Septic co-ops could help troubled creek

WASILLA — To understand just how urban things have gotten around Cottonwood Creek, one should maybe take a look at the streets it intersects.

A partial list on Google Maps south of the creek’s outflow from Wasilla Lake includes: Parks Highway, Edlund Road, Fairview Loop, Fern Street, Glenwood Avenue and Riverdell Drive.

“The state Alaska DEC, the Department of Environmental Conservation, is in charge of water quality. Water testing over the years has shown that it has fecal coliform bacteria,” said Catherine Inman, whose company Mat-Su Conservation Services is working on the stream.

She said that DNA testing in 2010 found that some of the bacteria came from human sources. Because of the bacteria, the portion of the water body that is impaired is the seven miles south of Parks Highway

That’s where Inman’s company comes in. Mat-Su Resource Conservation and Development Inc., won a grant from DEC to work on the problem. RC&D, in turn, contracted with Mat-Su Conservation Services.

So, the first part of addressing a problem is figuring out what’s causing it.

“One thought is that it could be old failing septic systems. There are some older subdivisions down there,” Inman said. “In very past times people would use like wood cribs for tanks.”

Maybe those tanks aren’t holding up like they should.

Another thought — maybe people in the area aren’t getting their tanks pumped as often as they should. This is where the idea of septic co-ops comes in. And what is a septic co-op?

“Neighbors on the same street or in the same general area get together and get on the same pumping cycle,” Inman said.

Pumping services like this because pumping multiple homes at once means they can fill up their trucks with less driving around and thus lower fuel costs. They’re even willing to offer these co-ops discounts.

“Every single operator that I’ve talked to offers a good neighbor discount,” Inman said.

Inman said that several co-ops have formed already and they can be as formal or informal as a neighborhood would like.

“A handshake over the fence is just fine,” she said. On the other end of the spectrum: “if people do want to draw up a contract I can put together a template for them.”

Another service she offers is that of a kind of septic co-op matchmaker. She said interested people can sign up on a list and when other people in the area express interest she can help put them in contact with one another.

“Not everyone knows their neighbors so I can help people form the co-op,” she said.

She said she also will talk at neighborhood or community council meetings. RC&D, she said, is willing to put the logos of septic pumpers offering discount rates for co-ops on its website.

It’s all a part of the program’s outreach.

“I’ve been going to community meetings, I had a table at the home show, we’re going to do a little bit of door knocking and we have some materials online,” Inman said of her outreach efforts.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.