One of the people I called lives in my neighborhood, but never offered inspections. His name got on the list because he used to work for the county in some capacity dealing with sanitation and had taken the inspector training decades ago. It turned out I knew him from some events we had worked together in our community. I also saw him out on his run this morning - not unusual for this geriatric trackster.
Though my friend couldn't inspect my septic system, we continued to converse and he mentioned that the Lake (Lariat) Preservation Committee, which he serves on, had been considering soliciting residents along the lakeshore to have their septic systems inspected for a highly discounted group rate of $180. The inspection company offering the deal has a camera probe which would be one way to properly inspect components downstream of the tank.
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| Lake Lariat Beach - it's empty for a reason |
The Lake Preservation Committee is interested in checking septic systems which could be contributing to a recent blue-green algal bloom of unknown origin. These blooms are associated with a bacteria that can harm the liver, so signs have been posted recently to discourage swimming.
This problem may be my opportunity - not only to tackle it as a part of my Watershed Steward Academy capstone project, but also to hire a well-equipped inspector for my own system. I don't know if the Lake Preservation Committee considered soliciting homeowners not on the lake to join in the deal, but I would open it up to as many homes in the community that want their system tested, with priority to those homes in the "critical area" of the Lake Lariat watershed. At the 14 September Lake Preservation Committee meeting, I will talk this up and try to get them to leverage SepticSmart week as an outreach platform.
