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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. Septic Tank

5. Absorption Area

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. Multiple Septic Systems

10. Types of Systems – Current STS

11. 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!!

12. 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.

13. 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 STS, 640 square feet drainbed STS, 144 linear feet of trench 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)