Approximately 1 million gallons of untreated waste is discharged from Kent County's failing septic systems every day. While there are a variety of reasons why residents don't properly maintain their septic systems there is one resounding reason why we should: untreated waste doesn't obey property boundaries!

Since the original release of the study Kent County Septage Management Program: Final Report in 2002 by the Annis Water Resource Institute, some local elected officials have put politics above the advice of sound science.

We need volunteers! E-mail Marta Johnson to protect our water quality!

Learn more about protecting homes, groundwater and waterways:

Kent County's Underground Threat/Protecting Families from Failing Septic Systems (4 MB)

Septic System Owner's Guidebook for System Performance, Grand Valley State University, Annis Water Resource Institute

Fact sheet: How septic systems threaten your community's waterways

Checklist for homeowners with septic systems

Information about septic system maintenance and how septic systems operate, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Learn more about septic systems in Kent County, Grand Valley State University, Annis Water Resource Institute

Additional Tools and Resources from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency