10/19/2005
Media Contact:
Margie Smith-Simmons, DPW, 327.4669
John T. Althardt, MCHD, 221.2316 |
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City takes a “STEP” in the right direction
Septic Tank Elimination Program to bring sewer service to 30 neighborhoods in next three years
INDIANAPOLIS- Mayor Peterson’s plan to curb raw sewage overflows and backups, eliminate thousands of failing septic systems and improve neighborhood drainage and flood protection will be discussed Thursday by the Public Works Committee of the City-County Council.
To highlight the need for action, the Department of Public Works Director James Garrard visited the Bangor-Delaware neighborhood today near Southport Road and U.S. 31, where 597 homes are still served by septic systems. Under the mayor’s plan, the city will bring sewer service to Bangor/Delaware and 29 other neighborhoods in the next three years.
Neighborhood resident John Carter, who built his home in the neighborhood in 1963 and last year had to start having his septic tank pumped once per month, is thrilled to have sewers coming to his neighborhood. "We’ve wanted to be connected to the sewers for so long. We’d be happy staying here forever if it weren’t for the septic tank," he said. "During the winter and spring, you can smell the sewage in the neighborhood. It is embarrassing."
Carter’s wife Linda is looking forward to a Christmas Eve where she doesn’t have to have the septic tank pumped before the twenty-some members of their family arrives for the festivities. Even though the pumping helps to alleviate the problem, she knows that they still can’t make it through the entire evening with a working toilet. Carter is also frustrated that she has to head to the local laundry mat to do the wash during wet weather because washing more than one load at a time overwhelms the system and causes the septic to overflow in their backyard.
In 1999, the Marion County Health Department completed a door-to-door survey in the neighborhood. The health department reported that 38 percent of septic systems had problems or failures, including bleed outs of sewage, system repairs, sewage backups and unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria in nearby drainage ditches.
"Septic systems have a limited life and eventually fail," Director Garrard said. "Our plan will bring sewer service to these homes, eliminate unhealthy conditions and ensure that their sewage gets high-level treatment."
Traditionally, the city has replaced septic systems with sewers through the state’s Barrett Law, which allows municipalities to charge residents for such improvements. Residents had the choice of paying these costs in one lump sum or in payments over time through low-interest state loan programs.
Mayor Peterson is proposing to set aside a portion of the proposed sanitary sewer rate increases to build sewers in these neighborhoods at the city’s expense.
The new Septic Tank Elimination Program (STEP) will bring sewer service to 18,000 homes over the next 20 years. Property owners will still be responsible for costs on their own property, such as abandoning septic tanks, hooking their homes to the new city sewer, and permit and connection fees.
While residents won’t qualify for the same low-interest state loans as under the Barrett Law, the city is exploring other affordable loan programs to help qualified homeowners finance the connection costs.
Upon Council approval, property owners owing money for any existing Barrett Law sanitary sewer project will stop paying their assessments. The $4 million in outstanding Barrett Law debts will be covered by the city.
The City of Indianapolis will not reimburse property owners for any previous Barrett Law payments made. Those property owners who have already paid for their sewer hookups also will not receive refunds.
"We can’t reverse time to change the damage to our waterways or to change how residents paid into this program," Director Garrard said. "Our purpose is to change the future and make this program more affordable while making it safer for residents to drink their well water, for kids to play outside and for everyone to enjoy public waterways."
Many households in Marion County can’t flush toilet paper or allow their kids to play in backyards because of problems with their failing septic tanks.
"The Environmental Protection Agency ranks septic systems as one of the top five sources of groundwater contamination," Dr. Caine said. "Failing septic systems create a number of public health issues including a long list of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites that can be spread by sewage-contaminated water. Sewage related infectious diseases such as hepatitis can be quickly transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person, creating a significant and potentially large public health issue."
For example, rotavirus, often associated with contaminated water, is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children, leading to more than 50,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States.
The Marion County Health Department has identified 18,000 homes in high-priority neighborhoods whose septic tanks are leaching contaminants into the soil and contributing to water pollution. Some septic tank owners also get drinking water from private wells, which can be vulnerable to contamination by E. coli bacteria.
"This is a matter of public health," said Director Garrard. "We need to make it as affordable as possible for our residents to make this switch to protect the health of their families and the health of our waterways."
The proposed rate increase will fund $400 million in sanitary sewer projects, including STEP projects, and $35 million in flood control and drainage improvements. Neighborhoods across the city will see projects and investments in infrastructure.
Sewer fees, which currently are less than $10 a month, and stormwater fees, which are less than $1.50, will rise over the next three years, but will still be lower than other cities’ fees across the state and country.
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