Enforcement
Letters to Property Owners
n/a
Regulations/Codes
Compliance is mostly voluntary. Code provides the County authority to condemn homes with failing systems, but staff has rarely used that authority. Instead, the SPD recommends working to build conversations and relationships with property owners to encourage behavior change.
Education and Outreach
Programs (including community demonstrations and school programs)
Community programs include: a dog mascot in parades to hand out poop bags and encourage best practices for managing pet waste; including the community as part of rain garden construction and planting work; and producing a large educational display that describes the watershed and tells the story of Holmes Harbor and how people eat, play and live there.
Mailings and General Outreach (including O&M manuals, guides)
The SPD mailed general information materials to property owners to educate about the importance of compliance.
Social Marketing and Behavior Change
The SPD publicly shared the success of the program as compliance rates began to rise. Maps showed properties that were in and out of compliance, not as an enforcement tool but as a way to show all the good work the community was doing and the positive trend of the data.
Surveys
Surveys were used to determine the effectiveness of the outreach program in effecting behavior change.
Websites and Social Media
The SPD website is current and active. Social media is not supported as a tool.
Events (including workshops, open houses, and dinners)
The SPD hosted frequent septic workshops. The County has recently begun conducting outreach about septics in places where property owners already gather—restaurants, homes, local events—instead of focusing on big public meetings.