Grantee Research Project Results
2024 Progress Report: Septic to Sewer? Justice-focused strategies for addressing coastal septic failures under sea-level rise and increased flooding
EPA Grant Number: R840477Title: Septic to Sewer? Justice-focused strategies for addressing coastal septic failures under sea-level rise and increased flooding
Investigators: Reilly, Allison , Walls, Margaret , Ferreira, Celso , Goldstein, Rachel Rosenberg , Kjellerup, Birthe , Liao, Yanjun Penny
Institution: University of Maryland - College Park , George Mason University , University of Maryland Research Centers , Resources for the Future
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: September 1, 2022 through May 12, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2023 through August 31,2024
Project Amount: $1,350,000
RFA: Cumulative Health Impacts at the Intersection of Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerable Populations/Lifestages: Community-Based Research for Solutions (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Justice , Human Health
Objective:
Many rural communities are on the front lines of climate change which can have multiple direct and indirect human health impacts. One concern is septic tank failures and how increased flooding and sea-level rise will cause septic systems to fail, both mechanistically and in terms of degraded nutrient and pathogen removal. This can and has led to more gastrointestinal illness and parasitic infections. This is acutely problematic in areas with higher proportions of people of color. People of color are more likely to reside on flood-prone land and historically have been less likely to be connected to municipal sewer systems. Sewer systems, while expensive in rural areas, can improve health outcomes and often increase home values. In this work, we are conducting an interdisciplinary multi-scale empirical examination of these problems, with a geographic focus on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We are deliberately investigating the risk of septic system failures now and in the future, while addressing the antecedent conditions (including historical settlement patterns and exclusion from municipal sewers), that potentially exacerbate this exposure. We have and will continue to collect primary data on septic health and leverage a myriad of secondary data to develop a composite risk. This data is being augmented with community input and experience, which aids in understanding the potential of specific policy and technology solutions, while ensuring the benefits accrue in a way that addresses past discriminatory practices.
Progress Summary:
The research team has conducted a comprehensive risk assessment to understand where exposure is greatest and which demographics are overexposed to the intersecting risks of relying on septic and being vulnerable to sea-level rise. Results suggest that septic systems and the potential for coastal inundation suppress home values and increase rates of gastrointestinal illness. The research team has also found preliminary evidence of higher need for maintenance, and geographic areas where maintenance requirements are expected to accelerate due to sea-level rise. In terms of soil and water quality sampling, the team has developed and pilot tested experiments for understanding impacts of soil quality and flooding to a soil treatment area, and found that saturated soil significantly decreases the treatment efficiency for inorganic nitrogen and dissolved organic solids. Continuing experiments soil experiments are exploring the presence of indicator bacteria in chronically saturated soils.
Future Activities:
Future activities include an empirical examination of the change in rates of necessary septic system maintenance following king tides and heavy rains, a comprehensive evaluation of the value of sewer expansion, including a survey of homeowners measuring perceived benefits and costs, hedonic modeling of the impact of sewer on property value and an impacts assessment on regional development stemming from sewer expansion, and a public health examination of the link between chronic inundation of septic systems and gastrointestinal illness. Most of these activities have commenced. Engagement with participating communities will continue and be expanded through discussions with county environmental health officers and educational material for homeowners. Undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers are being trained in how to conduct interdisciplinary research and how discriminatory policies in the built environment create compounding risks in overburdened populations.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 7 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Septic systems, on-site wastewater treatment, sea level rise, environmental justiceProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.