The Detroit News. Hartland John M. Galloway Ken Nothaft said his septic tank was filled with sand and destroyed three years ago when his system was hooked to the township's sewer lines during a sewer expansion. In January 2000, Hartland Township agreed to comply with a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality order issued because of high levels of sodium chloride and other substances in the soil around the township's wastewater treatment plant. In return, the DEQ renewed the facility's expired ground water discharge permit and removed a moratorium on new hookups. The water softener discharge should have been run in the septic then.
People are outraged.
But they just have the idea they can't do anything about it. The waste water treatment plant is operating under a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality consent order. Hartland Clerk Ann Ulrich said most residents voluntarily disconnected their water softeners. Nothaft said his septic system was disconnected and hooked to the township's sewer lines three years ago during a sewer expansion project. We have to be responsive to residents' concerns.