Island County’s septic systems are a-changin’ and Tuesday, people had an opportunity to hear how.

The Washington State Board of Health sponsored a workshop to present the proposed changes to the state’s on-site septic system regulations. More than 80 people squeezed into the Commissioners’ Hearing Room and another 15 gathered on Camano Island to hear the changes.

Among the major changes will a reclassification of the soil types. This will affect the allowable size of drainfields, said septic designer Reid Tascia.

The reclassification has lowered the rates that runoff from the septic system is absorbed into the ground. This dramatically increases the size of the required drainfields, Tascia said.

“It’s going to stop development of small lots up and down the island,” he said.

Mike Trask, a partner at Diamond Construction and a licensed installer, said the restrictions will make designing a new system much more difficult.

“People buy these lots with the idea of building a retirement home,” he said. “And 20 years later, they want to build their home and they can’t.”

Systems that are already installed will be grandfathered in under the new rules, but any upgrades or major repairs must comply with the changes.

The Rules Development Committee, of which Tascia is a member, proposed the changes in an effort to modernize the regulations, which have not been updated since 1994. The workshop was an effort to educate septic owners and installers of the pending changes. Approximately 70 percent of Island County homes have a septic system.

“The people from the state did not tell Island County what the changes mean for Island County,” Tascia said. “They did not (say) directly how it would effect us.”

Tascia said he is preparing a presentation for how it would increase property owners’ costs in Island County. The main impact will be the amount of land needed for larger drain fields. In places such as Smuggler’s Cove, the smaller lots will be undevelopable, he said.

“We won’t have enough land to put the drainfields in,” he said.

One thing that would save Island County lot owners would be to revisit the minimum amount of outflow into the drainfields. It is locally required that a designer must build the system based on a house producing 150 gallons per day per bedroom, but the state’s minimum is 120 gallons. Changing to the state minimum would help cancel out the changes from soil reclassification, Tascia said.

The new regulations also call for more stringent inspection requirements. System owners would be required to have an inspection at least once every three years. Some systems would need an annual inspection.

“I guess I’m in favor of having septic checked,” Trask said. “But, having it done one time each year is a heavy-duty thing.”

He said he can estimate how often an inspection is necessary based on a family’s output. Inspections are necessary, however, Trask said.

“It’s like checking or changing the oil in a car — a lack of maintenance does promote failure,” he said.

Beginning in mid-January, members of the public can submit comments on the changes to the state Department of Health. People can e-mail comments to: WastewaterMgmt@doh.wa.gov  or send comments by regular mail to: Wastewater Management Program Washington State Department of Health, PO Box 47825, 7171 Cleanwater Lane Olympia, WA 98504-7825.

You can reach News-Times reporter Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com