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Letters went out to Windsor residents in January in reference to the Town of Windsor Septic Pump-Out Program.

“The program is a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality mandate on local governments within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to protect the groundwater and waters that flow into the Chesapeake Bay from the pollutants in septic effluent,” Windsor Town Manager William Saunders said.

Oxford Languages defines effluent as “liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea.”

Saunders noted that the theory behind the septic pump-out program “is that if one does not have a healthy septic system, that periodic pumping of the solids from the system will help to alleviate system failures which spread contaminants; and if one has a healthy septic system, an inspection by a certified septic hauler will allow the property owner to put off a potential pump out until the next five-year cycle of pump outs and/or inspections.”

The letters sent out on Jan. 23 begin by stating, “The Virginia Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Act mandates that a septic tank shall be pumped at least once every five years. According to our records, your property has a septic tank, and we do not have any information to show that it has been pumped in the last five years.”

The letter presents three potential circumstances the recipient of the letter may find themselves in, and it follows each one with an instruction:

• “If you have had your septic tank pumped within the last five years, please complete the attached form and provide a copy of the receipt from the sewage waste handler.  
• “If you do not have a septic tank on the property and our records are in error, please complete the attached form and return it so the records may be corrected.  
• “If you have a septic tank and have not had it pumped in the last five years, please make arrangements to bring it into compliance. In this last circumstance, please provide an estimate of when the septic tank will be pumped on the attached form and return it to us.”

The letter concludes by requesting that the recipient complete and return the form attached to the letter by May 1, and if this is not done, it states that the recipient may be in violation of the town’s ordinances. 

“If you have any questions regarding the form or the septic tank pump-out requirement, please contact the Windsor Town Hall at (757) 242-4288 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday thru Friday,” the letter states. “A list of local sewage waste handlers is attached. The town is not responsible for the costs of pumping the septic tanks but will assist you in any way possible to implement this program in as fair and equitable manner as possible.”

Saunders noted that the town has been doing pump outs every five years since 2012.