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Sewer cost should be viewed in perspective

A little more than a week ago, the Ohio EPA was collecting stream samples in the Bascom area. Testing of the water will provide an indication of the water quality in that locale, where there is no central sewer system.

The testing probably strikes fear in the wallets of the people who live there. Installing a sewerage and a treatment plant &emdash; or contracting for treatment &emdash; can be costly.

The interest of the EPA in sewage disposal in and around Bascom is not new. That area is included in the priorities for Seneca County sanitary sewer planning, along with the Lake Mohawk area, Thompson Township and other locales.

People in those areas who dread the cost of a remedy might want to consider the headaches that are vividly apparent in a couple of local environmental situations that were ignored for years.

A prime example is the closed landfill owned by the City of Tiffin on CR 90. Today's city officials would have appreciated it if the EPA had been tougher through the years and remedial action had been completed at the landfill before they took office.

The millions of old tires at Kirby's Recycling near Sycamore is another example. The fire that sent toxin-laden smoke billowing toward Columbus last Saturday could have been avoided if the tires had been covered in sand BEFORE arsonists had a chance to get flames started.

The old "ounce of prevention" phrase always has been true, whether it refers to sewage, tires or dumped industrial wastes.

Spending dollars today may seem a hardship, but the cost is almost sure to be worse down the road.

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