JUST FOR THE RECORD

Kay Lewis, Parksley, an unsuccessful candidate for supervisor in District 4 and a Social Services employee in Northampton County, recently objected to the Bay Act on the Seaside because of the cost to pump out the septic system of an 80 year old widow on a limited income. The Bay Act requires septic pump out every five years and the cost is approximately $250-300.

This argument is flawed for five obvious reasons, reasons so obvious, everyone can understand them.

First, the greater good outweighs the individual concern. Zoning and land use decisions run with the land not the people who currently own the land. The long term concern of the Health Department or County Administration to collective health impacts of thousands of septic systems in an area, clearly outweighs a single person’s concerns about their own septic system.

Second, the Bay Act provides plenty of latitude for exceptions to rules. The goals of the Bay Act are to protect water quality by reducing pollutants. Leaching and leaking drainfields, especially on Chincoteague for example, are the single largest contributor to fecal coliform bacteria in Chincoteague Bay – a bay that will be dead if we do nothing.

Third, a healthy septic system SHOULD be a goal of all septic system owners. Properly functioning systems allow solids to collect in a tank, for decomposition and later removal. They allow water to enter the drain field through a distribution system where it is drawn into surrounding soils and absorbed. A properly functioning system does not adversely affect the groundwater (the water we ultimately drink).

Fourth, pumping a septic tank is a desirable and beneficial action. Septic sewage systems are BY FAR the least expensive alternative to waste disposal but ONLY if properly maintained. The solids that remain in a tank after all biodegradation has occurred will decompose no further. They must be removed. Failure to do so has very predictable results. It is far less expensive to own a system that has been maintained than to pay the repair bill for one that has not.

Fifth, a $300 cost for septic pump out every five years, represents a cost of 17 cents per day or $5.00 per month or $60 per year. The U.S. Department of Energy says that the average refrigerator costs $90 per year to operate.

To oppose a septic pump out requirement across half the county is irresponsible and such a position either disregards or is completely ignorant of the simplest facts. Watch out in District 4 because Ms. Lewis still wants to be your supervisor.