Dear Editor:
Is there a dire need for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s expensive sewer pipeline plan? Priorities for the Eastern Shore of Virginia just might be cell phone service that is reliable and affordable, as well as electronics-protective, surge-free electricity!
Is raw sewage devastating our aquaculture industry? Are our current septic tank systems not maximizing our sandy soil? Will the lauded future development deplete our sole source aquifer, with the inevitable subsidence and saltwater intrusion? Supposedly the individual towns could apply for available government grants.
Could a pipeline leak near the planned bike path affect cyclists? Have the town councils discussed assumption of rights of way through private yards and across a truck-filled Highway 13, the noise, vibration, and odor from the many pumping stations, and the possible future costs of infrastructure and hookup charges ($12,500 in Cape Charles)?
The HRSD will not handle waste from the chicken-processing plants, excessive chicken barn manure or waste from septic tanks (trucked to Pocomoke). HRSD will not eliminate mound systems for remote waterfront homes. The treated freshwater effluent will flood into a salty Onancock Creek rather than being reused to recharge our needy aquifers.
The public deserves to know the implications of all facets of this massive regional three-phase project, including the inevitable consequences to this tiny spit of land, as well as to the autonomy, the pocketbooks and the serenity of the citizens of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
A sustainable future is a worthy goal.
Sandra Beerends, Franktown
