Nome utility board member says new housing project's septic units will need heavy upkeep

Homes at the Spring Creek Housing Authority's North Ice View housing project in Nome will rely on above-ground septic units for now, and a city utility board member wants the project's backers to understand how much care those units need.

Karl Emmons, a member of the Nome Joint Utility System board, raised the issue at the board's meeting. He described the units as septic tanks with moving parts. Agitators, grinders and pumps work the waste inside, and ultraviolet light kills remaining bacteria before the treated water drains into the yard.

Every part has to keep working, Emmons said. If one quits, people have to stop using the system right away, or waste ends up on the ground. Each unit also has a daily limit on how much water can go through it.

He said he would install one only as a last resort, and only for an owner committed to maintaining it. He was especially wary of putting them in a housing project, saying residents there may not be familiar with flush toilets. When systems like these fail, he said, utilities always seem to end up involved in the cleanup. A community holding tank that the utility could pump on a schedule would have been a better stopgap, he said.

Utility Manager Derek McLarty said the owner's responsibility is spelled out in writing. The utility sends the property owner a letter stating the owner is responsible until the property is properly connected to city water and sewer. "There is no question on that," McLarty said. The utility would bill the owner for any help it provides, he said, and an agreement is in place.

McLarty called the units a temporary measure. Later phases of the development are expected to include a lift station that would pump sewage into the utility's main sewer line.

Board members noted that the heating cable that keeps the units' pipes from freezing would have to run all winter, another ongoing cost. One board member said whoever approved the systems should be prepared to maintain them.

Emmons did not ask the board to take any action. He asked only that the project's backers be told plainly what they are taking on. "I think it's worth people going into that with their eyes open," he said.