|
by Reed Mackley A comparison of the costs is enlightening. In today’s dollars the cost of installing a septic system is approximately $2500. Most digestion tanks are pumped less than every 4 years. The cost of having the pumping is about $200. Typically the system will need to be rebuilt in 40 or 50 years if done properly. Thus if the digestion tank is pumped 10 times during that period the total cost of the system would be $4,500.00. By comparison: on the socialized system, a new home will be charged $3000 for sewer impact fee, probably around $120 per year for sewer district taxes, and $168 per year (this is North Ogden’s rate and is actually higher in some other cities) for the monthly service fee. The total cost per home for the socialized system is about $14,520.00, or about triple the cost of a septic system. Most residents are not aware of these costs because it is buried in their tax bill, and in their mortgage payment with interest added.
The other comparison is the impact on the environment. In the case of the private systems the water is returned to the underground aquifers while in the socialized system the water is deposited in the Great Salt Lake where it is either of no value or could become a contamination. For years, those writing the laws and engineers have accepted the fact that if the water is percolated for 100 feet there would be no safety risk. In other private systems where the water table is too high, and where a whole subdivision or a local group treats the effluent, the water can be used for secondary water and for the creation of open green space. None of the free enterprise and private systems are as environmentally unfriendly as the socialized system.
Perhaps the most important comparison is the consequence to the public freedom - Being that freedom is reduced because building permits often require connections to a socialized system and thus have become a land use control mechanism. It is also of note that the properties within the socialized sewer system district are required to pay sewer taxes whether they actually use the system or not.
Another interesting factor in our area is the complexity of the sewer system called the Central Weber Sewer District. This is a quasi-governmental organization that has representatives (control board) from each of the municipalities that are involved – the Ogden City Mayor being the most powerful of the representatives. When Weber Central decided to double the usage fees this last year, all the city councils could do was gulp and increase the fees to the people. Even the individual cities have lost control in the centralized system. Weber Central says they had to increase costs because of the EPA and environmental regulations. The bottom line is that the sewer system is now so centralized that the sewer district is being dictated to by the federal EPA. The sewer district then dictates to the cities, which then dictate to the home owner. Costs are tripled, freedom is markedly decreased, and the environment is less preserved. There are several different kinds of private sewer systems that are very effective if the law allows private enterprise to function. |