Since 1993, NEOWTP has trained thousands of designers, installers, inspectors, and other wastewater professionals, helping ensure the latest advances in wastewater treatment reach the people responsible for protecting public and environmental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no better way to learn about a landscape than by looking at the soils. Workshops like these where we connect students and professionals from different backgrounds to advance soil science are vital to URI\u2019s land-grant mission,\u201d says Joe Manetta ’21 M.S. ’23, a research associate in URI\u2019s Department of Natural Resources Science<\/a> and secretary of SSSSNE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By studying soil pits \u2014 deep excavations that reveal layers of the earth \u2014 participants learned to read the hidden record beneath their feet. The color, texture, structure, and composition of soil reveal how a landscape formed, how water moves through it, and whether it can safely treat wastewater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike plants or changing surface conditions, soil preserves a long-term record of the landscape. \u201cSoil tells an amazing story. You can see so much history,\u201d said Brett Still, clinical associate professor in URI\u2019s Department of Natural Resources Science.<\/p>\n\n\n Soil characteristics can change dramatically over short distances. The dense soils at URI\u2019s East Farm, for example, hold water close to the surface and are unsuitable for conventional septic systems, requiring alternative designs. At Peckham Farm, just a few miles away, the soils are much coarser and better drained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThose characteristics are dramatically different, and we\u2019ve driven just a few miles,\u201d Still said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for working professionals to recognize these differences in the field, make accurate soil descriptions, and guide the correct type of system that should be placed in these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alissa Cox, director of the NEOWTP, said soil evaluators may not be the ones designing a system, but their interpretation \u2014 and how they communicate risk \u2014 plays a critical role in shaping those designs, especially as rising groundwater, flood risk, and other changing conditions create new challenges not fully captured in current regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those decisions can have consequences that extend beyond an individual property. In densely developed or coastal areas, septic system failures can affect neighboring properties and increase the potential for human exposure, making soil evaluation an important component of public health. Instructors emphasized that a soil evaluation is not simply a descriptive task, but a way to anticipate how site conditions, climate pressures, and landscape context may influence system performance over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jennifer Grandin, program coordinator of the NEOWTP, shared, “Our goal was to encourage soil evaluators to recognize their influence on the design of septic systems. We need to focus beyond regulatory compliance, toward resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, that expertise helps ensure onsite wastewater systems are designed to function effectively over time, protecting groundwater quality and reducing the risk of environmental contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2130\/IMG_6844.jpg\")
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