Discussing Decentralized Wastewater at the Private Well Conference 2026
Our sister program, PrivateWellClass.org, held its fourth in-person Private Well Conference this past May in Missoula, Montana. Our joint teams were once again very pleased with the success of the conference. The event featured 27 speakers, 12 lightning talk presenters, and 94 attendees from 29 states.
Naturally, at the Private Well Conference, the majority of the presentations centered exclusively on private wells, to the end of providing well professionals with information and insights that could be taken home to protect their local groundwater and serve their community’s well owners. However, as we also know, on the majority of residential properties without community drinking water access, there is also no municipal wastewater service. Basically: Most houses with wells also have septic systems, which means that the two systems often impact each other.
The proper care and maintenance of a septic system can impact the functionality of a private well, and vice versa. Keeping both systems operating properly protects the health and wallets of homeowners, as well as the groundwater and environmental health of surrounding properties.
This year, we were glad to welcome Dr. Sara Heger to the Private Well Conference to deliver the presentation “Tools to Educate Property Owners and Professionals on Onsite Wastewater Systems.” Dr. Heger is a leading expert and researcher in the decentralized wastewater field. She has made two appearances on our Tap Talk podcast (episodes TT055 and TT079) and we have worked alongside her on other projects related to education in the decentralized field.
In addition to Dr. Heger’s full-length presentation, Becky Schuermann — domestic water & wastewater management associate at Nebraska Extension — delivered a lightning talk covering the well & septic owner’s checklist that they circulate to Nebraska residents.
For future conferences, we are open to considering more abstracts for presentations that focus primarily on septic systems, as long as they do relate back to protecting and servicing wells in some capacity, as both of these presentations do. If you have an idea in this vein you’d like to pitch us, please send an email to info@privatewellclass.org in order to chat!
We are already planning and considering new locations for next year’s Private Well Conference, so keep an eye on our newsletters and social media for further information.
In the meantime, you can check out the video recordings below for this year’s two septic-related presentations. All presentations from the conference have been posted to our YouTube channel as well.
Tools to Educate Property Owners and Professionals on Onsite Wastewater Systems
By: Dr. Sara Heger
In this presentation, Dr. Sara Heger, representing the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), explains why well water professionals should care about onsite wastewater treatment systems; since most septic systems and private wells share the same property. This presentation covers educational tools and resources for helping homeowners understand their role as the daily operator of both their well and septic system, and is a valuable crossover session connecting the private well and decentralized wastewater fields.
Nebraska Well & Septic Owner’s Checklist
By: Becky Schuerman
Becky Schuerman of Nebraska Extension helpfully volunteered to deliver this lightning talk unplanned in the place of a speaker who was unable to make it to Missoula. We were very grateful to Becky for stepping in and for happening to provide another demonstration of the linkage between the health of private wells and septic systems. The checklist covers the inspection of wellheads, septic systems, and any water treatment systems; recommended maintenance procedures; annual testing of the well for nitrate & coliform bacteria; and having trusted well & septic maintenance providers nearby to service serious issues. Becky’s lightning talk begins at minute 5:25 of the video above.
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Find the rest of the presentations from the Private Well Conference 2026 in the YouTube playlist embedded below, beginning with Dr. Alan Woolf’s presentation: “A Covenant With Our Children: Safe Drinking Water.”