Onsite Wastewater

This topic page contains links to resources produced by grantees and partners of CDC’s Environmental Health Services Branch (EHSB).

Image of a septic tank inlet. — Photo of a septic tank inlet.

To explore tools, training, and research from CDC’s EHSB to learn how to protect your community’s water resources, including recreational water, private wells, drinking water, and emergency water supply, make sure to check out our EHS Safe Water Resources page. You can also directly access EHS wastewater research on our publications by topic page.

Tools & Guidance

Decentralized Wastewater System Papers (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA) – short papers/fact sheets for state, local, and tribal governments addressing economic, environmental, and public-health aspects of decentralized wastewater treatment

Knowledge Area: Onsite Wastewater Systems (Water Environment Research Foundation) – searchable database of reports, tools and projects including different aspects of wastewater management and onsite systems

Local Board of Health Guide to On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems [PDF – 933 KB] (National Association of Local Boards of Health, NALBOH) – guide on the role of local boards of health in effective on-site wastewater treatment programs

National Small Flows Clearinghouse (National Environmental Services Center) – many tools and resources to help America’s small communities and individuals solve their wastewater problems

Slug Discharge Control and Spill Containment Policy (Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County) – guidance to industrial users to prevent accidental or inappropriate discharge of restricted materials to the sanitary sewer system

Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center (SMRC) (Center for Watershed Protection) – technical assistance on stormwater management issues

Technical Information about Septic Systems (EPA) – tools for on-site wastewater treatment including advanced treatment technologies, alternative technologies, and principles of design manuals

Treatment of Household Wastewater (National Ag Safety Database) – assessment to help determine if a household wastewater treatment, septic tank, or similar onsite wastewater system poses a risk to groundwater

Wastewater Fact Sheet [PDF – 261 KB] (NALBOH) – fact sheet from National Association of Local Boards of Health Local Board of Health Environmental Health Primer

Wastewater Management (CDC Healthy Places) – overview of how land use decisions related to wastewater management affect water quality and public health.

Weather and Hydrologic Forecasting for Water Utility Incident Preparedness and Response [PDF – 2 MB] – resources for water and wastewater utilities on current weather and forecasting conditions

Training

Environmental Public Health Online Courses (EPHOC) – comprehensive online/on-demand package of courses for environmental public health practitioners including a module on wastewater

Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment – training, checklists, graphics, and other resources from educational institutions cooperating on decentralized wastewater training and research efforts

Septic Systems and Soil Properties (North Carolina State University) – training and fact sheets on septic systems and waste management