There was a picture prominently framed in our President’s office that captured the beauty of a bluff protruding from our beloved Table Rock Lake; the bare trees and icicles hanging from the crevices are telling of the cold season. It was a beautiful picture, and it caught my eye with each passing.
One afternoon, as I stand admiring the picture, I was bluntly informed that it was frozen septic waste. Yep, that’s right… POOPCICLES; made up of sewage that has escaped its containment, traveled through the ground, and found a cranny allowing it to break free of its isolation just to be frozen from the winter cold in ice sculpture form… dangling just above the waters of Table Rock Lake waiting on a thaw for its final departure.
When I started working for H2Ozarks (formerly Ozarks Water Watch) in January of 2016 I didn’t fully understand what we were up against in our plight to protect the water quality of our region. I knew we were advocates for the trash clean up along the shoreline, as obvious by more than a decade of Shoreline Cleanup events, but never did I imagine poop was an issue. Seems almost ignorant of me, but I lived a life of, “flush it and forget it.” Needless to say, I put way more consideration to what goes down the drain … I see the connection between what enters the ground and what is pumped up from the ground. Your septic system needs special care to keep it from failing and to prevent all of your dirty sewage from being aired out on a rock face overlooking Table Rock Lake!
Benjamin Franklin said it best, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”
H2Ozarks is not only committed to water quality but is also committed to protecting our ground water. One of our biggest known threats in this region is caused by failing wastewater systems, whether individual septic systems or poorly managed and operated wastewater treatment facilities. I love that I get to be a part of H2Ozarks and their sister organizations who are passionate about what they do and work tirelessly to protect our precious water resources.
To learn more about how H2Ozarks is addressing wastewater, visit our website at H2Ozarks.org/septic
Educate yourself on proper septic care and get ahead of the problem. Visit www.epa.gov/septic
