Improving water quality with septic system repair, replacement in Attoyac Bayou

The Attoyac Bayou Watershed Partnership is coordinating a septic system repair and replacement program for residents in the Attoyac Bayou watershed to help improve and protect water quality.

Funding is available to homeowners to repair or replace septic systems within the watershed, said Emily Monroe, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist with the Texas Water Resources Institute, or TWRI, College Station.

“Home septic systems are used to treat wastewater before the wastewater is dispersed back into the environment,” Monroe said. “Malfunctioning septic systems can cause bacteria to contaminate the environment.”

Monroe said the Attoyac Bayou Watershed Protection Plan was published in July 2014, and efforts have been underway to secure financial and technical assistance to implement portions of the plan and improve water quality across the watershed.

“During creation of the plan, stakeholders identified failing septic systems as a major contributor of bacteria in the watershed,” she said. “A goal of the partnership was to reduce the number of failing septic systems in the watershed.”

Monroe said up to 100% of funding to repair or replace systems is available to residents, depending on their income.

“There are enough funds for at least 15 systems,” she said. “In a previous round of funding for the septic system program for Attoyac Bayou Watershed residents, 24 systems were repaired or replaced.”

Homeowners should contact Pineywoods Resource Conservation and Development, PRC&D, at 936-568-0414 or [email protected] to find out how they can receive financial assistance or for answers to their program-related inquiries.

The Attoyac Bayou Watershed Partnership is a collaborative effort of local stakeholders to address water quality concerns within the Attoyac Bayou watershed. The partnership is supported by TWRI in collaboration with the Angelina and Neches River Authority, Stephen F. Austin State University, PRC&D and the Nacogdoches Soil and Water Conservation District.

For more information about the Attoyac Bayou Watershed Protection Plan, go to http://attoyac.tamu.edu/.

The repair and replacement program is part of an On-Site Sewage Facility Repair and Replacement project managed by TWRI and funded in part through a Clean Water Act grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.