Innovative Regional Septic Loan Program partnership wins EPA and local awards

We’re excited to announce that the innovative Regional On-Site Sewage System Loan Program developed by Washington state departments of Ecology and Health, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, and Craft3 — a non-profit lender — has been deemed exceptional by the 2017 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PISCES program.

EPA’s PISCES — or Performance and Innovation in the State Revolving Fund Creating Environmental Success — celebrates excellence and innovation in clean water infrastructure.

Award winning loan program helps fix leaking septic systems

The EPA selected our Regional On-Site Sewage System Loan Program as one of five exceptional projects across the country. Our program is a public-private partnership that provides funding for Puget Sound property owners to repair or replace failing septic systems.

“This program has been a great success due to the incredible partnership and collaboration between state agencies, local health jurisdictions, county governments, and Craft3. We all worked together to build a sustainable and efficient solution to help protect public health and water quality while giving homeowners viable financing options.” 

- Jeff Nejedly, Ecology financial assistance 

In addition to the PISCES Award, the Regional Loan Program was honored with the “Creative Solutions” award last week at the Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council (IACC) conference in Wenatchee. The conference gathers communities, infrastructure providers, and funders. IACC aims to improve infrastructure assistance in Washington. The annual awards ceremony celebrates outstanding achievements in public works projects across the state.

269 septic systems fixed during the first year of our program

Our program was incredibly successful in it's first year. It prevented 36 million gallons — equal to 55 Olympic-sized swimming pools — of wastewater from flowing into Puget Sound watershed. It also brought $6.7 million into local communities to repair and maintain septic systems.

Unexpected household expenses can burden any family, and repairing a failing septic system can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The Regional Loan Program attempts to lessen that burden — providing affordable financing for septic repair and replacement to homeowners at many different income levels. Roughly 40% of participants in the last year were low-income borrowers.

We help protect public health and water quality

The program uses public funds in a cost-effective way to:

• Reduce sources of water pollution.
• Improve and protect shellfish areas and ecosystems.
• Improve local governments’ ability to focus on water quality priorities.
• Increase opportunities for property owners unable to qualify for traditional loans.

Roughly a third of Washington households are on septic systems. Well-maintained and functioning septic systems can provide high-quality treatment to household wastewater for many years. Not all septic systems contribute to pollution, but failing septic systems can affect water quality.

Septic systems are only one piece of the clean water puzzle. There are many sources of pollution — such as stormwater runoff, excess nutrients from farms, lawns, and people, agriculture practices, and wastewater treatment facilities. Reducing all sources of water pollution is important to keep Washington waters and communities healthy.

Loan program helps counties provide better service

Our program saves local governments time and money by taking counties out of the lending business. This allows homeowners the ability to go directly to a lender for financial help. By partnering with a non-profit lender like Craft3, counties can focus on providing technical assistance and working with septic professionals to raise awareness.

“Our old program just could not scale up to that kind of volume given our limited staff resources…referring people to Craft3 for septic funding assistance allows us to spend more time helping them with all the permitting details and the technical assistance. 

It has been an incredible burden lifted off of me to know that so many more of our citizens-in-need are being helped with their septic repairs.” — Kathleen Parvin, Island County Public Health

Program expanding to Clark and Cowlitz counties

The program currently covers the Olympic peninsula, coastal counties, and most counties around the Puget Sound. We and our partners are actively working to expand the availability of loans to more of the state.

Once a state Capital Budget is passed, Craft3 can begin offering loans in Clark and Cowlitz Counties. Next fiscal year we plan to offer the program to Eastern Washington counties.

Other wastewater funding opportunities

In addition to the regional septic loan program, We have other funding and loan programs available for public entities like conservation districts and counties.

These programs help individuals repair septic systems, and help communities build and repair larger systems. For example, a community could use these funds to connect a whole neighborhoods to a sewer system and abandon septic systems.

We also give funding to communities to help with pollution identification, outreach and education, planning, and surveys to identify problem areas.

Join this program or apply for a loan

If you are a homeowner with a failing or malfunctioning septic system and are interested in a loan, contact Craft 3 at CleanWater@Craft3.org or 888-231-2170 ext. 125.

If you are a local government interested in this program, contact our Local Loan Program Coordinator Rebecca Brown at rebecca.brown@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-6703.

Learn more on our website.

By: Stacy Galleher, Water Quality Communications Specialist and Rebecca Brown, Water Quality Program Financial Assistance

Water quality declining in Whatcom County – but work is underway

Water quality is the topic of many conversations in Whatcom County these days. And sometimes the conversations aren’t easy.

We live in a beautiful region of the state where we prize our views and waterways. It might surprise you that many of the waterways flowing through our communities are in trouble. Many tributaries and streams have high levels of fecal coliform bacteria, an indicator that disease-causing organisms are present. In fact, 80 percent of the sites that we monitor are failing to meet bacteria water quality standards.

Water contaminated with fecal coliform can make people sick. It’s a serious public health issue. It also threatens an important shellfish industry.

Last Friday, the Washington Department of Health announced restrictions on another 300 acres of Lummi Nation’s Portage Bay shellfish growing area—the second reclassification in two years. That means, for six months of the year, about 800 acres of the tribe’s treaty-protected shellfish growing area are off-limits to harvest. Their culture and way of life are impacted, and incomes threatened, as a food source becomes scarcer.

What are the sources of pollution?

Preventable sources of fecal coliform bacteria pollution include human and animal waste (poop!) from failing septic systems, pets, and livestock. Small sources might seem inconsequential, but it all adds up.

Working together to reverse the trend

We’ve been partnering with the community to develop an effective response to this growing concern. Formed in 2012, the Whatcom Clean Water Program is working with residents to identify and address fecal bacteria sources and prevent pollution. The group includes representatives from local, state, tribal and federal agencies. Each partner plays an important role:

       

• Washington Department of Agriculture regulates dairies.
• Ecology works with non-dairy agricultural properties – everything from commercial cattle operations, to crop farms that use manure, to small lifestyle farms. 
• Whatcom County Public Works leads a Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) program.
• Whatcom County Health Department oversees a septic system inspection and maintenance program.
• Whatcom Conservation District offers education and resource management help to farmers and landowners.

We meet regularly to coordinate work, address challenges and share progress.

Everybody can help 

Individuals are the key to making progress. We can pick up our pet waste, manage manure on our properties, and keep our septic systems in working order. 

You can keep informed of current water quality. And if you're curious to know if your property is contributing, you can join a citizen monitoring program. 

Image courtesy of Whatcom Conservation District

Additional helpful tips are available on the Washington Waters Ours to Protect webpages.

Next time

Small successes add up: Learn how one family spruced up their farm to protect a nearby creek

By Krista Kenner, Communications Manager, NWRO-Bellingham Field Office

Stories about Getting to Clean Water: Clallam County - Educating Homeowners About Their Septic Systems

By Diane Dent, Water Quality Stories Lead, Water Quality Program

Did you know you are now required to have your septic system inspected every one to three years, depending on what type of system you have?

The problem

When your septic system fails, it’s expensive to repair and a health hazard to you, your family, and your pets. Runoff from a failing septic system can carry untreated sewage across your yard, onto your neighbor’s property, or into surface waters.

Project highlights

The ultimate goal of this project was to improve water quality by improving management of home onsite septic systems. As part of the project the county piloted a “Do It Yourself” (DIY) inspection training program in 2011. The project was successful in educating home on-site septic system owners in the Marine Recovery Area of the Dungeness watershed about the why, when, and how to conduct septic system maintenance.

• To learn more about what the results of the project were, read this full story online.
• Story written by Tammy Riddell, Ecology Southwest Regional Office

Telling our success stories

Water quality success stories provide a wealth of information associated with novel project designs, funding ideas, and useful resource suggestions. Some are clear successes; others supply valuable lessons to help us grow in our understanding of water quality protection and restoration. Stories illustrate successes gained from cooperation among Washington’s citizens and organizations.

Read all of our Ecology's water quality success stories, and check out our complete catalog of stories.

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Home Septic System Successes

By Dustin Bilhimer, Water Quality Program

Is your septic system acting up? When your home's septic system fails, it's more than a wet stinky mess. It's expensive to repair and it's a health hazard to you and your family.

A lot of people have learned the hard way that regular inspection and maintenance can prevent system failures and save you money in repair costs.

The Department of Ecology is working with local governments (contact your local health district here) and citizens to help cover costs for septic system repair/replacement where we find water pollution problems are caused by failing residential septic systems.

These partnerships are leading to improved working relationships between the public and government agencies. This cooperation leads to clean water solutions.

A recent success story from the Colville River watershed highlighted how homeowners received grant money from Ecology and the Conservation Commission to replace their septic systems.

Actions followed the implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study and water quality improvement plan to clean-up fecal coliform bacteria pollution in the Colville watershed. After homeowners got their problem septic systems repaired, the district's water quality monitoring began showing signs of cleaner water.

Ecology and local governments offer different combinations of loans and grants to ease the cost of replacing failing septic systems where water quality needs to be improved. Here are several examples of Ecology providing financial assistance in other parts of the state:

• Skagit County pollution reductions
• Little Bear Creek, Snohomish County
• Puget Sound and Hood Canal

Do you know how to properly maintain your septic system to prevent problems? Click here to learn how or go to Ecology’s Washington Waters homepage to learn more about what you can do to protect our water quality.

Are you interested in other water quality success stories? Click here.

Want to find out if there is a TMDL in your area? Click here.