Need help with your septic system? If you're in Monroe County, you may be in luck.
Editor's note: This story originally stated that participants must attend a virtual workshop. Participants are encouraged to attend but can participate if they do not.
Homeowners in southeastern Monroe County who have septic system problems might be eligible for $100-$150 to help as part of a cost-share program through Lake Monroe Community Action Initiative. It's a new project offered by Friends of Lake Monroe.
Failing septic systems on land that drains into Lake Monroe are a primary source of pollution that affects the drinking water for Bloomington and other communities.
About 20% of the Lake Monroe watershed is in Monroe County, according to Maggie Sullivan, watershed coordinator with Friends of Lake Monroe.
"It's almost a quarter of the watershed," Sullivan said, adding there are an estimated 3,000 houses with septic systems in the county. "It's really hard to know how many of those systems are working properly."
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County health officials know of about 20 septic systems in Monroe County that are failing, Sullivan said. But oftentimes it's only once a catastrophic failure happens that there's a complaint. Sullivan suspects there are other septic systems that aren't working properly, mentioning a person she talked with recently who did not realize septic systems need to be pumped at least every three years.
Failing septic systems leak nutrients and E. coli into nearby waterways. In southeastern Monroe County, those pollutants end up in Lake Monroe.
Funding, education for Monroe County residents
Anyone who wants to apply for the funding can attend a virtual workshop that Friends of Lake Monroe and the Monroe County Health Department will host 7-8 p.m. Thursday, March 31, about septic system maintenance. People who live in the Lake Monroe watershed can apply for the cost-share program. If accepted, the homeowners will be reimbursed for half the cost of pumping their septic tank or/or for installing a septic tank riser, with a upward limit of $100 for one service and $150 for both.
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The cost-share program will be available April 1 through July 31 or until funds in the program are gone. Applications are available online at www.friendsoflakemonroe.org/septic or by calling 812-558-0217.
Anyone interested should apply soon, Sullivan said, adding about half of the vouchers have already been given out.
Looking to the future
While the community action initiative — with funding from grants from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County and the Monroe County Stormwater Board — is only for Monroe County residents, Sullivan hopes it will be expanded to Brown and Jackson counties.
"Part of our thinking is if we have a successful program in Monroe County, it will be easier to go to other funding organizations and ask for money to expand," Sullivan said.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County program provides funds, education about septic systems
