Scott County water

For those who have it, access to good drinking water is taken for granted. You pick out a glass, turn on the tap and enjoy.

For those who don't, it's a constant concern.

Some Scott County leaders would like to put more residents in the first category. City, school and county officials met last week for the first time to talk about forming a countywide water district. They heard a presentation by John Chittenden, an engineer from the Sikeston-based firm Waters and Associates, who told them that Scott County is lagging behind other Southeast Missouri counties in water distribution,.

Without such systems, residents are pumping well water out of the same ground where human waste is dumped through septic systems and farmers spread fertilizers and pesticides.

The cost of building the system is unknown, but New Madrid County completed a water district in three phases for $3 million in each phase. New Madrid has more land but fewer residents than Scott County.

It will be interesting to follow the process and see if county residents are willing to pay for the assurance of clean water.