Regular care and upgrading of your septic system is crucial to protecting New Hampshire’s water quality. In addition to the threat of bacteria and viruses entering groundwater and surface waters, excess nutrients (such as nitrogen) from septic systems can trigger algal blooms, which reduce oxygen in the water when they die, leading to illness or death of fish and other aquatic species. Some algal blooms produce harmful toxins can cause disease and even death to pets and humans.
Help protect New Hampshire’s drinking water resources and ensure your continued enjoyment of all the benefits our surface waters offer, such as swimming, fishing, boating, eating seafood and enjoying a walk beside clear waters, by taking care of your system.
Dos and don’ts…
- Conserve water! Fix leaky faucets and toilets immediately. Water conservation will extend the life of your system by not washing away the healthy bacteria that your system needs. Visit NH is for Water.
- Space out your washing machine loads and other large water uses (dishwashers, showers, etc.).
- Don’t flush anything but human waste and toilet paper! Check out What’s Flushable (PDF) and visit the NHASH webpage on septic system information.
- Don’t use a garbage disposal. Waste from garbage disposals will fill your system more rapidly, requiring more frequent pumping.
Locating your tank…
If you don’t know where your septic tank is, you can request records through the NHDES subsurface archives online form.
When to pump…
Don’t wait for a failure! Septic tanks should be pumped every three to five years for optimal function. Get Pumped today!
