The Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is spending hundreds of thousands of your readers’ tax dollars on a study to determine the feasibility of sewer systems for some of the areas nearest the water. These systems—called neighborhood sewer systems—will collect the sewage from a number of homes, pump it to a single location, treat it at a sewage treatment plant, and then dispose of the resulting waste water in a leach field.

I do not believe that this is what the citizens of Old Saybrook thought we were signing up for when we passed the referendum back in 2009.

Neighborhood sewer systems are not an on-site solution. Neighborhood sewer systems will not be owned or maintained by the residents served.

The WPCA is looking at placing the sewage treatment plant and leach field at the high school. That means laying miles of sewer pipe along Plum Bank Road in Indian Town and Chalker Beach. Now ask yourself these questions: How will the very high cost of connecting these areas be paid? Will the few waterfront property owners pay for the operation and maintenance of the treatment plant? Or will all of this fall on the taxpayers?

Is this what your readers thought they were voting for?

Robert Yust

Old Saybrook