Limestone Valley Septic Repair Program Resumes with New Round of Funding

A second round of grant funding will help more Walker County residents who live along the Chattanooga Creek watershed fix their failing septic systems. Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council (LVRCD) recently secured more funding to address the environmental and public health hazards of septic failure.

"I'm thrilled that we have, you know, good money available to help people because septic repairs, they're costly and they're also one of those things that for quality of life, you want the grandkids playing in a yard that doesn't go squish, squish, squish," said Stephen Bontekoe, LVRCD executive director.

$268,000 in assistance will be available for property owners to access for septic system repairs over the next three years. Here's how it works: Residents first check their eligibility using an online map tool at limestonevalley.org.

"It will tell you if you are in the area where there's grant money available," said Bontekoe. "And then it will give you the option to contact the project manager. Contact the project manager, they will start you on the process of getting a permit with the health department and a contract with Limestone Valley."

After obtaining a contractor's quote and a contract with Limestone Valley, the contractor performs the work, the health department inspects the finished repair, and the program issues a reimbursement for 60% of the cost.

"Septic systems have ecoli associated with them," Bontekoe added. "I'm not trying to be gross, but they have fecal fecal contamination in there. And if that's bubbling up to the surface and people are touching it, they're going to get sick at some point or another. And if that's too much there and it's washing into the the creek, the creek gets an elevated E.coli level. That's why these grants from the state are available is to help improve the water quality, have clean water, and ultimately keep people healthier."

A similar effort that started in 2023 helped 22 property owners make septic repairs. That grant also funded a rain garden in Rossville to combat erosion and sediment and debris that clogs the waterway, as well as an adopt a stream class.

"We're trying something new this this go around and we are installing something called a trash trap or a trash boom," said Bontekoe. "It's a floating structure in a small creek where when you have plastic bags, cups, things that blew out of the back of a pickup truck, those things all end up typically either in the gutter or washing down into the creek. And so the trash trap stops those things from continuing to flow downstream. We go out periodically, clean it out."

The Chattanooga Creek watershed includes portions of Rossville, Flintstone, High Point, and Lookout Mountain. See if you're eligible for the septic repair program by visiting limestonevalley.org.