Dr. Sara Heger has been conducting research and providing education and technical assistance to homeowners, small communities, onsite professionals, and local units of government regarding decentralized onsite wastewater treatment for more than 20 years. She coordinates the research program at the University of Minnesota focusing on issues related to decentralized wastewater, chlorides, and milk house process water. Heger has presented in more than 30 different states and provinces in North America regarding the science of wastewater treatment, including design, installation, and management. She is a researcher and instructor at the U of M's Onsite Sewage Treatment Program in the Water Resources Center and is an adjunct assistant professor in the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Department. Heger is the president of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, serves on the NSF International Committee on Wastewater Treatment Systems, and chairs Minnesota’s SSTS Advisory Committee. She has a BS in biosystems & agricultural engineering and an MS and PhD in water resource science.