Construction is underway to overhaul the National Park Service’s septic system at Stinson Beach, which experiences heavy use during the busy summer season. A plan has been in the offing for months, and work began on Nov. 3 after the park finally secured a state permit a few days prior. The park service is aiming to wrap up construction by July 4, 2016. “We’re trying to get it done before the busier season, so there’s less impact to the public,” said Chris Carpenter, the project manager. Pegged at $2.35 million, the project figures into the park’s long-term plan to prepare for sea level rise by pushing the leach field—through which effluent filters—back onto the opposite side of Highway 1, further away from the ocean. Currently, wastewater drains through several individual leach fields built adjacent to sludge holding tanks set at different points along the beach. With the new system, effluent will be pumped through a network of pipes to three tanks, where it will pass through aerobic treatment. From there, the wastewater will be stored in two underground tanks before being pumped through a force main to the new leach field. The park also plans to patch up some of the individual smaller beach tanks and replace others entirely. Residents have worried about potential leaks from the new pipes, the noise and smells emitted from the tanks, the continued threat of possible groundwater contamination and the lack of an Environmental Assessment for the project.