RECOVERING septic systems in Washington State since 2004

Attention:  I've completely revised the "Hood Canal & Water Quality Issues" section (click on the selection above).  Find out what small communities can do to inexpensively solve their wastewater problems. Sept 2, 2008

New Homeowner-Friendly Financing will soon be available. Ph: (360) 923-1080

According to the US-EPA, 95% of drainfield          SludgeHammer's Ecosystem Process

failures are caused by this Anaerobic                     Replaces Harmful Anaerobic Slime to

Biomat buildup in your Septic System.                    Recover & Prevent Septic Failures.

Introducing the SludgeHammer Ecosystem Process, a true 21^st Century in situ Bioremediation Solution!

Every now and then there is a paradigm shift - somebody makes a discovery which changes the whole picture.  Penicillin was such a discovery which allows doctors to recover a patient's leg instead of amputating it because of infection. SludgeHammer is such a discovery and now we can recover a drainfield instead of having to replace it.  Furthermore, SludgeHammer is effective for point-of-use water reclamation; which must become our highest priority in terms of what we do with wastewater.   Ken Morse July 28, 2008

TMDL=Total Maximum Daily Load   Is a regulatory requirement that is being applied to many bodies of water, such as Hood Canal and Puget Sound.  The Federal Clean Water Act is the driving force behind TMDL requirements for your area.  Your Local Health Department is tasked with enforcing this law and is required to ask for citizen input.  Ecosystem Process Definition: The physical, chemical and biological actions or events that link organisms and their environment.  Ecosystem processes include decomposition, production [of plant matter], nutrient cycling, and fluxes of nutrients and energy.

The SludgeHammer Ecosystem Restoration Model

	For millions of years the leaf litter zone has been the place where Nature has efficiently digested human and animal waste.  Before the invention of the flush toilet & sewers, the soil was where Nature processed and re-used waste.  We use that ecosystem process (with 5 specific microbes) and put it to work inside your septic tank & drainfield.
	Our Natural Microbes restore the soil's "perk" and lets your drainfield work again.  With our 21st Century Bio-Remediation you no longer need to replace your drainfield.   Restoring instead of replacing is the best possible restoration model anyone could hope for.
	UPC Listed. Tested to conform to the IAPMO IGC 180-2003 (Remediation) Standard for its ability to restore a clogged drainfield. No other standard, including NSF-40, tests with a restoration model approach. SludgeHammer is the frontrunner in this new era of wastewater management.
	The 2007 State Dept. of Health's Recommended Standards & Guidance (RS&G) for Remediation, gives local Washington agencies the authority to implement Remediation strategies TODAY.  Furthermore, SludgeHammer Blend has met all requirements for sale, use and distribution in Washington State since 2004.
	fecal coliform Reduction. We have documented up to 98.6% (geometric mean) fecal coliform reduction inside the tank without harsh chemicals!  With UV we get the all.
	Nitrogen Reduction. The 2007 New Mexico Governor's report documents Total Nitrogen at just 5-PPM which beats Washington State's 20-PPM standard by a factor of four!   We also have five different nitrogen management strategies.  Versatility makes us the flexible restoration choice.
	SludgeHammer's Multiple Applications:  Restores Restaurants Grease-Plugged Drainfields, Unplugs failed Community Sand Filters, Reduces RV Dump Station Waste, effective even with Chemo-therapy laden wastewater, and more.
	21st Century verses 19th Century Technology.  The invention of the Classic Aerobic Treatment process dates backwards about 100 years.  Sand Filter technology dates back about 120 years (that would be about the year 1890).  SludgeHammer passed its testing in 2003 - a true 21st Century Bioremediation solution (IAPMO's IGC #180-2003 Standard). Following Nature's restoration model we are at least 100-years ahead of the others.
	Retrofit your Existing Septic Tank.  This cuts your costs dramatically & minimizes damage to your lawn & shrubs.  SludgeHammer also works in most single-compartment septic tanks. Keeping your gravity septic functioning better than ever is the best restoration model possible.
	LOW Power Consumption.  40 to 60 watts instead of the typical 200 to 500 watts with ATUs.  The power is in the Biology instead of the technology!  With such low power consumption we minimize greenhouse emissions, there isn't a better restoration model available.
	Goodbye Stream Siltation / No Costly Landscape Damage.  We eliminate silt runoff problems typical of conventional drainfield replacements or sewer projects.  By restoring drainfield function we've eliminated the silt problems associate with major septic repairs.  Also a major cost in ordinary septic repairs is the wholesale destruction of your landscape by heavy equipment.  Where regular septic repairs leave you to deal with a big landscaping bill, we leave your local ecosystem in tact & undisturbed.
	Water Re-Use MUST become our goal!     SludgeHammer Reclaims Wastewater for subsurface watering as seen in Sunset Magazine March 2007 pages 100 & 101.  Let the plants have the nitrogen & phosphorous instead of loosing it.  Now, the only problem with Wastewater is continuing to waste it!  Water re-use is Nature's own restoration model.

445 SludgeHammer's for the price of 67 Traditional Septic Replacements. Suggested SludgeHammer installed price $4,500 + tax.  Price comparison based on typical $30,000 septic system replacement. In real world terms we can eliminate 7 times as many fecal coliform bacteria for the same dollar spent on ordinary repairs.  SludgeHammer is your cost effective restoration model.

Want to see SludgeHammer in action?  Visit the Union Country Store and ask for Kirk.  We have a demo unit in the septic tank.

To reach the WA State Dept. of Ecology's TMDL goals it is NOT necessary to enforce the most stringent standards possible, studies like the Henderson Pollutant Load Reduction study outline what % reduction is necessary and SludgeHammer can exceed those required reductions when applied correctly.

Allowing new technologies like SludgeHammer is entirely within the scope of the Political & Regulatory process.  It is good Public Health policy to allow the most cost effective solution while using the least restrictive regulations possible.... Ken Morse

If needed, County Commissioners (local board of health) can obtain a waiver to allow use of new technologies to solve specific septic related problems.  This could take the form of a "Class B Waiver" as defined by the regulations:   Class B - A waiver for which a local health agency, with agreement by DOH, has established specific waiver request evaluation criteria and mitigation measures to address specific local conditions or issues in an individual county or jurisdictional area.  Source: An Application Guide for Granting Waivers from State On-Site Sewage System Regulations, DOH, 1999 (Dept. of Health Waiver Guidance Document).

Links:

SludgeHammer Manufacturer's web site www.SludgeHammer.net

New Mexico SludgeHammer Dealer  www.earthwrights.com/links.html

Subsurface Drip Systems by Geoflow  http://www.geoflow.com

Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen http://www.hoodcanal.washington.edu/

Puget Sound Partnership http://www.psp.wa.gov/pugetsound.html

WA Department of Ecology (TMDL) http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/index.html

Henderson Inlet (Thurston Co.) TMDL info http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehrp/henderson.html

• SludgeHammer Blend (originally Pirana Blend) has been approved for sale, use and distribution in WA State since 2004 http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/ww/pubs-ww-products.htm

• Use of SludgeHammer's Aerobic Bacteria Generator is authorized under the Department of Health Remediation RS&G Document http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/ww/pubs-ww-rsg.htm

• SludgeHammer is a Listed Plumbing Fixture View the current listing on the Official IAPMO Site

Downloads:

Product Spec Sheets images/TechSheet-Oct07Final1.pdf AND images/TechSheet-Oct07Final2.pdf

Engineers Resource List  Eng Resource List

New Mexico Gov's Report    images/Paper NM Gov's project.pdf

Fecal coliform reductions  images/fecal colif spreadsheet Buzzards Bay.xls

fecal coliform data used for WI State approval Mar-08  images/Wisconsin fecal for S-86.xls

High-Strength photos/High Strength Santa Rosa Synopsis.xls AND photos/High Strength Grayland 6 19 07.xls

Power Consumption Comparison  photos/treatment unit comparison watts.xls

Wastewater Harvesting    Wastewater Harvesting

                        Randal Morse circa 1961                Ken Morse and SludgeHammer test fish, 2005

Now that we can make a septic tank safe enough for fish, just imagine what that will enable us to do for the environment!" Ken Morse, August 2005

If we want to restore what we have taken from nature, we will have to learn from nature how to give it back. Ken Morse, January 2008

The Big Problem with Wastewater is that we continue to Waste it! Now we have no more excuses. SludgeHammer is a 21st Century Ecosystem Process allowing us to safely & economically "use it" instead of "loose it".  We must discard our "throw away mentality" from the 20th Century or continue to suffer the consequences.  Ken Morse, July 2008

There is intense public interest for recycling & reclaiming wastewater but it has  been economically out of our reach requiring enormously expensive  wastewater-plant projects.  SludgeHammer makes Wastewater Reclamation a practical reality for the individual homeowner.  Ken Morse, July 2008

We have not inherited the earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children...  Native American Saying

Contact Ken at netseptic@earthlink.net    NET Septic WA Contractor # NETSES*921CG

 Call today for a free, confidential evaluation (360) 923-1080.

*The < 10-PPM Total Nitrogen (TN) figures for SludgeHammer is a high estimate.  Usually we get less than 1-PPM. Nitrogen issues are a little complex, but the bottom line is we beat the performance of anything out there on a cost analysis basis.  Unfortunately regulatory-recognition for soil-based denitrification in WA State is not yet a reality.  However, your local Health Department has the capability to recognize our unique methods through a "Class B Waiver" process.  We now have several new ways to handle the nitrogen issue, depending on the situation and particular site needs.  The denitrification advances we have achieved in the last several year will revolutionize how we deal with septic nitrogen.

** The Washington Administrative Code (WAC 246-272A-0110-5) states "treatment levels used in these rules are not intended to be applied as field compliance standards..." (emphasis added)

***  Normally SludgeHammer costs $21/month to maintain but for TMDL projects final operating cost will be heavily dependant on Government requirements.

*^* These figures for SludgeHammer are measured in the tank, just like the ATU figures.  For both ATU and SludgeHammer 12 to 24" of soil in the drainfield typically reduces the fecal coliform load to essentially zero (non-detect) which is better than most Waste Water Treatment Plant discharges.

Please note:  I've made every effort on my web page to be factual and accurate.  The contents of my web page constitute my opinion.  Others involved in the on-site (septic system) industry may have alternate opinions or be unfamiliar with SludgeHammer technology. Each local health jurisdiction has it's own set of policies which differs from County to County and from time to time.  The reader is encouraged to educate himself and draw his own conclusions.  If you feel that one of my references or information sources should be updated or needs further explanation, please email me and let me know.  Thank you.  Ken Morse

Updated Sept 2, 2008