99 Field Tours
1999 Field Tours
Field Tour 1:
Integrated Subdivision Planning to
Implementation
Iredell County
Joe Lynn, NCDENR
This tour will illustrate the effectiveness of interaction among public and private team
members during the development of a large, lakeside community where on-site technologies
are the permanent wastewater management infrastructure. All on-site systems in the
community are regularly inspected and managed by the system operator. Beginning at the
NCDENR's Mooresville Regional office, members of the development team will discuss the
on-site wastewater system from inception to management. Participants will have an
unprecedented opportunity to talk with and pose questions to the entire team: developers,
consultants, health department officials, real estate agents, installers, and operators. Following
the classroom discussion, the group will tour the community.
Field Tour 2:
Integrated Subdivision Planning and Implementation
Bald Head Island
John Minneci, New Hanover Co. Health Dept.
Bruce Withrowe, Brunswick Co. Health Dept.
Site limitations in the coastal plain of North Carolina often require significant consideration
during planning for on-site wastewater systems. Where centralized sewers are not available,
wastewater treatment needs are often addresses with advanced types of on-site systems at
individual homes and surface or subsurface disposal systems for clusters of homes. This field
tour will take participants to a unique community that has met its wastewater treatment needs
through integrated planning in their development process. The group will tour Bald Head
Island and meet with the town manager, a planner, and a representative of the utility company
to discuss the island's wastewater challenges and solutions using decentralized
technologies.
Field Tour 3:
Large System Evaluation Tools
Fred Smith, NCDENR
This field tour is designed to answer your questions about site evaluations for large systems.
The instructor will review the application requirements for large systems, and participants will
learn how that information is used in the approval process. Various methods to determine
permeability will be demonstrated. Participants will practice making measurements in the
field and interpreting the data to determine site suitability and loading rates. As a summary,
the group will evaluate a case study for a large system and identify all the necessary
information to complete the permit application.
Field Tour 4:
Subsurface System Operators Refresher
George Pendergrass, Catawba, Co. Health Dept.
Darryl Poe, Durham Co. Health Dept.
Licensed Subsurface Wastewater System Operators are required to complete 6 hours of
continuing education by December 2000 (the end of this millennium). This field tour is
designed to satisfy that requirement and is pending approval by the North Carolina Water
Pollution Control System Operators Certification Commission (WPCSOCC). Partcipants will
update their knowledge regarding subsurface system rules and requirements and improve their
monitoring skills. With special attention on LPP systems, participants will learn a
step-by-step procedure for conducting a monitoring and inspection visit and gain hands-on
experience at troubleshooting and retrofitting systems to correct problems.
Field Tour 5:
Installation and Inspection of Conventional Systems
Dr. Mike Hoover, NCSU
Installation and inspection is where the "rubber meet the road" and the septic system becomes
a reality. Installers and inspectors require substantial skill to transform, adjust, and adapt the
planned design to the realities of the building lot and the needs of the homeowner. This field
tour will focus on the needs of both the installer and inspector, because the most successful
systems are the results of these two professionals working together as a team. Topics will
include tanks, drainfields, quality control, sealants, risers, outlet filters, distribution devices,
pipe connections, and gravel. Special attention will be given to layout and installation on
problem sites. Participants will practice final inspections in small groups on full-scale, d-box
and serial distribution systems, including field examples on correct and incorrect step-downs.
At the conclusion of this field tour, the participants will have a better understanding of the
details that can make or break a great septic system and a desire to build their
installer/inspector relationship back home.
Field Tour 6:
Spray Irrigation System for Residential, Municipal, Animal,
and Industrial Waste
Management
Karl Shaffer, NCSU
Ron Sheffield, NCSU
Participants on this tour will view full-size demonstrations of a variety of waste application
technologies and learn about calibration techniques and troubleshooting, covering both the
advantages and limitations of each system. The selection of a waste application system for a
given site is based upon both equipment design features and soil and site features. Matching
the system to the site is critical to efficient waste management and long-term success. The
instructors will discuss the basics of nutrient and hydraulic loading rates as they impact
system design and management. Upon completion of the tour, participants will be more
familiar with the variety of options available for land-based waste application and the factors
that influence system design and management.
Field Tour 7:
Getting the Dirt on Soils
Raleigh
Dr. David L. Lindbo
Dr. David McCloy, NCDENR
Understanding soil properties and behavior is critical to determining its suitability for
wastewater treatment. In this introductory course, participants will gain a working knowledge
of soil properties related to on-site wastewater site evaluations. Participants will learn to
identify and describe soil morphological features and recognize their importance to septic
systems.
Getting the Dirt on Soils
Objectives:
1. Participants will gain a working knowledge of the soil properties relating to On-site
Wastewater site evaluations.
2. Participants will learn the basics of how to identify and describe soil morphological
features such as color, texture, structure and consistence in the field and recognize their
importance to septic systems.
3. Participants will be introduced to how soil morphological description skills are applied to a
typical land use question - land suitability for an on-site wastewater treatment
system.
Field Tour 8:
Getting the Dirt on Soils
Fletcher, Mountain Horticultural Research Station
Jim Boyer, NCDENR
Understanding soil properties and behavior is critical to determining its suitability for
wastewater treatment. In this introductory course, participants will gain a working knowledge
of soil properties related to on-site wastewater site evaluations. Participants will learn to
identify and describe soil morphological features and recognize their importance to septic
systems.
Getting the Dirt on Soils
Objectives:
1. Participants will gain a working knowledge of the soil properties relating to On-site
Wastewater site evaluations.
2. Participants will learn the basics of how to identify and describe soil morphological
features such as color, texture, structure and consistence in the field and recognize their
importance to septic systems.
3. Participants will be introduced to how soil morphological description skills are applied to a
typical land use question - land suitability for an on-site wastewater treatment
system.
Please address any questions to Dr. David Lindbo.
This page created by Roland O.
Coburn
Reasearch Tech I
on 4/25/00.