Optional Field Trips
2026 Field Trip Information Coming Soon. Below details of 2025 field trips are purely informational.
We will be offering a choice of two field trips as an optional add-on to the 2025 Onsite Wastewater Mega-Conference on Wednesday, October 22. Pre-registration is required due to expected demand.
The field trips will include bus and ferry transportation and lunch. Field trip attendees MUST use the bus transportation provided.
Field Trip #1 Ohio State University Stone Laboratory Tour and Cruise
Whether you’re a history buff, science enthusiast, outdoor adventurer, or family traveler, Gibraltar Island and Stone Lab offer a rare blend of education and exploration.
You’ll leave with a deeper appreciation for Lake Erie—not just as a body of water, but as a living, evolving ecosystem that connects science, community, and nature.
Participants on this field trip are advised to please wear comfortable walking shoes. This program involves a moderate level of activity. Participants should have the ability to climb stairs, stand for a period, walk over uneven ground and maneuver on and off our vessels.
Stop 1: Aquatic Science Cruise
Take a Lake Erie Science Cruise aboard a research vessel, where we’ll measure current environmental conditions, sample algae and plankton and collect and identify Lake Erie fish. These cruises can provide a unique opportunity to engage with real-world scientific research.
Stop 2: Gibralter Island Walking Tour
Gibraltar Island Walking Tour - Explore Gibraltar Island with a science and history tour. Gibraltar is named for its resemblance to the famous British fortress at the western ed of the Mediterranean Sea. The island was a summer retreat for Civil Water financier Jay Cooke and his family in the mid-to-late 1800s. In 1925, Cooke’s daughter, Laura Barney, sold the island to Julius stone, who gave it to The Ohio State University. Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory is named after Julius Stone’s father, a naturalist.
Stop 3: Harmful Algal Blooms Talk
Ohio Sea Grant programs address the frequency and intensity of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie and study their causes (nutrient loading associated with agriculture, wastewater treatment, residential fertilizers, etc.) and impacts (toxin production, pollution of drinking water, foul odor, and decreased lake aesthetic). This includes working with state and federal agencies to collect relevant data and with the state and regional governments to develop nutrient reduction recommendations and suggest plans of action.
Field Trip #2 Ohio Advanced Systems and Brewery Tour
This field trip features stops at advanced technologies being used in Ohio. This field trip offers a tour at the North American Testing lab, which certifies onsite and decentralized components and systems. Additionally, the other two stops will discuss tough design situations with their solutions. Presentations will cover the design factors that went into system installation decisions, as well as information on how to service each type of system.
Stop 1: North American Testing
North American Testing is a third-party research and development facility for the small-flow and wastewater industry. It was formed in 2006 to provide a midwestern testing facility for onsite and decentralized wastewater products, including testing new products, conducting engineering evaluations system modifications, and testing alternative materials for products and components. They provide product certification to NSF/ANSI Standard 40, NSF/ANSI 46, NSF/ANSI Standard 245, NSF/ANSI Standard 350 and NSF/ANSI Standard 385. North American Testing maintains its field testing facilities in Norwalk, Ohio, USA. The facility can simultaneously evaluate 21 separate treatment systems, each with a flow of up to 3,000 gallons per day.
Stop 2: Muffleheads Brewery
Muffleheads Brewery - Anua System Muffleheads Brewery, a craft brewery located in Northeast Ohio faced some unique challenges with their wastewater system. While the high strength wastewater goes to a holding tank which is pumped and trasported to a local wastewater treatment facility, they needed a different solution for the wastewater from the restrooms. The lot is narrow, and after brewery construction was completed, there was not room to install a traditional system. In order to accommodate the flow rate, an Anua Puraflow Peat Single Filter was installed.
Stop 3: Residential Jet System
Residential Jet System- This Jet system is a residential treatment system that discharges off lot to a water way. This type of system is often used on small lots where there is not room for a traditional system. This system features UV disinfection, and participants will see a demonstration about how to service every component and compartment of the system.