(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass/Guthrie County Environment Health Executive Director Jotham Arber, Tuesday, presented his monthly report to the Cass County Board of Supervisors. In his report, Arber said the main thing he wanted to note, is “This weird thing going on with a few septic systems” in Audubon and Cass Counties.

He said there are around 9 or 10 septic systems that have the same weird, greasy substance. He said in Audubon County, the septic systems were installed by the same contractor, but in Cass County there were four different contractors, so it doesn’t appear to be an installation issue. Samples will be taken and sent to the State Hygienic Lab for breakdown and analysis, so see if there are commonalities in the substance.

Jotham Arber said also the Environment Health Department is finishing-up water test sampling in Cass County. The test results will be analyzed and made available during the Board of Supervisors meeting in December.

He said there has been a huge increase in people who are taking the opportunity to contact the EHD and getting their private wells rehabbed. That’s something he’s happy to see.

By “rehab,” he means those wells that were installed more than 40-years ago, both shallow and deep, that used technology that incorporated bricks, and which deteriorates over time, as well as those where the pumps ave gone bad, etc. Those issues can be corrected allowing the wells to be accessed safely.

He said “A lot of folks want to keep their wells, and if we can help them keep it, it’s not bad to have good drinking sources of water.” Arber said also, they’ve seen an increase in the number new wells being drilled in Cass County. Most of the newer wells are drilled deep, because more is known now about nitrates and how to make those wells more secure from bacteria.

The Environmental Health Department, he says, can help property owners better position new wells that are less prone to run-off, and in incorporating better structural features.