SEELEY LAKE - The sewer question is about to be determined for the future of Seeley Lake. Many letters have been written and alternate proposals suggested. I have attended sewer board meetings for the last ten or more years and have watched the process carefully. Here are my conclusions.
Is pollution of our ground water system taking place and is it due to human contamination? YES. All test wells show this and more test wells will only confirm this.
Is this pollution getting into our streams and lakes? Of course – that’s where ground water will ultimately go. Salmon Lake is certainly showing increasing signs of this.
What is the pollution we are talking about? The measurement is for nitrates in the water. Nitrates come from body waste, urine and feces, as proteins and nucleic acids are degraded by the body. These are released into the ground water through the septic drain fields. Nitrates in the ground water and streams and lakes is a clear indicator of human contamination.
Will the sewer system solve all of this? NO. Not all, but a lot of it. It would be outrageously expensive to put the entire valley from Lake Inez down and to include Double Arrow in a sewer system. But the system planned will certainly collect a majority of the urban area in and near the community of Seeley Lake. This will make a tremendous difference.
Can upgraded, individual septic systems do the same job? NO – not equivalent. The cost of upgrading septic systems with denitrification (taking out the nitrogen pollution) systems is quite expensive – and these systems should be checked at least annually. But they will only take out up to about 60 percent of the nitrogen, leaving the rest to be absorbed into ground water. The proposed sewer system will take out about 95 percent of the nitrogen and the effluent water is virtually drinking quality. The cost on this will be roughly equal to the water bill and maybe less expensive as later phases are added. This includes operation and maintenance of the system.
Our problem is that we have saturated our underground water with nitrates and the only real solution is to take those contaminants out of the ground water. The proposal is to build a sewer plant that will do exactly that and then add additional phases to take in most of the urban area. The plan is good and the cost will be as reasonable as possible.
In my mind, there is no other solution. For the good of the community and for future generations, we need to act now and get the sewer system in.
Reader Comments(0)