Testing again...

As the Pathfinder has been documenting over the years, the Sewer District has been testing and testing and testing. The question the sewer board has been discussing heavily is the validity of the results of this testing. The decision is that although there is a lot of test results there really isn't much depth.

There is a lot of data for a very few points. This has led to a substantial discussion concerning the true point of the lake contamination. Is it downtown and the business district? Is it the area on the east side of the highway where the area of highest density is located? Is it the houses actually on the lake? Dogtown? Where?

This discussion has led the board to decide that we need to do more testing. Last year's budget had money allocated for some new wells. Now comes the big question 'WHERE.'

As part of the interviewing process, this is a question the committee has been asking all the interviewees. Seeking professional help to determine where is our problem, so that it can be properly solved, is the current plan the board is working on.

One thing we do know though is that not all of the current septic systems in use today are good. Do you know or are you assuming that your system is a legal permitted system. Do you have a copy of the permit. Do you know what year it was put in, who put it in, the size, the style. I think it would really surprise some people to know that there are still car bodies or railroad tie-lined holes or some other creative vessel receiving your daily waste. Do you have a valid drain field or does it just sink into the ground to the aquifer? These too are questions that will need to be assessed as we move forward with the evaluation of our current system of waste water treatment and the contamination.

NEXT MONTH: 'How to check on your own septic system'