Septic System Homeowner Training

In Whatcom County property owners can complete evaluations of their septic systems if they become trained and certified to perform septic system evaluations.

When you take our free training in person or online, you will be certified to evaluate your own system. You can save money and have confidence knowing how your septic system works.

If your system is not eligible for homeowner evaluation or you simply don’t want to do it yourself, this class is still for you. The training covers the way septic systems work and provides tips for proper maintenance. You will leave feeling good about understanding how this expensive and important piece of your property works.

When you complete the training in person, you also qualify to apply for rebates on repairs or maintenance costs for your septic system.

Homeowners who took this class said:

"This was enormously helpful. I know 100% more about my system than I did when I arrived."

"Really good class, pictures were great, speaker was knowledgeable."

"Very informative" 

"A++"

Some septic system types require professional inspection and can't be self-evaluated. Click here to find out if your system is eligible.

There are two ways to become certified to evaluate your own septic system: in-person or online.

  1. Online Training
  2. In-person Workshop

We have developed the following Homeowner Online Septic Training (HOST) materials to facilitate online homeowner training and certification to evaluate your own OSS. Please follow the steps listed below to complete the process.

After completion of your evaluation, please submit the Homeowner Report of System Status (HROSS) form and your Homeowner On-Site Sewage Operation and Maintenance Certification of completion to Whatcom County Health and Community Services (located within the HOST Presentation). You can email it to our office at [email protected].  As part of our on-going evaluation process of the Homeowner Operation and Maintenance Certification program, we are following up on the results of HROSS submittals. Whatcom County Health and Community Services staff may contact you and make a site visit to review your evaluation. 

For a fee of $0.15 per page, you may also obtain hard copies of the HOST study guide and HOST presentation from our office.


OSS Operation & Maintenance Rebate Program.

Directions to make Sludge Stick or Scum Stick.

Additional Resources

For more information on how on-site sewage systems work and how to keep them functioning well, take a look at the information provided by these agencies:
 
Washington State Department of Health: www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/WastewaterManagement/SepticSystem
   
Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov/septic
 
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have difficulty accessing the documents.

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