I am indebted to many individuals for contributing, reading and reviewing this publication over the last two years, most particularly septic social and septic system workshop participants who asked questions and shared experiences. Thank you to Debbie Riley, Mason County Health Services Department and Selden Hall, Washington State Department of Health and the Mason County Cooperative Extension Office staff for their reviews and comments. Special thanks to Judy Likkel for guiding this publication through many drafts as well as her wonderful sense of humor, and to the Communications staff at the Washington Sea Grant for putting on the final touches.		To Bob Paysee, Sr. and Dodie Schmitz, two individuals who kept telling me to get this down in print and unfortunately passed before I had the work completed. Their passion and tireless efforts to evolve the practice of septic system maintenance and monitoring in Mason County should serve as a model for others.