SR: Panhandle Septic Regs Need Serious Update

Item: Septic realities: Panhandle standards need serious update /Spokesman-Review Editorial Board

More Info: Under policies followed by Idaho’s seven public health districts, a one-bedroom house needs a drainfield to handle 150 gallons of discharge a day. For more bedrooms, add 50 gallons each. Unfortunately, that figure is thought to be well below the actual flow. Of 11 Western states, the other 10 all assume higher figures. Few if any states anywhere in the union assume lower flows than Idaho. The federal Environmental Protection Agency expects a three-bedroom house to generate 400 to 500 gallons a day. No wonder that during recent meetings with the health district, stakeholder groups broadly agreed that Idaho’s standard should be increased.

Question: Do you support the Panhandle Health District’s plan to tighten septic regs?