Management of individual mechanical sewage-treatment systems: How much is needed?

Over 2,600 individual mechanical sewage-treatment systems were studied to determine if mandatory maintenance : contracts and semiannual inspections with effluent sample collection are adequate to meet discharge standards. The fallowing discharge standards were set: 20 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 20 mg/L for total suspended solids (TSS), and 400 organisms per 100 millileters for fecal coliform bacteria, In 1997, 67 percent of the individual mechanical sewage-treatment systems discharging in Will County, Illinois; were in violation of at least one discharge standard. The overall cost of management, shared : by the homeowners and the county health department, ranged from $3SO to $725 per year.