MORGANTOWN, WV-A video titled "Choices for Communities: Wastewater Management Options for Rural Areas" is now available from the National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC).
Written by Mike Hoover from the North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Waste Management Programs, this booklet discusses wastewater management options for rural communities. It begins with a history of onsite systems and discusses alternatives to centralized sewering, stressing that management, maintenance and inspection are key.
The dilemma for many rural communities is that they lack a wastewater infrastructure, but a centralized system is too difficult and costly. Today, there are many wastewater treatment options for rural communities, including surface or subsurface land-based technologies or surface-water discharge systems. The booklet examines these alternatives, along with advantages and disadvantages. Hoover uses case studies of several North Carolina towns to discuss the cost-effectiveness of land-based technologies.
The booklet outlines steps to a community-needs assessment, including planning and economic aspects. It also discusses the Clean Water Act of 1972 and its effects on small communities.
In addition, centralized and decentralized approaches are compared, based upon a detailed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analysis of costs using a hypothetical rural community. This 16-page booklet can serve as a resource for local, state, and public health officials; engineers; finance officers; contractors/developers; managers; planners; researchers; and state regulatory agencies.
The cost for this booklet is 50 cents plus shipping charges. To order, call the NSFC at (800) 624-8301 or (304) 293-4191, and request Item #WWBLMG09 or e-mail .
Located at West Virginia University, the NSFC is a nonprofit organization funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide free and low-cost information about small community wastewater treatment. For more information, visit NSFC's Web site at http://www.nsfc.wvu.edu.
