The `book' on success: the new EPA design manual should provide precasters with great growth,...

Every summer, scores of hopeful authors take time from their normal lives to search the world for experiences that will become fodder for what they hope will become the great American novel (GAN). In today's literary marketplace, there are many versions of the GAN.

One successful theme

might be a focus on the struggle between development and environmental stewardship. This GAN's theme might focus on a family-operated business' struggle for survival in the face of increasing governmental interference and regulations. Specifically, the plot might revolve around a current environmental program that the author wanted to highlight to help stem the threat of hidden pollution sources. The book would conclude by describing a compromise that makes the world safe yet business-friendly.

No author has yet discovered the current drama about to engulf the onsite wastewater treatment sector of the concrete production industry. At least, not yet.

In our February issue, we described how producers are working toward gaining market share for onsite treatment technologies in a professional manner. Their efforts have focused on the promotion of high-quality septic treatment units in their market areas.

But despite the potential growth and success, the events of the past year have made it clear that producers must continue to adopt a more proactive role in developing and promoting high-quality treatment systems as the economy faces an uncertain future.

As in the plot of our GAN, the antagonist in this scenario is the federal government with its ever-increasing monitoring of the effectiveness of onsite treatment systems. The U.S. EPA is working hard to encourage the adoption of a national plan of enforcement and regulation of an industry that has been left largely to local control. This approach mainly focuses on how local governmental agencies interact with installers and owners in ensuring that treatment systems work at designed levels, but producers have a key role as well.

A mandate for clean water

Current events may seem like a tidal wave of problems, but many watchers of the onsite water treatment sector point to the 1996 Clean Water Needs Survey as a source of undercurrents. Conducted by the EPA, the survey was designed to gather information on how local governmental officials viewed their efforts to make both surface and groundwater safer.

One dramatic result of the survey was reports from more than 500 communities indicating that they had experienced failed septic systems that caused some sort of public health problem. According to the recently issued EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual, public health officials continue to indicate that "onsite septic systems currently constitute the third most common source of groundwater contamination ..."

This report of a potential environmental problem couldn't have come at a worse time for local government officials. Amid limited capital expenditures to build roads, bridges, and schools, sanitation experts had convinced the officials to adopt onsite recycling as an effective way to handle water treatment without building large wastewater collection and treatment systems. These experts have worked hard to redefine septic systems, and the current terminology offers the more inclusive title of onsite wastewater treatment.

Their influence, combined with the economic reality of affordability, has been effective. But more than a move back to environmental basics, this influence has allowed manufacturers and designers of onsite wastewater treatment systems to provide a much-needed product to a growing market.

The facts documenting the growing importance of the onsite wastewater treatment sector are impressive. According to Linda Hanafin Bonner, executive director of the National Onsite Water Recycling Association (NOWRA), about 40% of the North American population uses some type of onsite treatment. And experts expect that this trend will continue and predict that 40% of all new residential construction will include some type of onsite system for wastewater treatment.

There are several reasons behind this trend. First, many new homes and projects are located in areas where the cost of connecting to municipal treatment systems is prohibitive or would require increased capacity--the cost of which most users don't want to pay. Second, sanitation experts and developers have more onsite options from which to choose. And third, the designers of the onsite systems are developing new attachments and design tools for traditional systems to ensure that the systems operate more efficiently.

A manual of change

Spurred by the needs to provide the proper information to help mitigate pollution sources and to provide a common level of industry knowledge, the EPA funded a 5-year research project to look for the answers. The agency has just published the results of the research in its Design Manual: Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems.

It's a very inclusive document that was designed to enhance its manual, originally published in 1980. For more than a quarter of a century, the manual was the standard reference for onsite/decentralized treatment systems. From the government's viewpoint, the revisions were a team effort led jointly by the EPA's Office of Water and Office of Research and Development. The team included a wide variety of experts in the onsite field who contributed ideas and provided technical comments.

The onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) manual is more than a summary of the latest information about onsite systems. It provides the industry with insight into how the EPA views the future of onsite treatment. It's clear that there will be increased emphasis on management, siting, design, installation, maintenance, monitoring, and replacement.

The manual's real purpose is to enable local government officials to assess and select the best and most suitable technologies and techniques for local site conditions. The underlying theme is promoting the use of an integrated performance-based approach to OWTS design. This approach outlines who is responsible for monitoring a system's performance.

The EPA's effort to categorize a system's performance represents a great opportunity for producers. Homeowners may be required to install filters, alarms, and other performance-enhancing attachments that have been marketed as "extras." Users will be more agreeable to service contracts offered by system installers and pumpers, as the new performance approach will require documentation that the system is working correctly.

In particular, producers will be very interested in Chapter 4. Here the document outlines the design and operations systems for septic tanks. It's a particularly timely topic as the industry continues to look for ways to strengthen its hold on market share.

Stronger, more durable tanks

Producers have already begun to respond to the new performance challenges presented in the OWTS manual. Many are redesigning units to include gaskets and connections that eliminate any potential untreated water leakage. Others are urging the acceptance of a strength performance standard based on resistance to vacuum pressure.

The vacuum test on a septic tank proves to regulators that the design is strong and that the material is durable and provides a long service life. It allows producers to market a complete system, including form design and material selection.

One way to achieve this vacuum testing standard is to redesign mixes to incorporate the use of reinforcing fibers as the reinforcement material, enhancing or even replacing steel rebar reinforcement.

Jeff Hoffman, owner of Flemington Precast, is considering making such a change. The second-generation owner of this Flemington, N.J.,based precast production facility, Hoffman has been experimenting with fibers from time to time during the past 6 months.

Although fibers appear to have great potential for concrete tanks, one failure could ruin the whole idea. That's because one of the challenges that faces producers like Hoffman is a lack of standards for the production of septic tanks. Hoffman says that his customers purchase tanks based upon price and performance. "Producers like us have created our niche by producing a durable product, so any change we make in the construction material selection must be carefully considered," says Hoffman.

Hoffman has experimented with the replacement of steel rebar with fibers by first trying fibers on smaller products. Products like grease interceptors or small control vaults seemed like the logical place for Hoffman to begin his experimentation.

The experimentation process was easy. The producer would purchase ready-mixed concrete. Fibers would be added at the plant just prior to concrete placement into forms. Hoffman says that one thing he's noticed in his testing is that the truck driver is key to the process. It's important to have the driver mix the concrete thoroughly so that the fibers don't "ball up."

He's convinced that the fibers also have a place in the plant's "bread and butter" products, such as in Flemington's two-piece, 6000-gallon tanks. A key quality control issue is the fit and seal of the two components. Hoffman experimented by pouring a tank assembly using only fiber-reinforced concrete. His crew cast the tank in the yard and then lifted the unit. The suspended tank showed no different structural problems from tanks cast with steel rebar.

Hoffman plans to continue his experimentation with fibers, and when he's Convinced of their performance, he will contact a structural engineer to revise his plant drawings.

Hoffman's concern about going slowly in introducing fibers is justified. Currently, only Florida has a statewide approval of the use of structural synthetic fibers as a replacement for steel rebar in precast concrete septic tanks. Included in Chapter 64E-6 of the state Department of Health's administrative code, the "Standards for Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems" have quickly become the regulatory standard. Code enforcement agencies allow full replacement with reinforcing fibers in numerous areas.

Acceptance of fibers as a replacement for steel rebar is often based on the specific code used in these areas, such as the ASTM C1227-00 standard.

Approved Fibers for Concrete Receptacles in Florida
As of October 31, 2001

Supplier                    Approved             Minimum Acceptable
                            Product Name         Weight

W.R. Grace & Co.            Grace Structural     4.0 lbs. per cubic
www.graceconstruction.com   Fiber (GSF)          yard

Forta Corp.                 Forta Ferro          4.5 lbs. per cubic
www.fortacorp.com                                yard

Durafiber Inc.              Durafiber DFCFP      3.1 lbs. per cubic
www.durafiber.com                                yard

Boral (Columbian)           Boral Maxima Fiber   4.0 lbs. per cubic
Concrete Fibers                                  yard
www.fibersource.org

SI Concrete Systems         Harbourite H-340     4.0 lbs. per cubic
www.fibermesh.com                                yard

Supplier                    Average Residual
                            Strength (ARS)

W.R. Grace & Co.            160 psi
www.graceconstruction.com

Forta Corp.                 155 psi
www.fortacorp.com

Durafiber Inc.              133 psi
www.durafiber.com

Boral (Columbian)           124 psi
Concrete Fibers
www.fibersource.org

SI Concrete Systems         154 psi
www.fibermesh.com

The new Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual, EPA 625/R00/008, is now available online.

You can download it by visiting http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/Pubs/625R00008/625R00008.pdf. Or mail your name and address to Rosalie Albonetti, U.S. EPA (G-75), 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268. Please indicate that you are ordering the February 2002 OWTS Manual, EPA/6 25 /R-00/008.

RELATED ARTICLE: Want to learn more about the onsite treatment industry?

Next month, NOWRA's 11th Annual Conference and Exposition, which has a theme of "Protecting Water Quality ... Onsite," will take place at the Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. One of the conference's highlights is the course "The Basics of Onsite Wastewater Treatment-A to Z" This 2-day course features basic topics like soil evaluations, microbiology, and wastewater chemistry. The course also covers how the various onsite treatment systems work. The course is led by NOWRA-certified staff, and upon completion, students receive a special continuing education certificate.

To register or to learn more about the event, visit www.nowra.org or phone 301-776-7468.