Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

University of Maryland - Andy Lazar

• Applied research: collaborating with some civil engineers and NGO to examine disadvantaged communities on eastern shore of MD and looking at flooding risk and implications for OWTS. Technical advisor and outreach activities.
• Survey of OWTS homeowners.
• Education/training for homeowners, realtors, setting up 2-acre septic demonstration field (319 funding + local NGO and vendor donations) as a research and education center.
• MD has working group developing certification requirements for different sectors in the OWTS professions.

University of Georgia - Gary Hawkins

• Research group working on reviewing past demonstration projects where flow through the system is monitored, and reviving flow through the system.
• Still working on education/outreach with soil-water conservation districts, extension agents, university students … all about awareness about septic system function and maintenance needs.
• Wastewater practitioners and regulators still engaged in CEUs renewals - attempts to develop 2nd training location not successful at this time.
• Run week-long training class for soils for DPH employees (class taught by local pedologists and some local consultants). 4 days in class on pedology, with field exercises to reinforce in-class content. Plus an exam for certification.

University of Tennessee - John Buchanan

• Transitioned into directing construction sciences major (post-COVID restructuring)
• Graduate student working on a project. Regulatory challenges for large drip distribution – poor performance not a function of design, but rather non-functional responsible management entities (TDEC was not enforcing standards or inspections for maintenance). Issues with how regs interpret system failures/malfunctions – possible a single problematic drip emitter is malfunctioning (manufacturer error, rodent damage, etc.). Concerns over loading rates (0.2 gal/sqft/day) - transition to considering soil structure and texture and presence/absence of shrink-swell …. want to develop quantitative approach to holistically consider drip loading rate and whether or not a piece of land is develop-able.
• Developed app to collect maintenance data/practices
• Examining flow dynamics in drip tubing
• Continued training for O&M providers for advanced systems (residential single family homes)

University of Minnesota - Sara Heger

• Recently completed a project looking at distribution boxes, header pipes and how even or uneven the distribution is both gravity and pump to gravity. 
• A new project by a water softening system with a very high-pressure membrane that proposes reusing the brine rather than backwashing – being piloted at a rest area.

University of Rhode Island - Alissa Cox

• Continued offering training/workshops for wastewater professionals, realtors, property owners and URI students. Concerned about a gap in training / clear opportunities for new service providers to enter field and get training from manufacturers to service proprietary technologies.
• Still working with a local town to document different N-removing technologies’ performance, funded by an U.S. EPA grant (Southeast New England Program). To address needs expressed by residents during the course of this project, we are working to develop a voluntary property certification program to incentivize and recognize homeowners’ efforts to implement best practices that protect local ground and coastal water quality (including septic system upgrades).

University of of Southern Florida - Jaiye Hua

• A student is working on environmental and economic suitability assessment of OWTS across scales (individual vs. cluster vs. package plant; what type of treatment and drainfield options; maintenance frequency (reactive vs proactive))
• A postdoc is still examining salt water impacts on N-reducing performance of technologies.
• Lab-scale INRB to study best TN reduction media mix; GeoMat as distribution network
• Monitoring 10 field-scale systems.

Discussion about future of this group

• There is a funding opportunity through RCAP (Rural Community Assistance Program) to develop more education/training – perhaps something this group could transition to? Do we need to involve other land-grant universities – is anyone missing from the conversation? More details to follow.
• There is some interest in applying for a grant to develop an online university course on OWTS – perhaps hosted online? Logistics for hosting/offering are unclear at this time. This would be grant-funded, so the course needs to be free during the piloting phase (funded by grant), which would be associated with some challenges if this were offered as an accredited course at an existing university… More details to follow.

General discussion / Action items

• Need more input on renewing the HATCH project … need a research component to reflect research happening at various institutions related to OWTS, and also add a more explicit education/outreach piece. Alissa will try to get more clarity on the nature of research questions central to HATCH projects, so we can discuss at next year’s meeting.

Accomplishments (by project objective)

Project Objective 1 - Improve our understanding of the interactions among wastewater, soils, biogeochemical cycles and processes and treatment performance (contaminant removal) of existing and novel wastewater treatment technologies in different geographic regions and landscapes over time and considering climate change.

North Carolina State University (NCSU)

North Carolina State University has conducted several laboratory experiments to evaluate the potential impacts of sea level rise and soil salinization on a common coastal soil series used for on-site wastewater treatment. We have completed field and laboratory analyses as part of a Ph.D. dissertation (expected completion in 2025).

Results from our research have shown:

• Soil became impaired for freshwater plant growth and microbial processes after just 2 floods of brackish water.
• After 4 flood events the entire soil was saturated with sodium, resulting in destruction of soil aggregation due to sodium dispersion and exchangeable sodium percentage was at 100%.
• As soils became saline-sodic, significant amounts of dissolved organic carbon and other soluble cations were leached, suggesting that the soil no longer had capacity to absorb added elements.
• Overall findings suggest that common soils used for septic systems in the coastal regions of North Carolina will be significantly impacted by sea level rise over the next 80 years and effective microbial and biogeochemical treatment of wastewater will be impaired relatively quickly due to predicted 10x increase in nuisance flooding by 2050.

University of Minnesota (UMN)

• The University of Minnesota has been collecting and analyzing water table levels under 25 OWTS serving rest areas in Minnesota and running comparative groundwater mounding evaluations. This data will help us understand how water tables may be impacted by both OWTS and climate change.
• The University of Minnesota has collected and analyzed the septage pumped out of rest area septic tanks. Due to the predominance of toilet flushing it is assumed that this septage is higher in concentration in many contaminants than typical residential septage. Data from thirty systems has been analyzed for organic content (BOD, COD, FOG), nutrients (ammonia, TKN, and phosphorus), along with selected metals and at five sites PFAS were also tested.  This data will help assist maintainers of commercial systems in maintaining similar commercial systems and potentially impact rates for land application or inform WWTP accepting septage.  At two of these rest areas, a bioaugmentation product is being tested to determine if can positively impact sludge production and downstream treatment of a commercial aerobic treatment unit.
• The Onsite Sewage Treatment program investigated the benefits of adding iron-enhanced sand and biochar to OWTS to improve and enhance treatment. The tests showed that the best biochar material was Softwood pine, which provided attractive contaminants reduction capability without disintegration in water. The best iron product was iron-enhanced sand, which gave the highest TSS and TP removal efficiency among all the materials evaluated.

Purdue University

• Purdue University has conducted different industrial/agricultural wastewater treatment methods to treat various types of wastewaters collected in Indiana. Aquaculture wastewaters were collected from fish and shrimp farms and treated using biological and electrochemical methods. Microalgae, cyanobacteria, and bacteria were used to create these wastewaters during the biological treatment methods. The biodegradability and bioavailability of dissolved substances in aquaculture effluent were determined.
• Egg-washing wastewater was collected from a local facility, and the same treatment methods explained above were applied to treat this wastewater. However, compared to shrimp or fish wastewater, egg-washing wastewater has a very high concentration of phosphorous and chemical oxygen demand concentrations. Therefore, the treatment of egg-washing wastewater was challenging.
• Duck-slaughtering wastewater samples were collected from a local facility, and similar treatment methods explained above were applied.

Some of the studies above are completed in 2024 while some of them are going on. The on-site treatment options for those wastewaters were discussed with each facility. The primary on-site treatment method was decided to build a two-stage lagoon system. The peer-reviewed journal articles that published in this research is given below at the “Publication” section.

Rutgers University

Our work examines the removal of micropollutants to improve water quality and produce tools for monitoring water quality. Micropollutants are chemicals that are found at very low concentrations and include household chemicals like pharmaceuticals and personal care products. If these chemicals are not fully degraded by the microorganisms in wastewater treatment systems, they may be released into the environment with unknown consequences.

We have studied pharmaceutical biodegradation activity in enrichment cultures to understand the biodegradation potential of household pollutants by anaerobic microorganisms.  Using naproxen as a model pharmaceutical compound, we explored the effects of different materials as surfaces for microbial attachment and biofilm formation. We have shown that the microbial community composition changes when there are surfaces for attachment, however, the function of the community appeared to be unaffected.

We have started to genetically characterize the microbial community that is responsible for pharmaceutical biotransformation. We have targeted genes to determine whether the presence of genetic markers can be used to trace the presence of the compounds and whether they indicate biogeochemical cycling of carbon by these organisms. We have successfully detected genes for both aromatic ring metabolism and acetogenesis, which is consistent with our previous culture-based results.

University of Rhode Island (URI)

Piloting N-reducing nonproprietary layered soil treatment areas. This year, we continued to partner with the Town of Charlestown, RI to monitor pilot installations of a non-proprietary advanced Nitrogen-reducing OWTS drainfield option in RI. This technology, if approved by state regulators could presents an inexpensive alternative to currently approved proprietary technologies for N reduction. We monitored four pilot systems installed in 2021 to serve private residences in coastal Charlestown, RI. Our data (monthly sampling of each of the four installed systems) indicate that these systems continue to perform well in terms of N-reduction (achieving over 80% reduction of total Nitrogen). However, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD-5) values remain elevated (mean 50mg/L), even after two years of operation and may prevent regulatory acceptance of this technology.

Monitoring the performance of proprietary advanced N-reduction technologies. We continued our collaborative effort to document the real-world performance of existing advanced OWTS technologies serving private residences. We collected quarterly sampling of effluent leaving 20 advanced proprietary nitrogen-removing residential systems from a variety of manufacturers (including both media filter and aerobic treatment unit technologies approved in Rhode Island) with our municipal partners. Lab analyses indicate that many systems are capable of meeting the regulatory requirements and are discharging effluent concentrations at or below 19mg/L of Total N, but some systems do not. We continue to search for predictors of system performance that are easily assessed in the field to inform maintenance best practices for professionals in the industry.

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Community-scale, soil-based, drip dispersal systems are a method of returning reclaimed water back to the hydrologic cycle and are a viable alternative to surface water discharges.  This method depends on the soil to accept, renovate, and transmit effluent away from the application area.  When a new drip dispersal system is proposed as part of the wastewater solution for a small community, it is the responsibility of State and local environmental regulatory officials to ensure that the system will be protective of human and environmental health.  However, there is an absence of standards that the regulatory community can use to determine the suitability of the application site and of the application system.  As such, each jurisdiction has developed its own set of regulations, which may (or may not) be based on the best available science.

The University of Tennessee Extension received a grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Water Resources to compile the research literature regarding wastewater drip dispersal, assemble existing regulations from other U.S. states and countries, and solicit the recommendations of engineers, scientists, and equipment manufacturers to develop well-defined standards that can be used to fairly evaluate land application areas and drip dispersal systems.  The primary deliverable is a set of engineering standards of care that should be followed when designing and installing a drip dispersal system.  The publication will be peer-reviewed and available by December 2025.

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia Research has focused on investigating how water movement under onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) is correlated with the water flow in and out of the septic tank using monitoring equipment.  The research has also started some new projects to monitor and measure flow and bacteria in the distribution system.  The workshops includes a powerpoint presentation along with actual OWTS products to show how systems works.  These workshops last from 1 hour to 6 hours with more detail as the time increases.

The University of Georgia Extension has been working with various groups in Georgia to provide Onsite Wastewater basics to educate homeowners, City/County personnel/Soil and Water Conservation District staff on the operation and maintenance (O&M) of septic systems and how proper O&M helps protect water quality.  The Extension program took part again in 2024 with a local water festival where over 300 persons came through a tent to learn about OWTS at 4 different stations.  The stations were: 1)  what items should and should not be flushed, 2) what does a onsite wastewater system look like (this station uses an operating  model OWTS to show how OWTS work from the flush to the distribution, 3) what happens to paper when flushed (this uses a jar test apparatus to stir various paper products to show if and how much they breakdown), and an Enviroscape to show how water and wastewater are treated.

Project Objective 3 – Develop educational materials and tools to acquaint the public and practitioners about management, operation, maintenance and health issues related to OWTS in light of system performance, and the need for adaptation to climate change.

University of Minnesota (UMN)

The UMN training program, through both in-person and virtual events trained over 2,000  septic system professionals on the design, inspection, installation, and service of septic systems.  Staff planned and organized the educational program for the 2023 annual Minnesota Onsite Wastewater Association conference.

A grant completed an online training module for homeowners regarding septic systems.

University of Rhode Island (URI)

Onsite wastewater professionals and regulators. Our program held 15 credit-bearing training workshops for wastewater professionals’ licensing requirements in RI, NH, VT, MA and NY, reaching a combined 321 professionals. We updated and adapted our operation and maintenance service provider course for advanced system maintenance, offering it again for the first time since 2018. We also adapted two of our most popular courses on advanced technologies and bottomless sand filters (a specialized type of pressurized drainfield) to decrease the length of our in-person and virtual trainings, by adding two hours of self-paced course content that participants must complete after the live workshop. We have taken participant feedback and their encountered technical obstacles into consideration and revised the content and subsequent offerings to provide an easy-to-navigate yet intellectually stimulating interactive set of important content modules. All of our workshops are continuously updated with the latest scientific and technical information, and are structured to be engaging while improving our attendees’ ability to implement science-based best practices in their professional work related to OWTS. We encourage wastewater professionals to design systems with greater separation distances from drainfield bases to groundwater tables, which results in better treatment of wastewater and also reduces the potential impacts of climate change, ultimately and helping to protect ground and surface receiving water quality for residents state-wide.

Realtors. We continued to offer a series of credit-bearing workshops for realtor audiences to help them disseminate accurate and factual information to their clients about conventional and advanced septic systems. The workshop series consists of two two-hour virtual trainings and a two-hour hands-on workshop at our outdoor onsite wastewater training center. A total of 114 RI realtors attended our workshops, resulting in 72 training contact hours delivered on conventional septic systems, 70 training contact hours focused on advanced systems, and 92 field-based contact hours at the URI wastewater demonstration center.

Public audiences: OWTS owners. We continued our expanded efforts to engage with members of the public who own properties with septic systems, answer their questions and share science-based information with them related to operation and maintenance of septic systems. Some of these efforts were the result of our ongoing grant-funded collaboration with local municipal and non-profit partners. Our staff attended and/or hosted 4 public-facing events, and engaged with about 430 members of the public. Six URI student volunteers supported several of these events (e.g. booth at the RI Home Show), contributing more than 17 volunteer hours and concurrently gaining important experience and skills related to effective public engagement and science communication. In response to frequently asked questions and community needs, we developed a new factsheet on maintenance activities for advanced N-removing OWTS. This factsheet has been well-received, and has been a resources for our realtor trainings as well.

Public audiences: URI students. As in past years, our program staff continued hosting 1-2 hour field trips at the URI onsite wastewater training center for students enrolled in natural resources science, landscape architecture, and geology courses. Last year, approximately 190 students spent at least an hour at the center learning about decentralized wastewater treatment mechanisms and best practices for protecting and enhancing wastewater treatment to protect local water quality. In addition, Dr. Alissa Cox taught her upper undergraduate/graduate course on the principles of onsite wastewater treatment to 22 students. The course was structured around the problem-based learning method of instruction, where students were assigned to stable teams which worked through a successive series of interconnected real-life problems related to environmental water quality and OWTS function, design and performance. To date, six of the 43 students enrolled in the course over the last two years are employed in permanent jobs in the wastewater industry.

Rutgers University

We are continuing to develop curriculum materials related to the biodegradation of emerging contaminants that are used in two courses within the Environmental Sciences undergraduate major.  These students are frequently employed in the wastewater sector. 

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia Extension has been working with various groups in Georgia to provide Onsite Wastewater basics to educate homeowners, City/County personnel/Soil and Water Conservation District staff on the operation and maintenance (O&M) of septic systems and how proper O&M helps protect water quality.  The Extension program took part again in 2024 with a local water festival where over 300 persons came through a tent to learn about OWTS at 4 different stations.  The stations were: 1)  what items should and should not be flushed, 2) what does a onsite wastewater system look like (this station uses an operating  model OWTS to show how OWTS work from the flush to the distribution, 3) what happens to paper when flushed (this uses a jar test apparatus to stir various paper products to show if and how much they breakdown), and an Enviroscape to show how water and wastewater are treated.  There were five workshops with a total attendance of 120 persons.

The University of Georgia Extension also works with the Georgia Onsite Wastewater Association (GOWA) to host an annual field day which provides 8 hours of continuing education for an average of 100 OWTS professionals.  The Extension has also worked with and provided a workshop of OWTS to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services professional staff.

Aranda-Vega, Y., Bhatt, P., Huang, J-Y., Brown, P., Bhasin, A., Hussain, A.S., Simsek, H. (2024). Biodegradability and bioavailability of dissolved substances in aquaculture effluent: Performance of indigenous bacteria, cyanobacteria, and green microalgae.
 Environmental Pollution, 15, 345, 123468.

Arbour, A.J., Bhatt, P., Simsek, H., Brown, P.B., Huang, J-Y. (2024). Life cycle assessment on environmental feasibility of microalgae-based wastewater treatment for shrimp recirculating aquaculture systems. Bioresource Technology, 399, 130578.

Bhandari, M., Kumar, P., Bhatt, P., Simsek, H., Kumar, R., Chaudhary, A., Malik, A. and Prajapati, S.K. (2023). An integration of algae-mediated wastewater treatment and resource recovery through anaerobic digestion. Environmental Management, 342, 118159.

Bhatt, P., Huang, JY., Brown, P., Shivaram, K.B., Yakamercan, E., Simsek, H. (2023). Electrochemical treatment of aquaculture wastewater effluent and optimization of the parameters using response surface methodology. Environmental Pollution. 331 (1), 121864.

Bhatt, P., Brown, P. B., Huang, J.-Y., Hussain, A. S., Liu, H.T., Simsek, H. (2024). Algae and indigenous bacteria consortium in treatment of shrimp wastewater: A study for resource recovery in sustainable aquaculture system. Environmental Research, 250, 118447.

Heger, S.F., Boor, E.S. Distel, J., Wheeler, D.B., Larson, S., and N. Reider. 2024.  Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Minnesota Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems.  Applied Engineer in Agriculture. 40(1):  79-93.

Holodak, J., Stanley, J.,  Cox, A., Groves, T., Jantrania, A., Moeller, J. Neset, K, Walker, C., Zhang, H., Ryan, B. Heger, S., and B. Brooks. 2023.  Identifying Workforce Education, Training, and Outreach Needs in Decentralized Wastewater and Distributed Water Reuse.  NEHA Journal of Environmental Health December 20-27.

Overbo, A. 2024. Sources of Chlorides to Minnesota Waters,  Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation.  University of Minnesota. 

URI Onsite Wastewater Resource Center (2023). “Factsheet: Advanced OWTS Maintenance Requirements” University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.

Yakamercan, E., Turco, R. F., Nas, B., Hussain, A. S., Aygun, A., Meador, L., Simsek, H. (2024). Optimizing electrochemical methods for fish wastewater treatment in recirculating aquaculture systems. Water Process Engineering, 66, 105891.

Yakamercan, E., Bhatt, P., Aygun, A., Adesope, A.W., Simsek, H. (2023). Comprehensive understanding of electrochemical treatment systems combined with biological processes for wastewater remediation. Environmental Pollution, 330, 121680.