Check the Pump

Finally, my prayers have been answered because the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is going to get off its duff and address the contamination of Louisiana rivers and soil by fecal matter.  And yes, you heard it correctly, ‘poop’ as kids refer to it.  However, it’s really the Environmental Protection Agency that’s forcing Louisiana to do it, it’s not of Louisiana’s own volition.

Louisiana is going to get over $490,000 to investigate why the Natalbany River and Yellow River are choking with this contamination.  Both are no longer safe to swim in or fish.  Sadly, the expected culprit is humans and their use of aerated sewerage waste systems outside city limits.  These systems drain into ditches in front of homes, and eventually find their way into river ways and soil throughout our state.

I am told that LSU came up with this design as a cheaper and more readily adaptable way to handle rural homeowners’ sewerage as opposed to a septic tank with a leaching field.   The system usually consists of two debris settling tanks buried underground and an air pump connected to a pipe which runs to the bottom of one of the tanks and passes air into it.  Maybe it was a good idea, but its realistic implementation was horrible, because it requires a crucial maintenance element which if ignored makes the system worthless, and most ignore the maintenance part.

The aerator pump is the key element in the system because it stimulates bacteria growth essential in decomposing the fecal matter and purifying the water before it drains into the open ditches in front of one’s home.

I usually take a three mile walk once or twice a week and I can tell you that I would guess about 99.9% of the systems installed in the homes I pass are non-functioning.   I either see disconnected pumps, black water pouring out of the drainage pipe, notice a pungent smell, or sewerage debris in the ditches.

I once had a conversation with a neighbor about how I had to rebuild my aerator pump every two to three years, to which he replied, “Really, I’ve had mine for ten years and never had to anything, it just keeps humming along.”  Sadly, his pump was indeed running, but the rubber diaphragms inside the pump responsible for moving the air were broken.  The pump was doing nothing but “humming.”

In the climate we live in if you can go more than three years without replacing the pump’s rubber diaphragms, you’re lucky.  Rebuild kits are available on line, and it’s an easy job.   If you’re not mechanically adept to rebuild the pump, buy a new one.   They are not cheap, but just remember you are not paying a monthly sewerage processing charge like you do in the city.  So even with that possible three year expense, you’re saving money.  If a part failed on your car and made it inoperable, you would find the money to fix it, but when it comes to preventing pollution of our lakes and streams, most choose to ignore it.

Hopefully, you do not pass all this discussion off as just some ‘bleeding heart environmentalist’ trying to save the planet.  Our inaction regarding this is the poisoning of the soil and waterways which we depend upon for food.  By the way, you can be fined for a malfunctioning system if caught, or turned in by a concerned neighbor.  Here is what the Louisiana statue states, "A person shall not directly or indirectly discharge, or allow to be discharged, the contents or effluent from any plumbing fixtures, vault, privy, portable toilet, or septic tank, into any road, street, gutter, ditch, water course, body of water, or onto the surface of the ground." 

If we continue to ignore this problem very soon we will have to change our state’s slogan from ‘A Sportsman’s Paradise’ to ‘A Sportsman’s Pollution Hell;’ so please, check the pump and your overall system.