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Homeowner's Guide to Evaluating Service Contracts

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Homeowner's Guide to Evaluating Service Contracts B-6171 10-08 Onsite wastewater treatment systems Figure 1: A septic tank and soil absorption field system. Homeowner's guide to evaluating service contracts Bruce J. Lesikar, Courtney O'Neill, Nancy Deal, George Loomis, David Gustafson and David Lindbo Professor and Extension Agricultural Engineer, Extension Assistant, The Texas A&M System Extension Associate, North Carolina State University Extension Soil Scientist, University of Rhode Island Assistant Extension Specialist, University of Minnesota Associate Professor, North Carolina State University roper maintenance of your wastewater treatment system is critical for its ✔ Your desired level of involvement performance and important for you, the owner. Your wastewater treatment in servicing the system. If you P system protects the health of the people living on and near your property; choose to perform some of the it helps safeguard your property values; and it helps preserve the environment. tasks yourself, make sure you un- derstand clearly who is responsi- All wastewater treatment systems they often don’t know what services ble for the different actions—you require service. To maintain your are necessary for their system. As an or your service provider. system properly, you can periodically onsite wastewater treatment system ✔ Exactly what services you are arrange for your wastewater system owner, you need to know: paying for. Homeowners need to to be serviced yourself, or you can ✔ The definitions of terms used know what is included in the base contract with a service provider to do in discussing onsite wastewater price of the contract. In many it for you. treatment system service con- cases, the fees for these mainte- Homeowners seeking services tracts. nance agreements are comparable from maintenance providers want ✔ The components of your waste- to or less than those charged for proper service for a fair price, but water treatment system and how centralized sewer service. they work. ✔ The kinds of contracts that may Common terms system, including replacement of be available. A basic monitoring pumps, filters, aerator lines, valves, or Knowing the following terms contract just meets the state’s electrical components. and definitions can help you select minimum requirement but and work effectively with an opera- Monitoring: The action of veri- requires more activity by the tion and maintenance (O&M) service fying performance requirements for a homeowner. Other contracts provider. regulatory authority. Monitoring may offer more service and limit the include collecting water samples and Service: The action of perform- homeowners' involvement in measuring flow rates. ing activities such as, but not limited the operation, maintenance, and A disinfection component should monitoring of their systems. to, inspection, assessment, and main- tenance of system components. be evaluated to assess its perfor- Homeowners who choose not to mance. To assess this component’s Acceptable: The condition in contract with service providers for performance, the water leaving the which a component is performing its regular maintenance should keep a system is tested for total chlorine re- intended purpose and is considered record reminding them of when the sidual or for the presence of fecal coli- to be operable. Another term used to service should be performed and form bacteria. If an ultraviolet light describe a component that is operat- what local service providers can assist disinfection component is used, a fe- ing as expected is operational. in performing the different types of cal coliform test should be performed activities. Some tasks should be left Unacceptable: A condition in to evaluate proper disinfection. which a component is not operational to professionals to make sure the job Reporting: The submission of a or performing as expected. This con- is performed correctly and that the detailed account of service activities dition indicates the need for mainte- homeowners are not subjecting their performed on a system. The report nance, upgrades, repairs, or further families to undue health risks. could be sent to the permitting au- investigation. Another term used thority, homeowner and/or the facil- to describe a component that is not Advantages of service ity owner. It can serve as documenta- operating as expected is inoperable. contracts tion of the activities being performed Inspection: The process of iden- and as an assessment of the current A good service contract guaran- tifying the current status of system tees that your system is getting the status of the onsite wastewater treat- performance, for reporting purposes ment system. attention it needs. It can save you to state authorities. Inspections may Replacement: The process of time, eliminate the inconvenience be performed for many reasons, exchanging a component with an of maintaining the system yourself, including monitoring, operation, equivalent component. The new com- and spare you the cost of replacing troubleshooting, or point-of-sale ponent should be the proper equip- a system prematurely because it was evaluation. not properly maintained. ment for the treatment system. Operation: The action of assess- Examples include the aerator Even though you may choose to ing whether each component of the in an aerobic treatment unit being maintain your own system, contract- system is functioning properly. Each replaced with the same model aerator, ing with a maintenance provider component must be operational if the an effluent pump being replaced with also saves you the time and expense system as a whole is to achieve the a pump having the same operating of completing the required train- desired performance. ing courses as well as the need to file characteristics, or a riser cover being For example, a properly op- periodic reports to various agencies replaced with the same type of riser erating septic tank will have three yourself. cover. distinct layers. The presence of these Repair: The action of fixing or These service providers are layers demonstrates that solids are replacing substandard or damaged professionals trained in the operation settling to the bottom and scum is components of an onsite wastewa- and maintenance of onsite wastewater rising to the surface, allowing a clear ter treatment system. In Texas, the treatment technologies. zone in the middle to develop. replacement of tanks or drain fields Routine service and proper Another example is that in maintenance can help you identify is considered a repair and requires a chlorinating systems, the availability permit for the entire onsite wastewa- problems early and prevent malfunc- of chlorine must be checked, because tions. Early detection makes it pos- ter treatment system. At the time of chlorine must be present in a chlori- the repair, the new or repaired system sible to take remedial action before nator for it to be operating properly. your system becomes a public health must comply with current state regu- Maintenance: The action of con- hazard, a detriment to the environ- lations. ducting required or routine perfor- ment, a problem for you and your Upgrade: The action of creating a mance checks, examinations, upkeep, family, or a liability with respect to better system by adding a component cleaning or mechanical adjustments your property values. or increasing the effectiveness of an to an onsite wastewater treatment existing component. Upgrades do not and service provider. The service Frequency of service necessarily change the performance contract should list: activities of a system, but they can make it ✔ Frequency of service visits All onsite wastewater treatment easier to maintain or increase the ✔ Services included in the base systems require regular maintenance. robustness of the process. price Four factors affect the frequency of Examples of upgrades include ✔ Services requiring an extra activities: adding effluent screens in the outlet charge ✔ Regulations baffle of a septic tank, adding risers ✔ Maintenance parts included in ✔ Site conditions and population to frequently accessed components, the base price installing additional sensors to the density ✔ Maintenance activities outside system, adding remote monitoring, ✔ Technology the scope of the contract and changing the type of disinfection ✔ Wastewater source or use ✔ Facility owner responsibilities component. regarding use of the onsite waste- Regulations take into consid- Troubleshooting: The act of water treatment system. eration environmental risk, public finding and eliminating sources of health risks, and population density ✔ Timeframe for responding to problems in the wastewater system. complaints when defining frequency of monitor- The service provider or other profes- ing activities. Regulatory authorities ✔ Responsibility for maintaining sional must evaluate the system to are established primarily to protect the disinfection device determine why it is not performing public and environmental health. well. Management: A collective They determine: term describing all the steps needed Troubleshooting requires that ✔ Which wastewater treatment sys- to conduct operational services, the service provider have in-depth tems require scheduled service maintenance, monitoring, and com- knowledge of treatment processes and visits and reporting of service pensation. All of these activities are the reactions of treatment compo- activities essential for keeping an onsite waste- nents to various possible wastewater ✔ How well those systems must constituents. A service provider who water treatment
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