14–18 September 2026
SepticSmart Week, written for this county
EPA’s SepticSmart Week is the third week of September. In 2026 that is September 14–18, the program’s 14th year. It is a homeowner education week, not a sale. Here is the federal checklist with the Bingham County details people actually forget.
1. Pump and inspect on a real schedule
EPA: inspect a typical household system at least every three years; pump every three to five years; inspect alternative systems with pumps or floats about once a year. SIPH and DEQ publish the same 3–5 year pumping range. Use the calculator for a household-specific planning date, then confirm with sludge and scum measurements. Put both in the log.
2. Use water like the drainfield is finite
Every extra load of laundry in a January thaw still has to leave the tank as effluent. Spread loads. Fix toilets that run. EPA’s water-efficiency advice is not coastal-city morality; it is how you keep a Group C soil field from drowning. Irrigation water on top of the laterals counts too—move wheel lines and don’t flood the replacement area “because it’s bare dirt.”
3. Know what not to flush or grind
Wipes that claim to be flushable, paper towels, hygiene products, paints, solvents, and leftover pesticides do not belong in an onsite system. Garbage disposals add solids; EPA says they shorten pump intervals. If you already have a disposal, plan on more frequent pumping rather than a miracle additive.
SIPH is explicit: do not add chemicals to “clean” the tank.
4. Protect the drainfield
No parking, no stacking round bales, no new shop slab, no extra trees whose roots hunt laterals. Keep roof drains and sump pumps off the field. In this county, snow storage from the driveway is a common way to compact the same strip of grass that is trying to treat wastewater.
5. Locate the lids before the ground freezes
September is the easy month to find risers, measure offsets from a house corner, and order risers if the lids are buried. SIPH recommends bringing deep lids to grade with a riser so the next pumper is not excavating in January.
Share the official materials
EPA hosts the campaign at SepticSmart Week and the care guide at How to care for your septic system. If a school, city, or canal company wants posters, use those files. This site will not invent a mascot to compete with them.