Resources to understand septic to sewer conversions

Urban King County is home to nearly 40,000 on-site sewage/ septic systems, many of which are past their intended life span and vulnerable to failure. Wastewater treatment solutions for these properties include sewer connection and septic replacement

Public Health has compiled the below resources to help people understand the issue of septic systems in urban areas and the septic to sewer conversion process:

• Sewer Conversion Flowchart (1.7 MB): Details to understand the sewer connection process.
• So, your septic system has failed. What’s next? (402 KB) Description of the steps if your system is backing up into the house, leaking, or otherwise failing.
• Sewer Connection – Frequently Asked Questions (354 KB) Explanation of common septic to sewer conversion questions, including “when am I required to connect to sewer?” and “What if the sewer utility won’t allow me to connect?”
• Comic – No More Toilet Backups (2 MB): A printable comic showing the journey from septic to sewer. Available in multiple languages:
• ከአሁን በኋላ የመጸዳጃ ቤት የወደኋላ ፍሰት የለም (2 MB, አማርኛ — Amharic)
• 马桶不再堵塞 (2.2 MB, 中文 – Chinese, Simplified)
• Wala nang umaapaw na inidoro (2 MB, Wikang Tagalog - Filipino)
• 변기 막힘은 이제 그만 (2.1 MB, 한국어 – Korean)
• Ma jiri-doono musqul/suuli soo-butaaca (2 MB, Af Soomaali – Somali)
• Adiós a los escusados tapados (2 MB, Español – Spanish)
• Hết tắc bồn cầu (2.1 MB, Tiếng Việt – Vietnamese)
• Financial assistance for septic systems
• Vintage septic system maintenance (618 KB): Information for people with an older septic system and sewer is not available.
• Equitable Wastewater Futures in King County: Information about a King County program to help you make an informed decision about septic to sewer conversion.