 customers in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia
and are owned by the City of Cumberland, Maryland. There are about
45 residences in the village of Centerville, where most onsite systems
failed or were inadequate, malfunctioning, or discharging directly
into a ditch or stream. A school that closed permanently has a treatment
plant which will be used/retrofitted to serve the cluster of homes.
Objective
The objective of this project
is to identify the number of malfunctioning or direct discharge
systems and connect them to a system that will serve the majority
of the homes (cluster), thus protecting public health and water
quality.
Green
Hill Pond, Rhode Island
Background
The Green Hill Pond is an approximately
400-acre, poorly flushed coastal lagoon along the southern Rhode
Island coastline that has experienced pronounced water quality degradation
in recent years from nonpoint-source pollution inputs. The Green
Hill Pond watershed is approximately six square miles in area with
about 2,200 housing units. Since 1993, Green Hill Pond has been
permanently closed to shellfishing due to elevated bacterial levels.
The main cause of pollution is marginally functioning and failed
septic systems, which have contributed to shellfish closures due
to high fecal coliform counts and eutrophication from excess inputs
of nitrogen.
Objective
The objective of this project
is to retrofit up to five failed conventional septic systems in
the Green Hill Pond Watershed with alternative and innovative onsite
systems.
Warren,
Jericho, Addison, and Windham Vermont
Background
According to the document "An
overview of problems and recommendations for action," the Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources states that Vermont's sewage disposal
regulations are a conglomeration of rules that fail to provide adequate
protection of public health. The major problems include a significant
number of systems that are failing, great variation in the oversight
of construction, and encouragement of poor land use. In addition,
permits for innovative systems are hard to obtain. There are five
different participants in this project: Vermont State Housing Authority,
Addison County Demonstration Project, Town of Jericho, Town of Warren,
and the Windham Regional Commission.
Objectives
Vermont
State Housing Authority
Design and install at least
two alternative systems to serve up to ten homes for the mobile
home park. Develop an education program on the proper operation
and maintenance of wastewater systems.
Addison
County
Continue and complete monitoring
of four onsite systems constructed as a demonstration originally
funded by Lake Champlain Basin Program. Provide lessons learned
on construction and maintenance beyond the information given by
the manufacturers and expand on public distribution of the results.
Town
of Jericho
Develop a wastewater management
district, including in-ground work needed, such as the identifying
the location of septic tanks and installing risers to mark their
location for the future.
Town
of Warren
Address the multiple failures
in the Warren village by identifying problems, evaluating alternative
solutions, and prioritizing action. Create and implement a wastewater
management district to serve as a model for other towns.
Windham
Regional Commission
Design and provide a broad education
on alternative systems through five to six regional seminars. Develop
a pilot administrative and technical assistance program for local
officials with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in their
permit programs.
Burnett,
Washington
Background
The town of Burnett is located
on South Prairie Creek, which is one of the largest salmon producers
in the Puyallup River basin, in Washington. As with many coal mining
towns, when the coal was gone so were most of its workers. What
was left behind were the coal mines, shafts, tunnels, cave-ins,
old sewer lines that usually discharged directly to the nearest
stream, water systems of all sorts, and a town that was not planned
but placed over top of the mines. It is riddled with old coal tunnels
that are macro-arteries to groundwater contamination from onsite
systems. Many of the homes dispose septic tank effluent into mine
shafts, groundwater, and creeks, doing nothing to ensure proper
treatment before disposal.
Objective
The objective of this project
is to identify, correct, and reduce the conditions that cause improper
functioning of onsite wastewater systems, eliminating the risk to
public health, and protecting the various water sources and environment.
Monongalia
County, West Virginia
Background
Monongalia County, located in
North-Central West Virginia, has suffered unplanned growth and exceeded
infrastructure improvements. The lack of public sewers has caused
residents to use onsite wastewater systems in urban as well as rural
areas. Wastewater disposal problems have hampered development and
have caused unnecessary health hazards. The county comprises a wide
variety of topography and soil and site conditions that impact onsite
wastewater systems. The belief exists that extending public sewer
lines is the only acceptable method of wastewater disposal. This
uninformed viewpoint undermines the use of cost-effective and safe
onsite wastewater systems. Lack of understanding by the public,
elected officials, and the government, as well as legal constraints
have impeded the success of these systems. The outcome of this proposal
offers an alternative to public sewers through the effective use
of onsite wastewater systems and management.
Objective
Provide an extensive education
and training program about onsite systems and the necessary information,
motivation, and support necessary to establish a management district.
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