LEWISTON — The Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District and Kennebec Estuary Land Trust  will host a workshop, “Keeping Clam Flats Open: Septic Tank Problems and Solutions,” from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, at Southern Maine Community College in Bath.

Registrations must be received by noon Monday, Oct. 8.

Targeted toward professionals, topics on the agenda can be found at www.androscogginswcd.org. Continuing Education Units (four hours) for site evaluators and code enforcement officers will be available.

Other workshops in the planning stage will focus on forestry and agricultural measures to protect water quality and will be held before the end of next spring.

Preregistration for the first workshop is required. The cost is $25 a person. There will be a continental breakfast and handouts. Register by calling Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, 753-9400, ext. 400, or going to www.androscogginswcd.org.

Closures of flats to shellfish harvesting due to bacterial contamination from malfunctioning septic tanks are an on-going coastal problem that impacts the livelihood of professional clam diggers as well as recreational opportunities for residents and visitors.

The workshops are provided as a part of the Kennebec Estuary Shellfish Area Project, and a collaboration between state, regional, town, and nonprofit groups working to increase the available data about fecal water pollution, provide community outreach and move toward the opening of more shellfish flats in the Kennebec Estuary. The project is funded by a grant from the Maine Coastal Program.