Care for your STEP system requires following some simple common sense practices:

• ​​Use water efficiently. Remember that all water that goes down the drain ends up in your system and requires treatment. While it is likely you will not overload the system, excess water use equates to excess energy use for the system.
• Flush responsibly. Be careful with undesirable substances that could be flushed into the sewer. Never flush dental floss, fats, oils or grease (FOG), feminine hygiene products, condoms, diapers, wipes, cotton swabs, cigarette butts, coffee grounds, cat litter, or other items that can clog and potentially damage your STEP system. These items should be disposed of in your household garbage. Flushing household chemicals, gasoline, oil, pesticides, antifreeze, and paint can stress or destroy the biological treatment taking place in the system. These items should be taken to the appropriate local hazardous materials handling or recycling station.
• Responsible use of garbage disposals. Using your garbage disposal increases the amount of solids entering the septic tank and thus the frequency of required maintenance visits to pump the solids from the tank. More maintenance means higher costs for everyone.

• Keep excess rain water out of the system. Watch out for rain drains or storm drains that may flow in the direction of the STEP sewer system. Additional water increases pumping costs, depletes the available capacity of the sewer system, adds needlessly to the daily volume of the water that must be processed, and increases costs for everyone.
• Do not use additives. Contact the District prior to adding any supplements to the STEP system. Special additives that claim to enhance the performance of your tank usually don’t and may cause major damage to the other parts of the sewer system. The natural bacteria that form in your system are sufficient. If you are concerned about your STEP system, call the District to request an inspection.
• ​Notify the CSD of any alarms. Notify the CSD should you suspect there is anything wrong with your system or if you hear the control panel alarm the number is 258-6255