Lower Macungie to detail plans for on-lot sewer program

Hundreds of homeowners in Lower Macungie will be required to have their on-lot sewer systems pumped out every five years under a new ordinance that takes effect next year.

Township officials will detail their plans for their new on-lot sewage management program during a 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at the Lower Macungie Community Center, 3450 Brookside Road, Lower Macungie.

The new law, approved earlier this year, requires all residents to do regular maintenance on their septic systems, in five-year intervals. Guy Bieber, the township's sewage enforcement officer, has estimated that 1,000 property owners have on-lot systems. The remainder of the township is served by the public sewer system.

Owners of on-lot systems are required to hire a township-registered septic pumper/hauler to clean out their tanks and submit to the township an on-lot system pumping and inspection form. The new ordinance can be found on the township's website.

The township is dividing properties into five sewer management districts. Those in District 1 will be required to have their systems pumped in 2014, District 2 in 2015, District 3 in 2016, District 4 in 2017 and District 5 in 2018. The five-year cycle would start over again in 2019.

A map showing the locations of the five districts is on file at the township building, 3400 Brookside Road. Residents in each district will receive a notice about the pumping requirements in the year they're required to have their systems pumped. They'll have until Dec. 31 of that year to get it done.

Residents who don't comply with the ordinance face fines of between $500 and $1,000.

In a letter to residents posted on the township's website, Bieber wrote that the program "has many proven benefits."

"They include the reduced chance of malfunctioning system that will result in costly repairs, a better functioning and longer lasting on-lot system, protecting your family's health and improving your property values," Bieber wrote.

Township engineer Bill Erdman has said it typically costs homeowners about $200 to $300 to have their systems pumped out.

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Lower Macungie to detail plans for on-lot sewer program