CHALLENGE: About 1.5 million homes in Georgia—nearly 40% of all households—rely on septic tanks. Governments often don’t know how many septic systems are in their jurisdiction or what state they are in.
RESPONSE: In 2025, Krista Capps, Associate Director of the River Basin Center, brought together experts from across Northeast Georgia who work in different fields related to wastewater infrastructure to discuss current research, policy, and funding needs, future challenges, and potential solutions to emerging problems. The group represented county and municipal utilities, departments of sustainability, non-profit organizations, and regional planning commissions, as well as researchers and onsite wastewater treatment system sanitation professionals (“pumpers and haulers”).
TEAM: Krista Capps of Odum School of Ecology; Nandita Gaur of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Carter Coleman (PhD student) in the College of Public Health
MORE INFO: https://rivercenter.uga.edu/rbc-affiliate-brings-wastewater-professionals-gather-to-talk-septic/
