SEPTIC TANK LEAK MAY MEAN NEW SEWER DISTRICT ON PERRYVILLE ROAD

A leaky septic tank may prompt Cape Girardeau to force homeowners along a stretch of Perryville Road to form a sewer district.

The tank at the home of Robert and Karen Stevenson, 2932 Perryville Road, has been leaking for several years but the situation became worse after a lateral line of the tank was severed April 1 by a contractor during the reconstruction of Perryville Road, neighbors said.

For Jewell and Marilyn Cox, who live across the street on Evergreen, the leaking tank means raw sewage is running across their property and into a natural stream.

The Coxes and three of their neighbors on Evergreen banded together and put in their own sewer lines after the city threatened to force the issue. Now they wonder when the city is going to take the same action against the Stevensons.

The sewage from the Stevensons' septic tank is "just running free," Jewell Cox said.

"Sometimes it just pools in the backyard," Marilyn Cox said, and there is one section of the yard that is spongy and constantly wet from the sewage.

The Coxes don't like the fact that the sewage is running across their property. It looks awful, they say, and sometimes smells even worse.

But Jewell Cox is especially worried about the potential health hazards of having the sewage run into the stream and ditches in the neighborhood.

"We've got little kids that live out here," he said. "If there's water in a ditch, that's where they're going to be. That's been my concern."

A number of attempts to reach the Stevensons to comment were unsuccessful.

City officials and neighbors say the Stevensons have been very cooperative, keeping the septic tank pumped out to minimize leakage and working with city staff to get the problem corrected.

The Stevensons, along with neighbor DeWayne Bryant, 2928 Perryville Road, earlier this month petitioned the city to form a sewer district.

But last week Bryant asked that his name be removed from the petition because the cost of putting in a sewer line would be too expensive. Bryant told the city that his septic system is working fine.

Mark Lester, city engineer, said the city is looking at options for fixing the problem.

The long-term solution is to establish a sewer district in the neighborhood to include three houses on Perryville Road and three on the west end of Evergreen that still use septic tanks, Lester said.

"We're looking at how to most cost-effectively sewer all those houses," Lester said.

The project is in the very preliminary design stages, he said, and the city plans to meet with homeowners in the area to outline options for the district.

"We'll have a couple of design options for them," Lester said.

The cost of putting in sewers will be borne by the property owners.

Lester said very rough cost estimates for running sewer lines to the six houses range from $75,000 to $140,000.

Mayor Al Spradling III said the homeowners involved could opt to voluntarily form a sewer district, as the previous petition would have accomplished. Then the city wouldn't have to force the issue.

That's what happened to the Coxes and the other property owners on Evergreen, Spradling said.

The sewers would have to meet city specifications, Spradling said.

The city's plumbing inspector has been to the Stevensons' property to check the leaking septic tank, said Rick Murray, who heads the city's inspection services.

Murray said a corrective order has been issued for the Stevensons' septic system.

If the Stevensons can't repair the existing system and sewer lines are installed, the other option is to install a new septic system, including tank and drainage field, Murray said.

Murray said the Stevensons have been very cooperative. "They realize they have a problem and don't want to spend double money."

Keeping the tank pumped out lessens the leakage flow, Murray said.