Don't Lose Money, Unlock Highest and Best Use with AQWA

When appraising a property, the question of "What is the highest and best use of a property?"  is asked by appraisers or potential buyers in order to arrive at an accurate estimation of market value if the property were to be sold.

This process of determining highest and best use is both an analytical and a creative process requiring the appraiser to not only see the property for what it is, but what it can become while also being:

• Legally permissible

• Physically possible

• Financially feasible

• Maximally productive

To effectively answer these questions, one has to be well-versed in local law, zoning, permitting, limiting site conditions, property values, market trends and consumer or investor demand.

For properties without access to public sewer, the onsite wastewater or septic design will oftentimes be the single most limiting factors for how a property can be used.

We help you overcome these constraints by thoroughly understanding how onsite wastewater collections, treatment and dispersal can reduce the legal, physical, and financial barriers that stand in the way of maximally productive property. 

Very few people see the most creative and efficient way to treat and disperse wastewater long-term at first glance.  Having been in the business for 15+ years, we have seen dozens of techniques that change the value of a property or development by 6 or even 7 figures with one critical decision concerning wastewater. 

AQWA also operates and maintains over 500 wastewater treatment systems in the Carolinas which gives us a unique perspective of how initial design considerations impact ongoing operation and maintenance cost.

When buying a property, selling a property, or developing a property, knowing what your options for development are is key to meeting your goals AND  not leaving huge amounts of money on the table.  Read more about how we do that for commercial systems, residential systems, and STEP Collections that bring sewer to you.

Call us at (888) 552-AQWA  or   Email   info@aqwa.net to get the conversation started.

AQWA Expands Territory to Virginia

AQWA Inc., (Wilson, NC), the AdvanTex® dealer in the Carolinas, is pleased to announce the addition of Virginia into its market territory.

Orenco Systems (Sutherlin, OR), the manufacturer of AdvanTex Wastewater Treatment Systems, has authorized AQWA Inc. to bring its unmatched sales and service team to engineers, developers, commercial facility owners, utilities, and municipalities throughout the Commonwealth.

The AdvanTex line has grown in recent years to include a larger, modular AX-Max™ system, which allows for phased installation for flows from 5,000 GPD up to 100,000 GPD or more. Clean effluent from these units is safely discharged to the environment through drip or spray irrigation, traditional drainfields, or direct NPDES discharge. “The AdvanTex Treatment System is the closest thing to a bullet-proof wastewater treatment system out there. Now, it’s our job to show everyone what it can do,” says Steve Barry, AQWA’s President.

He continues: “With the focus on nutrient limitations in the Chesapeake Bay and Smith Mountain Lake regions, growth pressures in Northern Virginia, as well as environmentally sensitive trout streams in the Blue Ridge, we expect the AX-Max to be very well received in Virginia.”

Since Orenco introduced this product for larger flows, AQWA has made significant inroads in the Carolinas, including groundbreaking systems installed in several new decentralized subdivisions on Lake Norman NC, in a nuclear power plant, and in state parks, RV parks, and several schools.

“Our new mission is to rid the world of traditional aeration ‘package plants’. They are simply the wrong technology for flows less than 100,000 gallons per day,” according to Barry. “If we don’t get rid of those tired old ‘package plants’ and replace them more stable and scalable technologies like the AX-Max, the environment will continue to suffer and owners will continue to pay too much. We’re going to keep doing everything we can to leave cleaner lakes and rivers to our kids and grandkids, and this is another step along that path.”

Since 2002, AQWA, a family-owned business, has relentlessly worked to be The Clear Leader™ in wastewater treatment equipment sales and service in the Carolinas. “We’ve been blessed in so many ways. We have a great partner in Orenco, as well as diligent employees with high integrity. Their hard work has earned the respect of regulators, engineers, installers, soil scientists, and property owners alike.” Barry says.

How to get more bedrooms out of your septic permit

There are 2 major ways to get more bedrooms approved for your septic permit.

1) Increase your LTAR (long-term acceptance rate). This number describes how many gallons per day per sq ft of drain field space can be applied sustainably to the soil without failing. 

2) Reduce your horizontal setbacks and open up more area on the property for drainfield area. Treating wastewater before applying it to the drainfield area allows property owners to reduce the horizontal setback distance they must maintain between their drainfield and property features like: foundation drains, surface waters, and interceptor drains. 

If your property is near a body of water like Lake Norman or on the coast we oftentimes utilize a combination of both 1 and 2 through the use of treatment technology, innovative drainfield products and a thorough understanding of onsite wastewater rules.

For example, on Lake Norman, where soils are normally pretty good, a drainfield product like T&J Panel is used to reduce the required footprint of the drainfield by 50%.  By pairing T&J Panel’s 50% drainfield reduction with the horizontal setback reductions of Ts-i or ts-ii treatment, homeowners are able to gain additional bedrooms, pool area, or other valuable additions to their property.

At the coast, we use ts-ii treatment and bed systems to squeeze drain fields for an 8 bedroom home in to a little over 400 sq ft.

The 1970 Rules are the rule book in North Carolina that the local environmental health department and soils and engineering professionals use as guidelines for septic system design.

Thankfully the 1970 rules are undergoing a rewrite to make them more readable and easily understood. In the meantime, reach out to AQWA for help tackling your onsite wastewater design challenges! info@aqwa.net