Overview
/ Vision / Objectives
Community Benefits/Barriers
Participating States
Regulations
Demonstration Projects
Database Appalachian
Counties
Appalachian
Counties List Appalachian
Demographics
Poverty Rates
| Income Rates
| Population
Rates | Distressed Counties
Wastewater
Treatment Needs
According
to the 1990 U.S. Census, 4,020,146 or 16% of all septic tank/cesspools
in the United States are located in the Appalachian Region.
It is estimated that 408,447 septic tanks fail each year in
the Appalachian Region. The Appalachian Regional Commission
indicates that more than 300 of the Region’s wastewater
treatment facilities fail to meet minimum EPA standards.
EPA’s
1996 Clean Water Needs Survey provides the total documented
need in millions for the Appalachian states.
|
State |
Need
($Million) |
| Alabama
|
100 |
| Georgia
|
12 |
| Kentucky
|
96 |
| Maryland
|
59 |
| Mississippi
|
119 |
| New
York |
190 |
| Ohio
|
253 |
| Pennsylvania
|
246 |
| South
Carolina |
8 |
| Tennessee
|
11 |
| Virginia
|
100 |
| West
Virginia |
349 |
| Total
|
1543 |
Much
of the Appalachian Region is impacted by mountainous topography.
According to the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development
Council, mountains create higher construction costs when wastewater
treatment systems are involved. Rapidly changing elevations
result in steep slopes and narrow valleys. Rock strata present
in the subsurface makes trench excavation expensive. Streams
flowing in areas needed for construction and sometime unstable
soil deposits in the flatter areas create problems with sediment,
erosion control, and accessibility by construction and maintenance
equipment. Pump stations are often required to lift the sewage
back up to the elevations and locations where conventional
gravity lines can convey the wastewater to the treatment plants.
The combination of these conditions makes wastewater service
to many areas uneconomical. |
