2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/24/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | PILED HIGH AND GETTING DEEPER: IMBALANCES IN THE DEMAND FOR SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND THE ABILITY TO TREAT SEPTAGE | Virtual Platform

PILED HIGH AND GETTING DEEPER: IMBALANCES IN THE DEMAND FOR SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND THE ABILITY TO TREAT SEPTAGE

Onsite wastewater treatment systems, such as septic systems, are a critical component of global wastewater treatment infrastructure. In the US, approximately 20 percent of new housing developments depend on septic infrastructure for the treatment of waste, and this proportion can be even greater in certain regions, such as the southeast. Maintenance, including pumping, is an important component of appropriately functioning septic systems. Treating septic-derived waste, or septage, is an expensive process, and many jurisdictions that are actively approving new septic permits do not maintain facilities that accept septage for waste treatment. This imbalance creates issues of great environmental concerns, particularly for freshwater systems. Here, we examine temporal patterns in septic development and septage disposal capacity in northeastern Georgia in the southeastern US. We document increases in the total number of permitted septic systems, and concurrent increases in treatment costs and declines in the number of treatment facilities accepting waste. These patterns are most likely not limited to the study region, and the imbalance between the demand for septic systems and treatment options creates a wide-spread management issue that threatens the integrity of freshwater systems and the ecosystem services they provide.

Urban
Stressor
Anthropogenic

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Presenters/Authors

Krista Capps (), University of Georgia, kcapps@uga.edu;