Sewage System Summary Village of Schoolcraft Kalamazoo County, Michigan Vern Johnson, REHS, Environmental Health Chief Lucus Pols, REHS, Environmental Health Supervisor

The Basics…What is a sewage system? Wastewater treatment system for individual homes, businesses, duplexes, etc. A method to treat wastewater onsite from plumbing produced by bathrooms, kitchen drains, dishwasher, and laundry.

The Basics…continued A properly sized sewage system can take up 600 to 1200 square feet of area (on average). A properly maintained sewage system can Protect property value Protect drinking water quality Protect community health

Septic Tank

Absorption Area

Village of Schoolcraft…by the numbers 803 parcels 110 parcels vacant 693 parcels with an onsite septic system 98 parcels (14%) with no septic system records or information From Google Maps

By the numbers in the Village…continued Current septic system 1950s – 60s: 16 (2%) 1970s: 37 (5%) 1980s: 110 (16%) 1990s: 242 (35%) 2000s: 123 (18%) 2010s: 66 (10%) More than half the systems are 20 to 40 years old. From Wightman & Associates, Inc. 2/2018

By the numbers US 131 corridor 36 Properies north of Big C Lumber to West U Avenue And 22 Properties south of CJ’s Statuary to Co- Alliance LLP 58 parcels 20 parcels vacant 3 parcels unknown info Current septic system 1960s – 1980s: 10 (26%) 1990s – 2000s: 18 (47%) 2010s: 7 (18%) ~ 50% of the systems are 10 to 30 years old.

Multiple Septic Systems

Types of Systems – Current STS

Why is all this important? Small lot sizes lead to replacement challenges. Many of the sewage systems do not comply with the current Kalamazoo County Sanitary Code. Drywells are prohibited for new construction. Replacement drywells are only allowed through a variance under the current Sanitary Code. Drywells do not provide adequate protection to our groundwater resources. Remove old system and replace = Increased cost!!

A few recent challenges… Wendy’s 2002: 6 beds at 750 square feet each (4,500 square feet). 2016: Sewage on the ground. 2017: Installed 2 beds at 3,750 square feet each (7,500 square feet). McDonald’s 1990: 4,900 square feet of drainbeds. 1997: 8,600 square feet of trenches. 2011: an engineer was involved in investigating the current system.

A few recent challenges…continued Mar Jos West 1980: the facility had a few existing drywells and installed 187 feet of trench. 2011: 3,000 square feet of drainbed. 2017: Sewage on the ground. Replacement drainbed (4,000 square feet) was installed. Speedway 1969: STS, single drywell. 1977 - STS, 640 square feet drainbed. 1989 - STS, 144 linear feet of trench. 2004 - STS, 800 square feet of trenches 2010 – STS, 800 square feet of trenches 2016: Sewage on the ground. Replacement 3,000 square feet of drainbeds installed. Pizza Hut Complex 2012: 3,000 Square Feet of Drainfield. 2019: Sewage on the ground. Permitted for 3,150 Square feet of drainfield (removal and replacement)