Septic problems at Webutuck High School

The Webutuck Board of Education (BOE) on Tuesday, Feb. 19, discussed standing water on the baseball field at the Webutuck High School, which is related to problems in the septic system.Consultant Engineer Jeff Budrow of Weston and Sampson Environmental Infrastructure Consultants was hired by the district to investigate the cause of the standing water. “Basically wastewater goes out of the school, into a septic tank and then out to a leech field. The problem is in the leech field,” Weston told the board.According to Budrow there are 12 sub-surface disposal beds under the ballfield.“We began to see standing water over three of the beds. The system is meant for a capacity of 10,000 gallons a day and the school only uses approximately 4,000. So we had suggested shutting down the three problem beds and had hoped we could limp along with the water being diverted to the other beds,” he said.However, upon closing the three problem beds, water remained on the field, now over the other beds.“Basically this area has bedrock very close to the surface. So another material was brought in over the leech field that would absorb the water better than the soil found in this area,” he said.Budrow’s research uncovered records from the construction of the system in 2002, when the school’s expansion was built, which included incongruous data.“The ground would have had to have passed a perc [percolation] test. A perc test measures how long it takes water in a hole to go down one inch. Usually the DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] will not accept anything slower than 60 minutes,” he said.Budrow presented percolation test results from April 2002 in which Webutuck’s leech field failed.“We see numbers as high as 200 minutes on some of these. Now the interesting find is that in June 2002 the tests were re-done with drastically different results,” he said.In June 2002 the perc test showed ideal numbers, in a 10- to 20-minute range, with a note that the tests were done at a shallower depth than the April 2002 test.“What changed other than the depth? I don’t know. Why did the DEC accept a perc test at a shallower depth? Again, you would have to ask them directly. I don’t want to speculate. I’m here to report facts. These are the facts,” Budrow said.Budrow estimated the system should have lasted 15 or more years for the school, especially noting their usage is lower than anticipated.“You’ve gotten 10 years out of this system. It’s a time bomb. There’s a situation brewing out there. It’s not suitable for sports because it doesn’t dry out,” he said.BOE member John Perotti commented, “I have farmed this land many years ago and I can tell you the rocks are not very deep. I was on the board at the time of the project. We went back and forth over this. We assumed they did it right. Everything passed.”Budrow informed the board that he was not prepared to present solutions at this time.“I was hired to find the problem and I believe we have. Now if you’d like to talk about solutions we can do the research and come up with some alternatives. I think that should be done as soon as possible because you need a remedy to this situation. There’s a lot of new technology out there, maybe that would work for the district, I don’t know. But I can find out,” he said.The board thanked Budrow for his presentation.“We obviously have a lot to do and I think we should prepare to meet within the next few months to hear our options,” Superintendent James Gratto said.For more on the impact of the situation on the Webutuck baseball season, turn to this week’s sports page.