City looking for septic tanks

To Mary Ridings, hooking up with the city sewer was worth the money.

She no longer worries about using bleach, which would have destroyed the enzymes that break down solid waste. She can use any over-the-counter chemical she wants to clean her toilet now.

Ridings' next-door neighbor, Cathy Huskey, doesn't want the hassle either. But after spending a lot of money on septic tank laterals -- pipes that distribute liquid waste into the soil -- about a year before the city extended its sewer system to the Twin Lakes subdivision, Huskey can't justify the cost yet.

That is the dilemma facing septic tank users within the city limits: Sure, sewer would be great, but at what cost?

The Cape Girardeau City Council has indicated it wants to move toward having all residences on the city's sewer system.

So acting on a request from the council, the city planning department is in the process of finding out where the septic tanks are located and how many households use them. The council will review the information and consider a total review of the city's ordinances that deal with septic tanks and sewers.

The planning department, inundated with several other projects, does not yet have the numbers or the locations.

"A lot of things have been out there for years and years and, if they ever existed, the records may not be available," said city planner Kent Bratton. "In general terms, we know where the sewer lines go, but that doesn't necessarily mean everyone around there is hooked up to it."

Mayor Jay Knudtson has called septic tanks a "barbaric" means of waste control.

"This is a more and more pressing issue now with the environment, the EPA and with our world's heightened view of the environment," Knudtson said. "We need to determine how severe the problem is, and we need to author a simple and fair ordinance to deal with the inclusion of as many homes as possible to be contained in sewer districts."

Conflicting rules

Currently, there are many ordinances which deal with sewer districts and septic tanks, and they often contradict each other, according to city engineer Mark Lester.

One ordinance says septic tanks are OK as long as they're in working condition. Another ordinance says septic tanks cannot be built, while two others give the requirements for building septic tanks.

One ordinance says homeowners must connect to sewer if they're within 200 feet of a main. Another says 100 feet. One says the hookup must occur in 60 days of installation, another says 90.

"They're all over the place," Lester said. "It's a mixed bag, and that's why we're reviewing those right now."

Lester said he did not know the reason for the inconsistency other than when previous councils updated ordinances, they did not remove the old ones. He wasn't sure when the ordinances were passed.

The ordinances' flaws were brought to light recently when neighbors in four households along Perryville Road -- including one who was ordered by the county health department to start fixing her leaking septic tank -- feuded over who should be included in the sewer district.

Sewer districts are formed, as was the case in the Twin Lakes subdivision, when a majority of households within a neighborhood want sewer connection. However, a majority was not in favor of a sewer district in the Perryville Road situation. Two neighbors were willing to grant easements but did not want to pay their share of the assessments.

The council finally ruled that all four residences must be included in the sewer district and must pay the assessments.

A professional's estimate

While the city has no record of the location of septic tanks, others have some idea.

Jerry Smith, who owns a septic cleaning service, started making a mental count when he was asked to estimate the number of septic tanks in the city. He rattled off a number of locations -- most of which were once outside the city limits but have been annexed -- and came to the conclusion that there were probably more than 100 septic tanks.

"They're really scattered around," he said. "Everybody in Cape should be on sewers, but they're just in locations where they can't get on sewers."

Stan Wicks, who owns the At Your Service company, does some septic tank maintenance.

He said he's seen septic tanks in the city that probably shouldn't be used anymore.

"It's a tough decision for the city council," said Wicks, who ran for mayor last spring. "My thoughts personally are if you have the opportunity to hook to a sewer, you should."

That's easy to say, but not always easy to do.

Residents in the Twin Lakes subdivision had to pay 12 cents per square foot for their sewer, which averages out to about $6,000 for the lots in that subdivision.

Huskey, who lives in the Twin Lakes subdivision, will someday have to absorb the cost of hooking onto the sewer, she said. There is a $750 hookup fee plus the construction costs.

"Everything is working perfectly," she said of her current system. "A sewer is a lot of money and we won't be able to recoup the money in the resale of our homes."

She said she thought she'd make the switch the next time her septic system required a major repair.

"Of course, if we're forced to do it earlier, that will just be more money out of our pockets," she said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127