By GREGG MANSFIELD
CAMARILLO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2000 (InsideVC.com)—Behind a sewer treatment plant in Camarillo, a group of water experts are running tests on equipment that could soon replace septic tanks.
With more than 19,000 septic tanks in use in Ventura County, officials are eager to find a cleaner alternative because the tanks are a source of ground-water pollution.
Over the next three months, the Ventura Regional Sanitation District will be analyzing the on-site sanitary systems to see if they work as well as touted.
If the results are positive, water officials hope homeowners will switch to the new systems when their septic tanks need to be replaced.
"The hope is one day that septic tanks will be passe and these will be the norm," said Ken Rock, director water and waste water for the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.
The district is using a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to test and evaluate the equipment.
About a dozen people Wednesday looked at the setup of seven large concrete tanks and equipment in a makeshift encampment. The tank and equipment would be buried adjacent to the home.
Rock said the new systems are far different than traditional septic tanks.
Septic tanks essentially act as a screen by removing the sewage and putting the untreated water back into the ground.
The on-site sanitary systems uses bacteria and air to remove nitrates and ammonia from the waste water, said Mark Capron, senior engineer for the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.
The nitrates pollute the ground water and in high levels can cause methoglobinemia or "blue baby" disease, officials said.
The makers of the on-site systems contend their products are better than municipal sewer systems at removing nitrates and ammonia from the water.
"That's why we're doing the test to see if that is really the case," Rock said.
The ground-water pollution has become such a problem that the Regional Water Quality Control Board last year voted to prohibit new septic tanks in El Rio and Saticoy. Residents must stop using their current ones after 2008.
Those homes will likely be connected to a sewer system that probably will come at a steep price for residents.
Septic tanks are often used in rural areas where there is no access to municipal sewer lines. Most homes in the Santa Rosa Valley, upper Ojai, the Knolls area of Simi Valley and along the ocean are on septic systems.
The new systems aren't cheap, costing at least $5,000 more than a septic system. Septic systems cost $10,000 to $30,000 to install, officials said.
The engineers will spend 12 weeks running tests with about 300 gallons of sewage water a day going through each of the home-site systems.
The district plans to make the information available to the public as a guide for purchasing a home-site system.
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