News
WASTEWATER SECTOR EMITS NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH METHANE AS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT (2023)
Best Practices For Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System Upgrades And Replacements (March 10, 2022)
Decentralized Wastewater Treatment: Balancing Act: Decentralized wastewater treatment as a cost-effective solution for rural communities (June 24, 2020)
Effluent Sewer Addresses Odor & Aging Infrastructure: Community of 300 households turns to effluent sewer to address odor complaints & aging infrastructure (Sept. 9, 2020)
Liquid-Only Sewer Briefing (March 2020)
April 29, 2022 Santa Ynez Valley News article: Solvang to invest $10M into wastewater treatment plant
Innovative sewage solutions: Tackling the global human waste problem January 2022 article @ Mongabay: News and Inspiration from Nature’s Front Line
County Reports
Los Olivos Wastewater System Preliminary Engineering Report (2013)
Update to Los Olivos Wastewater System Preliminary Engineering Report (2016)
Santa Barbara County EHS’s LOS OLIVOS WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN (2010)
Decentralized wastewater treatment systems projected to become more common as droughts persist August 5, 2021 article @ American City & County
Why California Is Localizing Its Waters (March 14th, 2015)
Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Options
Explanation of conversion of an existing septic tank into a STEP tank! (“If there are existing septic tanks or pump tanks to be converted to STEP, the Biotube ProPak includes all of the components you will need to turn any watertight concrete tank into an Orenco STEP system. “)
EPA publication “DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER TREATMENT: A SENSIBLE SOLUTION”
Decentralized Versus Centralized Treatment (Mar. 10, 2021) (“ new technology, engineering, and financing structures are rapidly making decentralization a preferred strategy in a growing list of scenarios”)
EPA Handbook for Managing Onsite and Clustered (Decentralized) Wastewater Systems
EPA CASE STUDIES, include cost and funding info:
Fulton, Alabama (197 connections with expansion capability)
Lore City, Ohio (160 homes and businesses)
Vero Beach, Florida (approx. 1,500 homes)
EPA POSITION PAPERS on uses and benefits of decentralized wastewater treatment
EPA publication COMPENDIUM OF DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROJECTS
EPA webpage re Septic Systems (Onsite/Decentralized Systems)
BACKGROUND re AdvanTex® Wastewater and Greywater Treatment Systems
BROCHURE re liquid-only (or "effluent") sewer systems
Preservation of Agricultural Resources
California Farmland Conservancy Program
American Farmland Trust: Farms Under Threat
Onsite Wastewater Treatment Technology & the Preservation of Agricultural Land in California’s Central Valley (2003) by Cal. State University at Chico, California Wastewater Training and Research Center
Funding Opportunities
Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants: Available to those 62+ who qualify as low income (we have some, for sure) and live in a rural area (Los Olivos qualifies), up to $50,000 in assistance ($10,000 grant and up to $40,000 low-interest loan — 1% interest with 20 year term) to replace a failing septic system and upgrade to an advanced onsite system.
EPA publication re funding to replace failing onsite septic systems “FINANCING DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS” (Jan. 2022)
California Water Boards on Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program in California