Making the Best Use of STEP Sewer System

How a STEP System Works

To make the best use of your STEP sewer system, please be careful about what flows down your drains. STEP systems operate much like traditional septic systems, so it's important to keep drains free of any chemicals, fats, oils, hair, solvents and other materials not normally found in household domestic wastes.

Here's how a STEP system works: Each home served by a Thurston County-operated STEP system has a 1,200-gallon tank, a sewage effluent turbine pump, and a control panel. The wastewater you generate at home -- for example, by flushing toilets, cleaning laundry, showering and washing dishes -- flows into the tank. The pump then sends the water and other lighter materials to a treatment plant. The solid waste remains in each homeowner's STEP tank where it naturally degrades and is eventually pumped out by Thurston County.

How a Care for Your STEP System

Customers can prolong the life of their STEP tanks and help avoid costly repairs to the treatment plant by following these tips:

Every household should conserve water and limit the amount of water that goes down the drains.

•  Under no circumstances can any roof drains, down spouts, floor drains, outside yard drains or RV pumps be connected to the sewer system. The STEP tanks have hour-meters, event-counters, and alarms that may indicate misuse.

• Garbage disposals are not a good idea. Disposals put a lot of food wastes in the tank and fill it much faster. Chemicals, paints, oil and other system-clogging materials will cause your STEP system to fail prematurely. (To dispose of household toxins safely, consider taking them to HazoHouse at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center.)

• If the alarm button on your STEP tank sounds, please push the "reset" button on the alarm panel and call us at (360) 754-2930 during normal business hours. On weekends, holidays, or after hours, please call our emergency number at 1-800-926-7761 and our answering service will page us. These numbers should be posted on all STEP tank alarm panels.

• If your community is served by a Thurston County water or sewer utility, the county owns the STEP tank, pump, control panel and pressure sewer line up to, and including, the pressure mainline in the street. It's our responsibility to respond when the system breaks or fails, or when tanks need to be pumped. Please call us if you need any assistance.