Cruiser wakes or seeping septic systems???

[MAINLANDER]

Which does more harm? After lurking on this site for a few years I see the same group of people complaining about the same old things year after year. After having a camp on north Bear I would say leaking septic's are a far more serious problem to water quality than boat wakes,-speed or even wind driven wave action. How is it that the state inspects every cruiser type boat for proper tankage and makes sure that no water goes overboard, but yet does not consider the effects of ageing, misdesigned, or non existent all together septic systems less then 100 feet from our pristine lake?
Maybe this subject is taboo?

[Islander]

I think a failed septic system does more harm. Do you know of any? Just because a system is old or does not meet current codes does not mean it is putting coliform bacteria into the lake.

I know of one Bear Island property that had to pay about 50k for a new system because the Meredith Health Dept. caught wind of a problem (pun intended).

If you know of anybody that has a failed system, send me a PM and I will turn them in in a heartbeat.

NH does have septic system laws but they should have a tougher law like Title V in Massachusetts.

[Paugus Bay Resident]

About the only thing I'm aware of is the Site Assessment law. Essentially, any waterfront home, prior to being sold, needs an assessment of current system by a licensed designer.

http://www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/ssb/ssb-10.htm

Other than that ....

[Islander]

Other than That.... Place a call to the local health dept. and say something like "the home at xxx has effluent running from its septic system into the lake".

Within a short time the owners of xxx will be spending lots of money.

[ApS]

I can't speak to island properties, except that some still have outhouses! (Though they may actually be better than "septics", depending...)

Non-existant runoff control uphill washed my neighbor's entire 1940s-era system into the lake in a July 2000 thunderstorm. Good riddance, as the tank's location was revealed by the storm's runoff and discovered to be only 20' from the lake.

My other neighbor sold out to a spec-builder (in the "used-house" business—no offense to Realtors®) who installed a new house adjacent—but right in the middle of the old septic system! Town-approved, both share a new drilled well, and both pump effluent into the existing house's new field. That new field has a continuous, but mostly odorless, trickle around its periphery. Once occupied for the season—and depending on the wind direction—suspicious odors waft my way: the Health Department is happy—what's left for me to do?

Uphill—where the lack of runoff-control begins, a developer has put in a septic system to service 20 yet-to-be-built homes. It abuts an immense rock ledge, which is unlikely to provide good leaching capacity. The system's several "lollipops" can be easily seen from Winter Harbor, which has a single small outlet to The Broads for dilution. Algae clumps are a problem in Winter Harbor, where only a minority of lakefront homes have grassy lawns.

IMHO, "slap-dash septics" may be the reason that NH wishes to extend its oversight beyond ~200' from the lake, and not leave it up to the respective Town inspectors and Health Departments.

BTW: A distant lake I frequent requests a pumpout "every three years".

I'd like to see a pumpout requirement upon the sale of every lakefront home—in addition to "an inspection". There's an adequate turnover of lakefront homes to justify this requirement.