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Hoosier Health: Sewage in Our Streams
The Public Health Implications of CSOs and Failing Septic Systems
January 19, 2001 Conference Summary
Click here for an overview of the conference
After a welcome from Tom Neltner of IKE and Greta Hawvermale of the City of Indianapolis, Dr. Bill Beranek of the Indiana Environmental Institute described the basic choices facing Indiana’s citizens in addressing sewage in our streams. He focused on the split roles that our public health and environmental agencies have. This split leads us to respond to the environmental mandates in a manner that is disconnected from the tangible public health gains we should realize.
Dr. Al Dufour of EPA walked the audience through the federal E. coli standard and the science behind the numbers. While E. coli is the bacteria we measure, it is primarily a surrogate for other diseases — serving as a marker for fecal contamination. The goal is not to kill E. coli but to stop the contamination.
After lunch, we broke into two groups: one to address the medical perspectives and the other to address the methods to communicate the issues to the public.
Communicating With the Public:
Three managers of local public works programs, Mona Salem of Indianapolis, Ted Rhinehart of Fort Wayne, and Dr. Art Umble of Elkhart, explained the methods they use to get public support to address the problem of sewage in our streams. Each presenter used a different style that made it clear that there is no single approach. The highlight was a fascinating, computer-generated presentation by Art Umble.
Bill Grant of the LaGrange County Health Department shifted the focus from CSOs to failing septic systems. Based on his years of experience fighting lake contamination from septics in his northeast Indiana community, he passionately illustrated the compelling reasons to address the septic systems for the sake of the environment and our kids. He easily could have been a preacher!
Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Health Department, gave an outstanding presentation on the Marion County experience. She explained why communities do not have strong statistics on the connection between water-borne diseases and sewage in our streams. These reasons included:
- Doctors don’t ask enough questions;
- They are not required to report most gastrointestinal diseases;
- The difficultly in tracking stream users; and
- The lower likelihood of widespread exposure from streams compared to food.
Dr. Caine provided the numbers for diseases that her health department tracks in Marion County. See table. She suggested that exposure to sewage in our streams is only a part of the equation.
Dr. David McSwane from Indiana University explained how children are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases because of their poor hygiene and the nature of exposure. He also explained how to prevent the exposures.
When the plenary session resumed, Dr. Ron Turco of Purdue University provided insight into his latest research on the survivability of E. coli in the environment. He has found that E. coli survives from 10 to 50 days in river water. If the stream has high sediment levels, the bacteria will live longer.
Dr. Deborah McMahon and her key staff from the Allen County Health Department explained her agency’s new Water Quality Initiative. The initiative is focused on septic systems and is driven by a concern with the increasing prevalence of chronic infectious diseases and the associated direct and indirect costs.
The day wrapped up with a three speakers sharing their perspectives. Matt Rueff, IDEM’s Assistant Commissioner for Water Quality, stated that the agency planned to have its CSO Guidance Document and its Sewer Connection Ban Guidance in final form by the end of March.
Dick Van Frank, a long-time citizen advocate, said that the public health aspects of CSO and failing septic system problems have been ignored for too long. It is a basic responsibility of government to deal with the issue. And to date, the state and local governments have failed to fulfill that responsibility. Dr. Art Umble concluded by emphasizing that we need to look beyond bacteria to the issue of non-point source runoff and redouble our education efforts to help the public understand the problem and accept the solutions.