As with all other rural settings in New Brunswick, the Miramichi watershed has abundant failing septic systems that are resulting in "black water" point source discharges into surface water. Many of these households are lower income families that are challenged to upgrade due to the cost of remediation. MREAC has been committed on helping to improve these failing systems that have a potential of contaminating the Miramichi River. Through the support of the NB Environmental Trust Fund, MREAC assisted 17 households in 1994/95. Due to some difficulty in identifying qualifying households, the project was put on hold until 2004/05 when a new ceiling from ETF promoted to try the project again. In 2004/05, MREAC was successful in assisting 14 low income households to upgrade their septic systems. In 2005/06 the program continued and assisted 13 system, with another 13 systems being upgraded in 2006/07, and then finally 14 systems in 2007/08. This brings the total of septic systems MREAC has assisted low income homes upgrades to 71 systems.

Header picture contributed by Nelson Cloud