Wake County Encouraging Homeowners to Open Doors to Septic Inspections 

Almost a quarter million people in Wake County are served by septic systems. More than 12,000 of these systems require mandated inspections conducted by Wake County inspectors. Yet, these complex underground structures often leave residents confused and concerned. Many are unsure of how exactly the systems work, but more importantly, they are unaware that neglect of these systems could lead to costly repairs, as well as environmental and public health hazards. To this end, Wake County is taking the initiative to educate homeowners with septic systems of the need for inspections and inform them of resources available to them.

Wake County conducted a septic system Operation and Maintenance Media Campaign last month. The Campaign encouraged homeowners to open doors to the FREE septic inspections offered by the County. Wake County also sends mailers to homeowners who have pump systems or more complex systems to raise the awareness on upcoming inspections. Residents who receive the mailers from Wake County Environmental Services – Water Quality Division are encouraged to follow the information provided on to call to arrange their inspection.

The Wake County Water Quality Division is always looking for new data and research to guide our well testing recommendations. Researchers at NC State University, with help from Wake County Water Quality, have been trying a new approach to screen wells for hundreds of organic chemicals with a single test. This method, called High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) does not measure specific levels of contaminants, but can check for the presence or absence of far more contaminants than conventional testing. The researchers recruited 25 Wake County well users (through this newsletter!) to have their water checked by this method. The NCSU researchers have published this fact sheet to help well users understand their work.

While this method is not available for widespread use yet, Wake County Water Quality will continue to watch developments of this method and consider how it could be employed to keep the cost of testing low while ensuring well users get a complete picture of their drinking water. 

In Wake County, about 80,000 homes depend on septic systems. About half of those homes also have a private well. Many home buyers – both experienced homeowners and first-timer buyers – are not familiar with the responsibilities of managing their own water and wastewater systems. Informed real estate professionals can help. Wake County Environmental Services is pleased to offer a one-hour training to real estate agents on what they and their clients need to know about private wells and septic systems. If you are a real estate professional who would like to be better able to advise your clients about these major systems, use this form to request a session for your office.

Wake County Environmental Services wastewater and groundwater staff will be completing a mandatory all-day training on September 12^th, preparing for upcoming changes to state regulations on septic systems. Final septic system inspections and well inspections will be unavailable on September 12^th. Additional final septic system inspection time slots will be offered, if needed, on Wednesday, September 13^th. 

What would you like to see here?

Is there a topic you'd like to see covered in a future newsletter? Send us your ideas at waterquality@wake.gov.