By TERI KING
Washington Sea Grant Program

It’s a lovely Northwest weekend and you’ve been invited to a "social" at a friend’s house just up the road. A barbecue, she said, "But don’t dress up — we’re opening the septic tank!"

Other party tricks up Washington Sea Grant Program’s sleeve include a larger-than-life model of a septic system for use at community fairs and festivals. The crowning glory of this 46-foot long conversation piece is a toilet — the porcelain entryway to what Washington Sea Grant workers have come to call "Septic World."

Not what you had in mind, you party animal? Might as well accept the fact that, along with death and taxes, the third guarantee in life is poop. How we handle it can have significant impacts on our quality of life. Besides, you’ve been offered the chance to be trendy: Septic Socials are the Crime Watch meetings of the 21st century, where neighbors gather to have a potluck barbecue and learn the ins and outs of their host’s sewage system.

Despite the popular belief that municipal sewer systems are the preferred method of disposing of human waste, there are events – system failures, the practice of bypassing treatment because of storm events – that allow improperly treated sewage to enter and contaminate our waterways. In rural areas around Puget Sound where septic systems are the norm, failures from poorly maintained systems have resulted in serious water pollution problems, closing down productive shellfish beds and recreation areas on mudflats and in bays.

Still, a well-placed and properly functioning septic system is an effective method of sewage disposal. If you own one, congratulations, you are a sewer manager. Its operation and maintenance are your duty. Consider the Septic Social a low-cost opportunity for some valuable on-the-job training.

A Septic Social is a unique program developed by Washington Sea Grant Program to help familiarize homeowners with their underground treasure. Sea Grant staff meet with the host a week before a Social to uncover the system and learn the layout. During the Social, participants learn to check the sludge and scum layer as well as the flow of the system. Uncovering the system and letting people explore it from above ground takes the mystery out of how and why the system works.

At a recent Septic Social in Mason County, participants walked away from the session shaking their heads. "I didn’t know the amount of toilet paper we use could necessitate having our tank pumped more often," one participant said. "Eek," said another, "spreading out my laundry loads over the week is going to take a toll on my workload, but it would be much better than having my system fail because we pushed too much water through it."

Participants also receive a homeowner’s manual specific to their system type. There are five homeowner's manuals — "Pressure Distribution," "Gravity," "Mound," "Sand Filter," "Proprietary Device" — designed to take the mystery out of the maintenance and monitoring of septic systems. The manuals also cover operation of a septic system during heavy rainfall periods, electrical outages and in connection with a RV. These manuals were created under a Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team Public Involvement and Education contract with the Frank Family Foundation and Washington Sea Grant Program as part of a homeowner demonstration septic system at the Foundation’s property in Shelton.

For homeowners a little uncomfortable with having neighbors view their system, Washington Sea Grant uses the Foundation site to provide training courses throughout the year. These workshops are patterned after the Septic Socials, except participants usually do not know each other before the class. Results have shown the demonstration site classes have been equally as successful as the Septic Socials.

In a follow-up with participants a year after a Septic Social, 100 percent of the respondents had changed their septic system practices based on information exchanged during the session. A few had their tanks pumped because they needed it and three admitted that their systems had been repaired sometime during the year because they had found broken baffles or other components that were not working properly.

Thanks to a donation from Bio Recycling Corp., a partnership with the Southwest Puget Sound Watershed Council, Washington Sea Grant Program’s Septic Socials will continue to be conducted this summer. For those who can’t attend or host a workshop, a publication, Septic Sense, Scents,Cents is a valuable maintenance guide in addition to the homeowner’s manual for a particular system. The tabloid publication is available for $1 from Washington Sea Grant Program. Septic Sense, Scents, Cents is also available in an interactive format on line at www.wsg.washington.edu (click on "New" and look for the flower).

For folks who would rather watch TV than read, similar information appears on four 18-minute videos, also available from Washington Sea Grant Program ($5.50 each). Many county cooperative extension offices and public libraries in Washington also carry these tapes. Contact Washington Sea Grant’s Publication office at 206-543-0733 or order on-line (click on "Publications").

Other party tricks up Washington Sea Grant Program’s sleeve include a larger-than-life model of a septic system for use at community fairs and festivals. Created by Washington Sea Grant staff and Skookum Rotary Club members, and thanks to a donation from the Simpson Timber Co., this crawl-through contraption lets people see what a septic tank, distribution box and drainfield look like, inside and out. The crowning glory of this 46-foot long conversation piece is a toilet — the porcelain entryway to what Washington Sea Grant workers have come to call "Septic World."

Efforts by Washington Sea Grant Program to reduce nonpoint pollution are beginning to show results. Since 1989, the Washington State Department of Health has been able to re-open more than 6,500 acres of commercial shellfish beds. In its "Puget Sound Update," The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team attributes these status upgrades to "intensive local efforts to clean up contamination," including work related to septic systems. Clearly such status upgrades represent the tip of the onsite iceberg. As more homeowners learn septic system care and maintenance, fewer system failures will result in continued water quality improvements.

If you’re still thinking wistfully about that barbecue, you can also learn a thing or two from your meal. Think about it. Doesn’t your digestive system work better when you feed it properly?

"Wow," one Mason County homeowner commented after attending a Septic Social. "That makes sense. You feed your septic system like you feed yourself — small, well-balanced meals."

Septic systems may not be the ultimate conversation piece at every party, but understanding how they work can give you a sense that you’re doing something good for your home, your community and for the environment. As one homeowner new to a septic system exclaimed, "This is exactly the type of information every city dweller needs before buying property in a rural area."