PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has won a competitive grant to update its Septics 101 video to teach people how to inspect and maintain their own septic systems.
County commissioners Tuesday approved a renewed $817,412 contract with the state Department of Health that includes a $75,000 grant for the Environmental Health Division to update the instructional video available at www.clallam.net.
Other counties will be able to use the Clallam County video that will replace the original Septics 101 video that was produced by Island County.
“They did that on a very tight budget,” Clallam County Environmental Health Director Andy Brastad said.
“It’s been online for a number of years.”
In early 2010, Clallam County received a grant from the state Department of Ecology to develop a pilot training curriculum for do-it-yourself septic system inspections.
“The first step was just: ‘This is what a septic system is,’” Brastad said.
“We brought it to a level of: ‘This is how to inspect your own septic system.’
“That’s a pilot project that’s ongoing that we’ll wrap up this year.
“But we’ve got a lot of feedback that the videos that we produced were really good, high-quality videos.
“So the Department of Health actually got funding to update the Septics 101, and they called us.”
The county, which agreed to take on the project, is preparing to unveil a new Septics 201: Do-It-Yourself Septic System Inspection Program.
The online 101 course is a prerequisite for Septics 201.
“So we’re now redoing the Septics 101 video to make it more professional and in line with our Septics Inspection 201 videos,” Brastad said.
The original 30-minute Septics 101 video can be found by clicking the Health and Human Services Department link and the Environmental Health Services page.
Commissioner Mike Doherty congratulated Health and Human Services staff for winning the competitive grant.
Commissioner Jim McEntire, who was sworn into office last week after serving as a Port of Port Angeles commissioner, said the Septics 101 class he attended was “very enlightening and valuable.”
“I had lived in a house in Virginia years prior with a septic system, and I finally found out after I moved here what I was doing wrong then,” McEntire told Brastad.
“So, well done.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
