Recently
I posted my feelings about the harm being done to our community by
the incomplete and demeaning stories being run in the media about Candlewick Lake.
Let's discuss some of the ideas I have heard for remediating the
pumping situation.
The
spring pumping was according to AQUA an attempt to keep the
contaminated water from getting into basements due to the influx of
water from the heavy rains. Obviously this did not completely succeed
as a few homes did get it in their basements.
Some
have said AQUA should not be allowed to pump under any circumstances.
Yes, it is disgusting, but would you rather have that procedure or
have maybe 100 homes with sewage in their basements? Some homeowners
are threatening legal action against CWL if we force AQUA to stop all
pumping and their basements are contaminated. Both situations are
bad. Which do you prefer, basements or ditches and the lake? Rock and
a hard place, right?
Another
possible solution to the situation that has been suggested is putting
a sewer shutoff in homes to eliminate the possibility of back-ups.
Again, not well thought through. If one home shuts off the sewer the
pressure will simply move to the next unprotected home and back up
there. If that isn't bad enough, would the home with the sewer shut
off even be inhabitable? I doubt it with no flushing toilets and no
ability to run water since there is nowhere for it to go. The health
department would probably be all over that one.
We
must have a solution to this problem and we have an engineer hired by
Candlewick at considerable expense looking at all the infrastructure
to see what needs to be done to stop this problem. We are also
spending one heck of a lot of your dues money on legal fees acquiring
back filings and going over possible eventualities. This will all
cost us when dues time rolls around.
Let's
take this one step further. Don't kid yourself. Any major
infrastructure change or repair will end up on your AQUA bill. They
are allowed to make a fair profit by the ICC. This will continue.
They are a monopoly and controlled but that doesn't stop
profitability.
Some
say we should have bought the system ourselves in the past. Really?
Do you realize all these problems would now be on our shoulders. We
do not have the expertise or manpower to handle it. At least a
company with the financial strength of AQUA has the resources to fix
what needs fixing and spread the cost over years on your bills.
Some
will be irritated with this post. Folks, I am just telling it like it
is. I wish I could say more but believe me this is not nearly as easy
as some believe. Your board, management, engineer, and attorney are working on
getting this handled before the spring rains. Let them do their job.
Ken