sands, high water tables, muck soils 

 and clayey subsoils — the result is the 

 same. New development is stunted, 

 while older, more established areas ex- 

 perience the growing aggravation and 

 expense of failing septic systems. 



Search for alternatives 



For more than three years UNC Sea 

 Grant researcher Bobby Carlile of 

 North Carolina State University has 

 been studying on-site septic waste dis- 

 posal in the coastal zone. According to 

 Carlile the disposal dilemma of coastal 

 North Carolina typifies that facing 

 many other rural coastal states. He 

 compares it to the proverbial rock and 

 a hard place. On the one hand, in many 

 areas the state's coastal population is 

 too sparse and seasonal to support cen- 

 tralized sewage collection and treat- 

 ment. On the other hand, unsuitable 

 soils and high water tables often 

 make it difficult to find sites where 

 conventional on-site disposal systems 

 will work. 



But effective, low cost alternatives 

 to sewers and septic tanks are 

 available. Researchers have found that 

 the basic septic system design can be 

 modified and improved so that it will 

 work under a variety of conditions. 

 With Sea Grant support, Carlile has 

 been experimenting with these alter- 

 native systems and modifying them for 

 use in coastal environments. 



Critical timing 



Along the coast his research has 

 borne fruit at a critical time. Two years 

 ago new regulations were issued put- 

 ting more "teeth" in the state's 

 Ground Absorption Act. Soil per- 

 meability criteria were defined and set- 

 back and separation standards were es- 

 tablished. The result — septic waste dis- 

 posal became an explosive issue 

 throughout the coastal zone. In Hyde 

 County alone more than 50 percent of 

 the applications for septic tank permits 

 were rejected over a 14-month period. 



"We were almost at a standstill," 

 recalls Clifford Swindell, Hyde County 

 manager. "Our contractors were com- 

 plaining. The people who lend money 

 were complaining. And the people who 

 wanted to develop their lands were 

 complaining . . . Under the new regula- 

 tions we just couldn't fit in." 



"We were fast reaching the crisis 

 stage," adds County Commissioner 

 Eddie O'Neal. 



For Carlile the conditions in Hyde 



County provided an ideal testing 

 ground for many of his modified 

 systems. Several experimental systems 

 already had been installed in Hyde 

 County and elsewhere. And, after a 

 series of meetings with officials from 

 the state Department of Natural 

 Resources and Community Develop- 

 ment and the Department of Human 

 Resources, the county Board of Health 

 was given the go-ahead to use Carlile's 

 systems wherever conventional ones 

 wouldn't work. 



Though skeptical at first, David 

 Spencer knew that a modified system 

 was the only option he had if he want- 

 ed to build on his land. Following the 

 lead of his neighbor, Meredith Cook, 

 Spencer agreed to have Carlile install a 

 low pressure distribution system on his 

 property. 



At both Cook's and Spencer's sites 

 local contractors, developers and 

 health department officials were in- 

 vited to watch the installation process 

 and learn more about the system's 

 operation. Monitoring wells were con- 

 structed at the sites so that the 

 researchers could keep tabs on ground 



water quality in areas adjacent to the 

 systems. 



After nearly two years Meredith 

 Cook is convinced that Carlile's low 

 pressure system is the only disposal 

 technique that will work on his 

 property. "It's used the heaviest in 

 December and January, which are also 

 the wettest months, and I've never had 

 any problems," he says. 



Though Spencer's system is only six 

 months old, he too is pleased with its 

 performance. "It's probably the best 

 system around here. To use a conven- 

 tional system I would have had to dig 

 up most of my yard and it would have 

 cost a lot more." 



The bail out 



Today the septic tank issue has 

 quieted in Hyde County. Local health 

 officials credit much of the improve- 

 ment to Carlile and his modified 

 systems. Last year 13 sites that would 

 have been rejected under conventional 

 septic treatment were approved for low 

 pressure distribution systems. "You 

 might say the systems bailed us out," 

 says Swindell. 



