JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Central Valley Health wants to remind property owners who are not connected to a city sewage treatment system about the role they play in protecting families, fish, wildlife and the environment from waterborne illness and drinking water contamination.

“Systems that are not installed properly or existing systems that fail can cause health risks such as contaminated drinking water and wastewater run-off,” Regional Public Information Officer Beth Schwartz writes. “The run-off can enter rivers and lakes causing a decrease in the number of fish and wildlife.”

In North Dakota, individual on-site sewage treatment systems are regulated by local public health. For the counties of Barnes, Dickey, LaMoure, Logan, Foster, McIntosh, Stutsman and Wells in southeast Central North Dakota this means Central Valley Health District Regulation #2 that was adopted in 1999 and most recently updated in 2018. The regulation covers proper treatment of systems, installation requirements for new systems and upgrades for existing systems.

To ensure systems are installed correctly Regulation #2 also covers licensure of septic system installers. Installers pay license fees and attend trainings to learn about the regulation, how to determine soil types and new technologies to help ensure the system is functioning to protect your family and the environment. Homeowners must purchase septic permits for new systems and existing system upgrades.

For more information about the septic system regulations, licensing requirements and a list of licensed septic installers visit www.centralvalleyhealth.org/EHSubpages/OSTS.html