North Carolina Onsite Water Protection Conference 2025

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Save the Date: October 21-23, 2025

Agenda – 2025

NOTE: Speakers and topics may change.

Day 1 – Tuesday
Session 1: Opening General Session
Moderator: Justin Milstein, Wake County
8:15am	Welcome
8:30am	Hydropedology as a Tool to Improve Onsite Water Protection
	Johan Bouma, Em. Professor of Soil Science Wageningen University
9:30am	Interpreting Soil Saturation Using Redoximorphic Features
	John Galbraith, Professor School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
10:30am	Break
11:00am	History of On-site Wastewater Management Program in North Carolina
	Steve Steinbeck, Retired Branch Head Onsite Wastewater Protection Branch
12:00pm	Luncheon and Awards Presentation Erik Severson, PhD, NC State University Steve Steinbeck Onsite Water Protection Hall of Fame Award
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
	Session 2: Soils	Session 3: Technology	Session 4: Pretreatment Expo
Moderator:	Heath Ward Ward Land Consulting	Noelle Spence Wake County	Eddie Meekins AquaPoint
1:30pm	The Future of Hydropedology Johan Bouma Wageningen University	Considerations of High Strength Wastewater Scott Jones Agri-Waste Technology, Inc.	The AQWA Way – Advantex Design, Installation, and Operations Michael Clayton & Ethan Barry
2:00pm		Troubleshooting Repairs Mobile App Demonstration William Miller Wake County	Aquapoint – Bioclere Bill Fenner
2:30pm	The Relationship Between Seasonal Hydrology and Both Landforms and Landscape Position John Galbraith Virginia Tech	GIS/O&M integration Rachel Creed & Ethan Creed Hugh Creed Associates, Inc, PA	Break
3:00pm		Break	Anua – Puraflow Maintenance and Media Replacement Scott Currie
3:30pm	Break	Deeds, Easements, Dates of Recordation, Search HD Records etc. Teresa Davis NCDHHS	Infiltrator (Ecopod) – MBBR Adam Jones & Sloan Griffin
4:00pm	Water Movement in Soils Aziz Amoozegar NC State University	Septic Systems Serving Vacation Home Rentals Michael Clayton & Ethan Barry AQWA	Ground Penetrating Radar & Utility Locating Tools Eric Prince Tracer Electronics, LLC
4:30pm		Soil Evaluation-related Injuries Charlie Humphrey East Carolina University	EZ Treat – Media Filter Ethan Malo
5:00-6:00pm	Ice Cream Social in the Exhibit Hall
Day 2 – Wednesday
Concurrent Sessions
7:30-8:30am	Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall
	Session 5: Soils	Session 6: Offsite Systems	Session 7: Environmental Issues
Moderator:	Jeff Vaughan Agri-Waste Technology Inc.	Alan Clapp LSS	Kenny Melder Guilford County
8:30am	Soil Structure – How did we get it Erik Severson NC State University	Offsite Approval History and Overview Scott Greene NCDHHS	Ethics – Required Training for Certain Licenses Crista Cuccaro UNC School of Government
9:00am
9:30am	Soils Treatment – How Does Soil Treat Wastewater Sloan Griffin Infiltrator	Break	Lessons Learned from Chasing Private Well Contamination Evan Kane NCDHHS
10:00am	Break	FAQs (Proper Pressure Testing of PVC Pipe) Scott Greene, NCDHHS Heath Ward, Ward Land Consulting	Radionuclides in Groundwater: Occurrence and Variability in Wake County, NC Rachael McCaully Wake County
10:30am	Wastewater Impacts from Hurricane Helene in Western NC Alan McKinney & Karen Wallace NCDHHS		Break
11:00am	How to Use the Soil Survey and Other Tips Prior to the Evaluation Jim Beeson Piedmont Environmental	Scenarios Heath Ward Ward Land Consulting	PFAS in Tap and Toilet Sushama Pradhan NCDHHS
11:30am	Applying Geotechnical Field and Lab Testing to Onsite Subsurface Disposal Application Don Barrier Carolina Septic Systems		System Repairs: Using Technology to Overcome Soil and Site Conditions Sloan Griffin Infiltrator
12:00pm	Lunch at McKimmon Center – Silent Auction Ends
	Hands-on Workshops. Attend 2 of 3 options.
	Workshop 1	Workshop 2	Workshop 3
1:00-1:45pm & 1:45-2:30pm	Pumps 101 (Demo Trailer) Doug Young Crane Pumps	Small-Scale Drip Demonstration Patrick VanHook AQWA	Soil Texture Hands-On Erik Severson, NC State University Justin Milstein, Wake County Heath Clapp, Agri-Waste Technology Inc.
2:30pm	Break in the Exhibit Hall
Session 8: Closing General Session
3:00pm	Branch Update Regarding Training Team Andy Blethen, Team Leader Training Team, NCDHHS
3:45pm	Branch & Legislative Updates
4:30pm	Silent Auction Results & Adjourn

Day 3 – Thursday
Field Sessions
Start Time: 9:00am
End Time: Varies depending on travel time. All tours will have a full 3 hours of instruction.
#1 – History of Appalachian Mountain Soils
Location: Fred Webb Outdoor Teaching Laboratory, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC			Leaders: Lauren Waterworth, Appalachian State University Alan McKinney, NCDHHS Karen Wallace, NCDHHS Savannah Kent, NCDHHS
#2 – Commercial Trickling Filter
Location: Greenville, NC			Leaders: Eddie Meekins, Aquapoint
#3 – Sub-Aqueous Soil Survey – CANCELLED
Location: Hyde County, NC			Leaders: Justin Milstein, Wake County Noelle Spence, Wake County
#4 – Piedmont Soils: Matching a System to the Site
Location: Randolph County, NC			Leader: Heath Ward, Ward Land Consulting Scott Greene, NCDHHS Erik Severson, NC State University
#5 – Live Install of Mock Systems from Evaluation to Installation to How to Inspect
Location: Lake Wheeler, Raleigh, NC			Leaders: Sloan Griffin, Infiltrator Systems Keith Vernon, Private Installer