Delaware County, IN officials are proposing a tax on all septic systems after finding some towns in a “toxic” state according to county commissioner Don Dunnuck. This tax proposal has many Delaware county officials and residents in a heated debate. A recent article by The Star Press touches on the thoughts of many as they are feeling like it is “a tax on the American dream.”

 

According to the county health department administrator, Josh Williams, there are over 9,000 septic systems across Delaware County that would fall under this “poop tax”, as it is being called. Dunnuck has proposed a fee of $35 a year to be enforced on those with a septic system. This amounts to $300,000 a year to pay for sewer projects such as installing sewer lines or replacing septic systems.

 

Septic System Awareness

Before jumping the gun and enforcing a tax, one step that Delaware County officials can take to improve their community and address their “toxic” small towns is to educate residents on their septic systems.
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The average homeowner doesn’t even realize they have a septic system until a problem occurs. Holding septic system workshops, similar to those held in an effort to clean up the Dix River Watershed, can give people the tools and knowledge they need in order to maintain a healthy system. County officials and residents have already been spending their time and money on attending meetings regarding this “poop tax”, with out any improvement on the issue. Just one of those meetings could have been better spent instilling homeowners on the importance of proper septic maintenance. If the tax agenda does go through and new septics are put in to replace the failing systems, who is to say that the homeowners will know how to properly care for them?

 

Septic System Failure & The Solution

There are over 26 million septic systems in America with an average rate of 5 million failing every year. All conventional septic systems are run anaerobically which means without oxygen. This anaerobic bacteria end ups in our septic system every time we flush the toilet or do a load of laundry and over time forms a thick sludgy layer in the drain-field and tank. This sludgy layer or bio-mat is the most common cause of septic system failure for systems 15-20 years old.

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Through controlled septic tank aeration™ any existing septic system can be fully restored and maintained so it can once again function like new. This is without excavation, replacement, or chemicals but by converting the septic system from the poor functioning anaerobic environment to the more efficient aerobic (with oxygen) environment. The Aerobic bacteria eat away at the biomat that has formed in conventional systems and also leaves the effluent 90% cleaner.

 

The solution to these failing septics and sewage concerns in Delaware county is simple; educate homeowners on the proper maintenance required with their systems and also the benefits of controlled septic tank aeration™. Homeowners are then given an affordable option that will restore their septic systems, require no monthly bill or tax, and leave them with the satisfaction that they alone are maintaining their home, thus living out “The American Dream”.

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