Updating our Septic System Policies - County Seeks Community Input
NEW DATES and LOCATIONS for Community Meetings
The County of Sonoma is updating County regulations for septic systems in order to meet state-mandated regulations that protect water quality and public health. Permit Sonoma invites the public to attend upcoming community meetings to share feedback on the proposed Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) Manual.
Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the County’s septic system program and proposed updates to septic policy.sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Regulations/OWTS/OWTS-Frequently-Asked-Questions
IF YOU NEED HELP Understanding and Complying with the new rules:
In partnership with the County of Sonoma, the Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts have hired an ombudsman to provide residents of the lower Russian River with assistance and support regarding changing septic system regulations.
Septic systems, also known as Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS), have been in the news quite a bit lately. In order to combat pathogen pollution concerns, State policies have been updated and County standards for OWTS are being revised. These revisions will change the way OWTS are regulated in Sonoma County, and you may be wondering how the changes will affect you.
While the regulations are still evolving, neighborhoods and communities in the lower Russian River area will be affected in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, making sense of all the laws, manuals and acronyms is no easy task – and for the many residents who depend on OWTS, it can be hard to know where to start. To that end, there is now a resource that is dedicated to providing communities with resources and support regarding the OWTS issue.
David Wood was recently hired as theLower Russian River Ombudsman. Ombudsmen are hired to work in a variety of institutions – from governmental to educational to private organizations – but their essential function is to provide unbiased assistance to individuals with concerns about a specific issue. As a non-regulatory, informational resource, David’s job is to assist residents of the lower Russian River area with OTWS related issues. Specifically, David can help with questions about regulations, provide confidential information to residents about their septic systems and identify grants and other financial assistance opportunities to help them with upgrades or improvements. David will also be tracking other issues related to water quality in the lower Russian River, so that he can help interested residents learn more about how OWTS fit into the larger picture. If you live in the lower Russian River area, David can help.
David can be reached by phone at 707-806-4723 or by email at david@goldridgercd.org. He has drop-in office hours on Wednesdays between 3:00pm and 7:00pm, and on Thursdays between 9:00am and 12:00pm. He is available on other business days and Saturdays by appointment and will be attending local meetings and community events related to this issue. His office is located at 9925 Main Street, Monte Rio, CA 95462, next to the Monte Rio Amphitheater. If you have an upcoming community event or neighborhood meeting that you would like David to attend, please contact him.
Main Revisions
The main differences from the County’s current septic system policy in the proposed manual include:
What is the OWTS Manual?
The Onsite Waste Treatment Systems (OWTS) Manual provides the policy, procedural and technical details governing individual onsite wastewater treatment systems (also referred to as septic systems). State law mandates the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopt standards for regulation of onsite waste treatment systems ( OWTS Policy). The OWTS Manual complies with the State Water Resources Control Board OWTS Policy Tier 2 Local Area Management Program (LAMP) requirements.
Entire Document (PDF: 7.84 MB) Revised 2018 document provided in a single file.
Multiple File Version Revised 2018 document divided into separate files for each section.
Strikeout-Underline-Annotated Version Original 2016 version, with new 2018 changes added and the superseded/removed content struck out. The document is divided into separate files for each section.
