Is there still time to reconsider before we begin the headlong rush to construction of a sewer system in Hadlock? 

The Board of County Commissioners just issued a call for bids on the installation of a “Bioreactor Membrane” for a “water reclamation system” — i.e. a sewer plant. Does this mean they now have $12 million on hand to pay for it? Or will taxes be raised?

In the run-up to this, comments opposing a sewer were dismissed out of hand. The residents have come out en-mass to oppose it whenever sewer systems have been proposed. Why are they against it?

Foremost is the ungodly cost, and no one wants to be forced to buy in. Initially, suspicions that it would cost too much were only guesswork; but now that the expensive studies have been done, the figures show how right we were. Yes, the studies are guesswork, too, and are probably low-ball, but County documents say that each resident could be on the hook for upward of $24,000 just to get a connection. 

Then there is the expense of tearing out our existing and perfectly functional septic systems. And the monthly fees thereafter. Who pays for the electricity to power each of the pumps and grinders we would be required to use?

It just doesn’t makes sense to pipe all our waste into one big system, and then face huge problems when things go wrong. Look what is still happening in Seattle, with millions of gallons of raw sewage washing out into Elliot Bay. Also, Poulsbo, into Liberty Bay; Bremerton, into Sinclair Inlet; and the failure of many other municipal systems prove that they can’t be properly managed.

Please don’t make home ownership even more expensive at this awful time, when so many have already lost their homes.

Michael Regan
PORT HADLOCK