Water is certainly a sticky issue here in Southwest Oklahoma. Either we don't have enough of it, or all of a sudden, we have too much of it. Wastewater, with all of its various additives and pollutants has challenged some small towns through the years, especially in western Jackson County. Duke and Eldorado have both had sewage system challenges.

What is it about this area that seems to predispose us to sewage problems? Is it facility design? Construction? Maintenance? Maybe the 1990 Soil Survey of Jackson County has at least one answer. The survey deals with the various soil types we have here, their characteristics and how they relate to the geology of the area.

The western part of Jackson County transitions from level, according to the soil survey, to "moderately sloping hills formed from the interbedded gypsum, dolomite and claystone of the Blaine Formation of Permian Age." During the Permian period, our continent was being lifted by plate tectonics, or big chunks of land being shoved over or under other land. Our area, along with the rest of the continent, experienced the uplifting that produced some buckling and rippling. That's what gave us those sloping hills. What's the bedrock under those hills? Some of it is gypsum. More on that later.

The Soil Survey of Jackson County evaluates the soil types into various categories for many applications. One of them is construction of sanitary facilities. The categories are "not limited," "somewhat limited," and "very limited." According to the survey, "Not limited indicates that the soil has features that are very favorable for the specified use. Good performance and very low maintenance can be expected. Somewhat limited indicates that the soil has features that are moderately favorable for the specified use. The limitations can be overcome or minimized by special planning, design, or installation. Fair performance and moderate maintenance can be expected. Very limited indicates that the soil has one or more features that are unfavorable for the specified use. The limitations generally cannot be overcome without major soil reclamation, special design, or expensive installation procedures. Poor performance and high maintenance can be expected."

According to this soil survey, the Eldorado area has at least 3 soil types: Arnett, Cottonwood and Eastall. Of course, there may be more soil types in this area. These 3 are just the ones that were specifically listed for Eldorado. Each of these soil types has slightly different characteristics as far as drainage, tendancy or not toward "ponding" and whether it is suitable for septic tanks, absorption fields or sewage lagoons.

In general, Arnett soil is considered fine-loamy, and sandy. There are 4 types of Arnett listed in the survey. For construction of septic tanks and absorption fields in areas with 3 of the 4 types of Arnett soil, this soil is considered somewhat limited, according to the standards set forth in the survey. If an area is primarily composed of Hardeman Arnett, construction of septic tanks or absorption fields would be according to standards, with the soil considered not limited. For construction of sewage lagoons, (sewage treatment ponds) all 4 types of Arnett are considered very limited in ability to process the sewage properly.

Cottonwood soil is loamy, silty and made from gypsum bedrock. It is considered very limited for construction of septic tanks and absorption fields. For construction of sewage lagoons with Cottonwood soil, it is considered very limited.

Eastall soil is a type of silty clay which tends toward long term ponding of fluids. For construction of both septic tanks and absorption fields and construction of sewage lagoons, it is also considered very limited.

So, western Jackson County has some "trying" geological situations, as one official put it. The survey said that soils that were considered very limited would bring "poor performance and high maintenance can be expected." But that's not the whole picture.

In addition, prior to construction of sewage lagoons, especially, the following must be considered, according to the soil study: "slope (of location), permeability (of soil), depth to water table, (soil tendancy to) ponding, depth to bedrock or a cemented pan, flooding, large stones, and content of organic matter."

Even if other types of soils are involved in western Jackson County, anybody living in Duke or Eldorado knows karstification is a big problem, even if they aren't familiar with the term. The survey explains it, applying it to western Jackson County by saying: "This area has the typical karst topography that forms in areas of gypsum and limestone bedrock. It has numerous sinkholes and few drainageways to streams or rivers." The presence of the sinkholes indicates an unstable foundation for sanitary facilities. For that reason, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations restrict the construction of sewage lagoons in areas with gypsum or limestone karst.

Duke's sewage system fell victim to sinkholes back in the 90s and the issue probably goes back further than that. In the 90s, design apparently played an important role. Quoting from the July 3, 2005 Altus Times: "On May 26, the state Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors found Glenn R. Briggs, the firm's (the engineering firm) owner, guilty of misconduct in the construction of a half-million dollar wastewater lagoon project in Duke that collapsed into sinkholes in the spring of 1998 within 24 hours after the addition of wastewater. The regulatory board issued a consent order suspending Brigg's engineering license for one year, ordering him to complete intermediate studies in engineering ethics at the College of Engineering, Texas Tech University and fining him and the company $5000 each for acts of misconduct 'which evidence attempts through commission or omission to mislead any person or entity.'"

Duke's problems continued into 2003 when the DEQ found that the wastewater was seeping out of the lagoons. Seepage causes groundwater contamination. They retained Fox & Drechler and rebuilt, only to have problems with their upgraded project. Burgess Engineering and Testing of Moore offered some advice to Duke. It recommended a membrane liner be installed to prevent further problems with sinkholes in the lagoons. It was estimated that solution would cost Duke an additional $150,000 to $200,000 to fix their new sewage system.

The Eldorado sewage system has also been fraught with problems caused by sinkholes. In July of 2005, a 13-foot deep sinkhole developed in their new wastewater lagoon in Eldorado. The permit issued by the DEQ then was not finalized by the July 2005 date. At that point the DEQ said it couldn't issue a final permit until that lagoon was repaired, according to DEQ representative, Monty Elder.

Problems persisted until Eldorado recently built a new sewage system and lagoons in 2007, for $3.5 million. It was designed by Briggs & Associates. This spring, heavy rains overwhelmed the lift station sewer lines and inundated some homes in the town. Last week, the town of Eldorado filed a suit against the project engineer, Glenn R. Briggs & Associates and the construction company, W.N. Couch Inc. Eldorado claims the facility was "negligently designed, planned and constructed." All of these represent, according to the town, breaches of their contracts with the city on this sewage system.

Since most small towns have total retention sewage facilities. They're not usually allowed to discharge their wastewater, unless it's under specific conditions stated in their permits. A representative of the DEQ in Lawton verified that the Eldorado sewage system is a total retention facility. Eldorado does not have a discharge permit, according to a DEQ representative in Oklahoma City. When the sewage system discharged sewage that ran through at least one home, it was clearly not what the town had in mind for their comparatively new system.

Now it remains for the Jackson County District Court to rule on this issue.

To view the Soil Survey of Jackson County, go to: http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/manuscripts/OK065/0/Jackson.pdf

For information from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality see: www.deq.state.ok.us