Flat land and a high seasonal water table are the primary culprits contributing to septic system problems on Gwynn’s Island.
Pat Duttry of the Mathews County Health Department said during a recent interview that such conditions make it especially hard for conventional septic systems to provide aerobic treatment of sewage before it enters the water table.
A conventional septic system relies on having an adequate amount of soil beneath the drain lines in order to provide aerobic treatment of sewage before it enters the water table, she said. Add these factors to the somewhat denser area of population that Gwynn’s Island has compared to mainland Mathews, she said, and “there might come a point when it makes sense to extend the sewer” to the island.
The Mathews County Board of Supervisors last month charged county staff with finding out the cost of running a Hampton Roads Sanitation District sewage line from Hudgins to the island in order to help alleviate sewage pr...