Homeowner Education User Guide

The national Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) Users Guide includes newly developed graphics from US EPA.  The manual is targeted to homewoners who are looking to learn more about their system.  The manual describes the many types of OWTS, management, safety, landscaping and land use, maintenance and troubleshooting common problems.

The U.S. EPA estimates that one in five households use individual onsite wastewater treatment systems to collect, treat, and safely return reclaimed water back into the environment. Because improperly treated wastewater is a threat to both public and environmental health, it is very important that homes, businesses, and institutions that use Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS) provide the required maintenance to ensure that their systems will properly function. This guide is intended to help homeowners understand how their onsite systems operate and to learn about the required maintenance.

This user guide will help you:

• understand the basic principles of how an OWTS works;
• learn how to operate the system efficiently and effectively;
• know how to maintain the system to prevent costly repairs and water contamination; and
• resolve problems with the system.

The m (Opens in new window)The manual is available for download in English or Spanish. 

An online version of the Users Guide is also available through NOWRA's Online Learning Academy (Opens in new window). The course is FREE to users, but requires the creation of an account on the online platform. 

Click here to learn more about the Users Guide and the Online Learning Course.