SEELEY LAKE - The crucial moment is here. After more than ten years of planning, voters in the Sewer District will make a decision that will profoundly impact Seeley Lake.
The sewer issue is complex, but for me it boils down to two simple facts: our groundwater is getting more and more contaminated and that’s already visible on our lake with the increase in algae.
Secondly, we have a one-time opportunity to receive $8 million in federal grants for the project, the largest award ever made. If we turn the sewer down, that pile of money will be permanently lost and go elsewhere.
Yes, there are some valid criticisms of the project, particularly that the district needs to be enlarged and eventually include Dogtown and the riverfront cabins, but that can be done at a later stage. In the meantime we need to get started with protecting our groundwater and our cherished lake and not let a multi-million dollar gift slip through our fingers.
Cautionary tales abound. Another Montana community (South Hills Linda Vista) voted down a sewer, 90 percent of which was to be financed by grants. A few years later contamination dictated the installation of a sewer system, and the community had to bear the entire cost, tenfold the original price. We must not let that happen in Seeley Lake.
We need to seize this opportunity for clean water, paid for largely by outside money. We need to vote “Yes” when the mail ballots arrive this week.
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