Geauga Public Health Septic Testing Paper in Wallets, Not Much Else

CHESTERLAND - Like a cursed toothfairy, many residents unpleasantly opened their mail this past week to a notice from Geauga county Public Health, informing them of a need for maintenance to their septic system. The program is a ‘state mandated’ testing requirement for owners of a septic drainage system to ensure environmental protection, however based on the current program rollout, many are questioning if the program has merit beyond costing homeowners hundreds or more each quarter.

One homeowner, located near Caves Road in Chesterland, has been vocal about his criticism of the program, stating it cost him hundreds last year and levied no significant change to any process.

“I got the notice last year that my septic system solids were too high and I needed to get the system serviced,” The homeowner said. “I go through Marut and Sons for service contracting. I had to pay them like $500 to come out and look at the thing to tell me nothing was wrong. They reported that back to the county, who in turn charged me $150 for the test that mandated I pay the other guy. So all this and I came out with a $650 total bill to tell me nothing needs to be done. Why? They accomplished nothing in that exchange except charging me money.”

According to Marut and Sons, one of the bigger issues with the program is the county may be employing system testers with little to no experience in the field, leading to inaccurate measurements and undo costs on homeowners.

Some homeowners report many individuals who come onto the property to conduct the testing are younger, appearing to lack any experience in home septic system operation. According to many with experience, home water usage and flow rates can drastically impact readings and county testers are not properly notifying or communicating this with homeowners. The concern from many is that if homeowners are running a laundry machine or the shower, these actions could impact the reading levels taken during sampling.

The project came under additional scrutiny last year, when program head Kristi Pinkley presented to the Thompson township trustees, with some questioning both the usefulness of the program and what, if any, enforcement mechanism existed to ensure compliance. With at least one resident questioning why such a program is even needed if a private maintenance contract already existed.

Other homeowners have questioned the validity of the county’s record keeping processes and what impact this could have on things like testing intervals or records of system service. One recent homeowner was notified of a higher than normal E.Coli result. According to his system contractor, the county was reporting this may be because the UV bulb was going bad. However, the homeowner recently had the bulb replaced by a separate provider last year.

“I had a sensor go off on my system last year on a weekend, so my regular contractor couldn’t come out. I had Steigerwald come out and replace the bulb that weekend,” the homeowner said. “Now the county is saying that may need to be done as they only last 2-3 years. Do they not have records of that service? They are supposed to have that.”

Regardless of the future of the program, the financial impact to homeowners is noticeable, especially in these trying economic times where a charge of $700 can mean a significant impact on monthly budgets and bottom lines. The real question remaining is what value the program is adding to Geauga county residents.