Concerned about a possible environmental hazard developing outside Galveston, the Cass County Board of Health and town consultants this week offered their plan to expand the town’s sewer service to a nearby subdivision.
Nearly 50 people turned out for the board’s Tuesday night meeting at Logansport Memorial Hospital to listen to the plan.
Officials are concerned about the failure of aging residential septic systems in Robertson subdivision on the town’s north side. Homes in the subdivision are 30 to 40 years old and some water and septic systems have already begun to fail.
Robert McLaughlin, the Cass County Health Department’s director of environmental health, has been inspecting the septic systems for problems.
McLaughlin said traditional fixes could not be found to repair the septic systems. A county ordinance stipulates properties must be attached to an available sewer if it is within 300 feet.
“It’s something we thought we would address before it became a real problem,” McLaughlin said during the meeting.
John Caton of Fleis and Vandenbrink Engineering, Galveston’s consultant, estimated the project cost at $597,000 and said the project would extend to about 60 homes.
The company has researched property records, field data, available mapping data and topographic information, and prepared two schematic layouts of a proposed collection system.
Loan assistance from the Rural Development Agency would help to fund the project through the Rural Utilities Services Program. Caton said the targeted monthly rate for households would be $65, depending on the grants and loans received
Community members voiced concerns about costs and questioned who would clean up the ground once the system had been installed. Caton tried to address many of their concerns but emphasized the study was in its preliminary stages, noting that some issues had yet to be addressed.
Once it begins, McLaughlin predicted the expansion would take two years to complete.
“That’s why we started this discussion now,” McLaughlin added. “Now might not be the right time to start this, but we can start discussion on when the right time would be.”
After an hour of group discussion, Dr. Chris Ciotta informed the crowd of the board’s opinion.
“This is a recommendation,” he said. “From what I understand, if you don’t do this, it could cost citizens more in the future.”
Residents asked for more information on the project, including details such as where sewer lines would run and a better estimate of its cost.
County health officer Dr. Cherie Bennett said the septic systems would be an issue in the future when more begin to fail, mostly due to old age.
She said the board of health couldn’t force residents to make a decision because there are no major health issues at this point. But, Bennett believes it will be a win-win situation for residents if they agree to begin the project.
Because of the time needed to obtain grants and loans and complete the project, she said, residents could avoid a crisis by starting now before more systems begin to fail.
• Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com
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