MERRILLVILLE | Efforts continue to extend sanitary sewer service to an interior area of the Southmoor Park subdivision.

Merrillville Conservancy District board member Ed Yerga said money has been allocated for such a project. Yerga said the cost to install new sewers hasnt been finalized, but he estimated it could be between $1 million and $2 million.

There are other steps that must occur before the project could begin.

Although the town isnt affiliated with MCD, the Town Council must adopt an ordinance that would authorize the sanitary sewer entity to annex parcels of Southmoor Park that currently rely on septic systems into the conservancy districts service area.

Yerga said a draft ordinance has been prepared by MCD, and it has been delivered to the town.

Councilman Shawn Pettit said the measure will be reviewed by Merrillville leaders and Town Attorney John Bushemi, and its possible the ordinance could be considered for approval during the councils March 24 meeting.

If Southmoor properties are annexed, those homeowners would start paying a conservancy tax, Yerga said.

Some parcels of Southmoor Park already receive service from MCD, so there are existing sanitary sewer lines in the subdivision.

A timeline hasnt yet been established to install the new sewers, but Yerga indicated he would like to see the work get started as soon as possible.

Southmoor Park resident Clarence Phillips is among those who have been pursuing the sewer service expansion in the residential area. He has encountered issues with his septic system for years.

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Sewer project could be coming to Merrillville subdivision

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Companies that stand to benefit from a shift to off-the-grid living include those that sell alternative energy materials, water catchment resources and waste management supplies. Individuals who choose to maintain a home off the grid often wish to avoid reliance on all government services, including water and sewer lines, so they must find alternative ways to handle the needs of daily life.

Alternative energy solutions let individuals access solar energy, wind energy or water power to generate enough electricity to run cooling systems and some appliances while avoiding tapping into local power grids. Businesses that sell solar panels, wind turbines, hydropower systems and power storage batteries profit when homeowners add these alternative energy resources to their property. The companies also benefit when these systems need professional maintenance or replacement parts.

To decrease the amount of green energy needed, many off-the-grid homeowners use wood-burning stoves for cooking and heating, providing extra sales for stove manufacturers. Individuals who desire to avoid all public utilities often install wells, rain barrels and septic tanks, creating business for companies that provide those services and supplies.

While food production isn't required as part of off-the-grid living, many individuals choose to be as self-sufficient as possible so they plant large gardens, raise chickens and tend milk-producing goats or cows. Companies that provide gardening and farming materials benefit from this trend, as do businesses that sell feed, medicine and supplies for animals. Excess produce must be preserved, causing an increase in the sales of canning supplies and dehydration equipment.

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What businesses would benefit from more people going off the energy grid?

INGRAM Seven candidates, including an incumbent alderman and a former Ingram mayor, are vying for three open seats on the Ingram City Council.

Those who filed for places on the ballot by Fridays deadline included Hunter St. Clair, J. Nathan White, Claude Jordan Jr., Kenneth Kenny Avans, Twanda Brown, Nelda Mitchell and former mayor Howard Jackson.

Mitchell, who handles accounts payable for Ingram ISD, has lived in the city for 59 years two weeks shy of all her life. Her nephew is Ingram Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Rowan and Whites wife is her niece. Mitchell, whos been attending council meetings on and off for the past year and a half or so, said shes seeking a place on the council in order to keep things moving forward for the people of Ingram. She said the citys efforts to get properties off septic systems and onto a central sewer system must continue.

The sewer project thats very important to our environment, and we need to finish, Mitchell said Friday. I just want to work hard and do my best for the city of Ingram.

St. Clair, who manages the Hunt Ingram Gas Co., has lived in the city for 48 years. He was appointed to the council two years ago to fill a vacancy.

I have the opportunity to serve, so I just threw my hat into the ring and well see how it goes, St. Clair said. Ill do it as long as I have the opportunity.

Brown, 54, works at the U.S. Post Office and has lived in West Kerr County and Ingram for 31 years. She lost to James Salter in the last mayoral election. Brown did not respond to requests for comment.

Jordan, 43, has lived in Ingram all his life and owns Bennett Jordan Septic Co.

Our roads are all tore up, Jordan said. I want to try to see if we can get something done about our roads. All of our roads in Ingram, they are old and need to be maintained and taken care of.

Avans, 45, is a head construction supervisor for F&B Concrete and has lived in Ingram almost a decade.

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Ex-Ingram mayor seeks council seat

The developers of a bowling alley and sports bar on Uncas Avenue go before the Oak Bluffs board of wastewater commissioners Wednesday, March 11, to seek a sewer hookup permit. Sam Dunn and Bob Sawyer, partners in the project, said a decision to deny the hookup would cost them an additional $250,000 for an advanced septic system.

We have a project that is worthy in every other respect of the towns cooperation, Mr. Dunn said in a phone interview Wednesday. It only seems logical to me that we wouldnt be put to this expense. Whats the sewer for?

The proposed bowling alley and sports bar attracted considerable support from town leaders and Island residents, and opposition from neighbors. During extended review before the Marthas Vineyard Commission(MVC) as a development of regional impact (DRI), Mr. Dunn offered to install an approved septic system capable of removing nitrogen from wastewater. Mr. Dunn estimated the cost of the advanced septic system at $300,000.

The MVC approved the project on March 21, 2014, with a determination that the project would have a minimal impact on the environment. The denitrification septic system, with specific targets for the amount of nitrogen allowed to leave the property in effluent, was written into the decision as a condition of approval.

Ten weeks later, at the May 7, 2014, meeting of wastewater commissioners, Mr. Dunn appeared before wastewater commissioners to ask for approval to hook into the town sewer system, at his expense, estimated at $50,000. While the existing sewer main runs along nearby Circuit Avenue, the bowling alley location is not on a street approved for sewer hookups by the commissioners.

Wastewater commissioners have granted a limited number of permits for sewer hookups since 2008, when they set a policy of reserving limited plant capacity for homes and businesses who already have a legal right to hook up, and for future sewer projects. They have also denied a number of requests.

The board set a priority for future projects along the Oak Bluffs side of Lagoon Pond, identified as an area where septic systems threaten the health of the popular salt pond.

The town has completed construction of two new effluent beds that could substantially increase capacity, on a parcel adjacent to the treatment plant known as the Leonardo property. The commissioners have applied for a variance from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to begin using the new beds, which do not comply with current water-quality standards.

At the May 7 meeting, commissioner Gail Barmakian, who is also a selectman, said she would not commit to a permit, a view echoed by commissioner Hans Von Steiger. After a discussion, the commissioners voted to issue a letter to Mr. Dunn in which they said they would look favorably upon hooking the requested [bowling alley] project up to the town wastewater system, dependent upon when, and if, DEP approves the use of the Leonardo effluent beds.

Ms. Barmakian spoke against the bowling alley during the MVC public hearing process. In a telephone interview Wednesday, she said that the letter did not commit the board to granting the permit.

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Developer asks Oak Bluffs to spare bowling alley septic costs

Published: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 4:49 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 9:42 p.m.

DELAND City commissioners unanimously have passed a resolution to use funding from a voter-approved conservation amendment to ensure a sustainable water supply for the city and its West Volusia neighbors, and not just for buying more conservation land.

More than 75 percent of voters in Florida approved Amendment 1 in last Novembers elections. The measure directs the Legislature to dedicate a third of the states real estate tax to water and land conservation efforts over the next 20 years. That means lawmakers will be required to spend about $757 million on environmental programs in their new budget.

At Monday nights commission meeting, Mayor Bob Apgar said the idea of the resolution was borne out of recent discussions with other cities with similar concerns.

The notion was that as the Legislature debated the Amendment 1 funding, since Volusia County had long been acquiring land for conservation purposes, that we should make the Legislature aware of that fact and our needs in Volusia County for issues related to septic tanks and similar infrastructure for water and sewer, he said.

The resolution passed by the commission was slightly tweaked from one that the Volusia County government had asked cities to pass, specifically pointing out challenges faced by them on the west side of the county, such as finding water sources that dont threaten the health of Blue Spring in Orange City.

Commissioners unanimously approved alcohol sale and consumption permits for two St. Patricks Day events, one of which is the first of its kind to be officially sponsored by the citys parks and recreation department.

On March 14 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the department will hold Shamrocks & Shenanigans at the amphitheater at Earl Brown Park. The event will feature a performance of dueling pianos and a corned beef and cabbage cook-off, along with beer sold by the DeLand-based Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co., said Rick Hall, the citys director of parks and recreation.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a $38,500 change order to the Intermodal Transportation Facility just south of downtown, to install a decorative fence and make accessibility improvements to the transport hub, used by Votran buses. In January, they previously approved a change order for $20,950, for an electric sign to display the arrivals and departures of Votran buses.

Altogether, the overall cost of the project is now $1.51 million, fully paid for by a Federal Transit Administration grant.

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DeLand: Legislature should dedicate money for water issues

Kevin McAllister, founder of Defend H20, and Councilwoman Louisa Evans at Tuesdays Town Board work session. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

Wastewater management advocacy group Defend H2O is urging the Southold Town Board to follow in the footsteps of Brookhaven Town and adopt more stringent sewer discharge regulations.

Board members, however, say Brookhavens law may not be the solution for Southold.

During Tuesday mornings Town Board work session, Kevin McAllister, founder of Defend H2O and former Peconic Baykeeper, continued his push for East End towns to enact regulations similar to Brookhavens, which are aimed at reducing nitrogen pollution associated with sewer systems.

High nitrogen levels in area waters have been feeding harmful algal blooms the red tide the area sees each summer which in turn have damaged the local ecosystem by depriving water bodies of oxygen. As a result, area fisheries have suffered.

Supervisor Scott Russell said Mr. McAllisters proposal has merit, but said the law wouldnt address Southold Towns primary source of nitrogen discharge: septic systems and cesspools serving single-family dwellings.

Under Brookhavens law, which passed in January, existing buildings within the Carmans River watershed have 10 years to replace or upgrade their systems to comply with stricter regulations three parts per million of nitrogen for structures generating 1,000 to 3,000 gallons of flow per day and require new businesses in the same watershed to install them upon construction, Mr. McAllister said.

Single-family homes average 350 to 500 gallons of flow per day, so they would not be affected by the stricter regulations, he said. Since Southold Town comprises mainly single-family dwellings, Mr. Russell said the town would need to research the proposal further before moving forward.

The problem Southold has with nitrogen loading is: How do we retrofit a community of 11,000 houses? Mr. Russell said after the meeting. Southolds real challenge isnt new development, it is existing buildings. Basically what [Mr. McAllister] has proposed, which is a sound idea, would pertain in most instances to new development or construction.

With development projects including a proposed senior living community called the Heritage at Cutchogue in the works, Mr. McAllister said any step the town takes to strengthen its septic discharge standards is a move in the right direction.

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Advocacy group pushes town to reduce nitrogen pollution

Residents of Helenas Westside, whose lands are slated for future annexation by the city, plan to meet Monday to discuss the plan and the projected cost to connect to municipal water and sewer services.

The meeting will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Kessler School library, according to an email from Valerie Wilson, who is among the events organizers.

However, its unclear what participation city officials may have in the meeting as the city commission also meets that night, beginning at 6 p.m. That meeting will be held in the commission meeting room on the third floor of the City-County Building on Park Avenue.

This assembly of Westside residents will be the latest since the city announced plans last fall to seek a state loan that would fund the infrastructure work that is to start this summer.

City Manager Ron Alles said he wanted the water and sewer mains in place before the commission moved to annex the area, which city officials say is surrounded by city lands.

Some of those who live in this area rely on wells and septic systems while others have had either a well or septic system or both fail and have since connected to city services.

The cost to connect to services is based on the square footage of the property. The cost for a 100-foot-wide by 125-foot-deep lot, a typical size for the area, to receive city water service would be about $20,000. That same lot would pay between $12,000 and $13,000 for wastewater service, according to an estimate provided by a consultant for the city.

Those who have already paid to connect to either city water or sewer service wont face a new fee for that existing service, Alles said.

Residents also will not be saddled with the cost to increase the size of some of the existing water and sewer mains where necessary as the city plans to allocate funds for that work, the city manager added.

Among the questions residents have is why they should have to pay this cost if city utility mains are already fronting their property, Wilson noted in her email.

Read more here:
Westside neighbors to meet on proposed annex, connecting to city services

(Illustration by Tim Robinson)

This article was reported with support from the National Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Hidden amid the pleasure boats and cargo ships that roar through the canal in northwest Seattle is one of the oldest fishing economies in North America. From midsummer to October, from early morning until after dusk, fishermen from the Suquamish Tribe zoom up and down the canal in orange waterproof overalls, tending to salmon nets that dangle across the water like strings of pearls. The tribe holds reservation land about ten miles west of the city, on the far side of Puget Sound, the 100-mile-long estuary that extends from Olympia, Washington, north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Suquamish are one of more than a dozen tribes that have fishing and shellfish-harvesting rights all across this region, and their fishing traditions, which are thousands of years old, predate all of the oldest shipyard industries here.

The men unload salmon at A Dock, a section of a boatyard reserved for tribal fishing boats. This is where I find longtime fisherman Willy Pratt on a late September morning, at the back of a parking lot on a wooden platform that overlooks the gleaming luxury yachts of the adjacent marina. Pratt has fished in Puget Sound his whole life, and he is here for the peak of coho salmon migration, which pulses through the inner part of the estuary this month. Pratt has marked the nickname Coho Willy in hot pink tape on the side of the giant blue cooler he plans to fill with the fish that his nephews net that day. He holds up a photo of himself as a 6-year-old boy leaning against a boat on the beach. This is me in 1949, he says. This is my grandfathers skiff.

The sale of fish caught here contributes to basic living expenses for the fishermenand some of their catch becomes food for their extended families and circles of friends. According to one survey, the average Suquamish tribal member eats fourteen pounds of fish and shellfish every month (about as much as the average American consumes over a whole year). But this way of life is fragile next to a city like Seattle. The sounds slate blue waters hold one of the most diverse ecosystems in North America; even in the heart of the city there are multitudes of fish and shellfish, which feed resident populations of orcas, seals and sea lions and support a multimillion-dollar commercial fishing industry. But Puget Sound is in critical condition, according to a state agency that monitors ecosystem health. When I ask Pratt how water quality affects people like him, whose lives depend on fish, he narrows his eyes. What water quality? he asks, his face wizened and skeptical. Put your net in, and it comes back covered in sludge, he says. Its like cobwebs, except its brown. Its progressively been getting worse all the timelast thirty, forty years. The fishermen carry tennis rackets with them in the boats; they slap them against the nets to knock the muck offotherwise the salmon will steer clear of the grimy mesh.

* * *

Ringed by the white-capped Cascade and Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound looks pristine. But four decades after the Clean Water Act passed in 1972, regulators havent kept up with the pressures of growing populations near Americas shorelines, here or elsewhere in the country. The sound is choking with the waterborne residue of the urban existence of 4 million peopleengine oil, traces of gasoline and paint, lawn fertilizer, chemical flame retardants from furniture, lead and copper from old roofs, and other kinds of grime wash into the water every time it rainsa problem collectively known as storm-water pollution. Near the canal, the city has been scrambling to reduce spills from a century-old sewer and storm-water system that frequently overruns during stormsfifty-eight spills in 2013 and cumulatively almost 15 million gallons of raw sewage.

All of this contamination becomes part of the stew that fills Puget Sound, the water in which fish swim and shellfish grow. And the people who rely on fish are among the first to feel the impacts. Sometimes the pollution is enough to kill salmon before they can spawn and make shellfish harvests either inedible or unmarketable, putting the fishing economy at risk. Tribal commercial fishing brings tens of millions of dollars of revenue into this state, but more than one fisherman told me its becoming increasingly difficult to make a living from the declining stocks of salmon in Puget Sound. Pollution is one of the many likely reasons that some fish have low survival rates in the sound, along with the destruction of important habitats, such as wetlands. Salmon recovery is failing because habitat is being damaged and destroyed faster than it can be restored and protected, says Tony Meyer, a manager for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, a tribal natural resources agency that works on fish conservation.

Chemicals from the water also linger in the tissues of some fish, and the people who eat fish most often face risks from toxic pollution. Most species of salmon that live part time in the open ocean are considered safe for heavy consumption. But eat a local chinook salmon, which can spend most of its life cycle in the sound, or a crab, mussel, clam or any creature that spends enough of its days in Puget Sound, and you may be ingesting a bit of that toxic stew, a trace amount of contaminants. Feast on a lot of these fish and you could get a regular dose of chemicals that are tied to liver disease, cancer and neurological disorders. Tribal people may be especially at risk. So are the Latin American and Asian immigrants who frequently cast their lines into city waters and trap crabs in parts of Seattle where there are health advisories against eating shellfish. According to the Washington State Department of Health, American Indians and Alaska natives have higher rates of diseases like colorectal cancerwhich is often linked to exposure to pollutionthan the states white population. Tribal people are put at an unreasonable risk by their consumption [of fish], says Larry Dunn, an expert on tribal health who works as an environmental manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, on the Olympic Peninsula. People are ingesting these chemicals.

But giving up local fish is not a viable choice for any of the people who cast nets and lines, crab pots and clam-digging forks into Puget Sound. American Indians are more likely to live in poverty than most other ethnic groups. To tell them not to eat locally caught fishyoure just basically telling them not to eat protein, Dunn says. The traditional native diet in this region has always been loaded with crabs, clams, oysters and salmon. High in omega-3 fatty acids, fish is an antidote to many of the epidemic health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, that afflict reservation communities. Tribes would eat even more fish and shellfish if they could, says Meyer.

For communities like this, fish is the most affordable, healthiest thing for dinner.

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Loving the Puget Sound to Death

Tom Raley

Tom Raley is a freelance writer living in central Arkansas. He has been writing for more than 20 years and his short stories and articles have appeared in more than 25 different publications including P.I. Magazine, Pulsar and Writer's Digest.

Installing a clean-out port in your drain lines can save considerable headache, expense and, in some cases, a very messy situation. A clean-out allows you to easily access the drain line in the event of a clog, and in some applications can prevent flooding inside your home. If properly placed, the clean-out may also be used when pumping out the septic tank for routine cleaning.

Rural and suburban homes without access to community or municipal sanitary sewer systems often use septic systems for home waste disposal. The...

Adding a clean-out to a septic line can prevent or mitigate numerous plumbing emergencies. A clean-out is simply a pipe that connects...

A home's sewer clean-out is (on most homes) a white PVC pipe that protrudes from the ground near the home or near...

Sewer lines without clean outs pose major challenges when the lines become clogged. It is difficult to impossible to clean a sewer...

Cleaning septic tank drain lines is a huge hassle. Most people know that there are certain chemicals that cannot be used in...

A sewer cleanout plug can be the difference between a do-it-yourself drain backup repair and one requiring professionals. Some homes do not...

A clean-out fitting allows easy access to sewer pipes when snaking. The T-shaped fitting has a threaded cap that simply unscrews allowing...

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How To Install a Septic Tank Sewer Cleanout | eHow

Residents of Helenas Westside, whose lands are slated for future annexation by the city, plan to meet Monday to discuss the plan and the projected cost to connect to municipal water and sewer services.

The meeting will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Kessler School library, according to an email from Valerie Wilson, who is among the events organizers.

However, its unclear what participation city officials may have in the meeting as the city commission also meets that night, beginning at 6 p.m. That meeting will be held in the commission meeting room on the third floor of the City-County Building on Park Avenue.

This assembly of Westside residents will be the latest since the city announced plans last fall to seek a state loan that would fund the infrastructure work that is to start this summer.

City Manager Ron Alles said he wanted the water and sewer mains in place before the commission moved to annex the area, which city officials say is surrounded by city lands.

Some of those who live in this area rely on wells and septic systems while others have had either a well or septic system or both fail and have since connected to city services.

The cost to connect to services is based on the square footage of the property. The cost for a 100-foot-wide by 125-foot-deep lot, a typical size for the area, to receive city water service would be about $20,000. That same lot would pay between $12,000 and $13,000 for wastewater service, according to an estimate provided by a consultant for the city.

Those who have already paid to connect to either city water or sewer service wont face a new fee for that existing service, Alles said.

Residents also will not be saddled with the cost to increase the size of some of the existing water and sewer mains where necessary as the city plans to allocate funds for that work, the city manager added.

Among the questions residents have is why they should have to pay this cost if city utility mains are already fronting their property, Wilson noted in her email.

Read more here:
West-side neighbors to meet on proposed annex, connecting to city services