Residents of two local lake areas asked the Kosciusko County commissioners Tuesday to carry petitions for them to the board of the newly-formed Lakeland Regional Sewer District, requesting their areas be included in the district.
Dan Lee, representing property owners calling themselves the Chapman Lakes Environmental Watch, and David Tyler, representing a group identified as the Lakeland Environmental Task Force, presented the petitions to seek the inclusion of the Chapman and Tippecanoe lakes areas to the LRSD.
Heavy development, combined with small lot sizes and poor soil types, form the backbone of the two groups' claim that the lake areas are not suitable for individual septic systems. Both groups independently hired Bonar Group, an engineering firm based in Fort Wayne, to study their areas, map soil types and identify possible boundaries for inclusion into the LRSD.
Lee said the area's soil type is not sufficient to protect groundwater.
"(Our) petition clearly spells out the very poor soil conditions for septic systems in the entire area," said Lee. "Ground water quality is becoming an increasingly critical problem throughout the region, given the severe (unfavorable) soil for proper septic treatment percolation."
Not all residents of the lake areas are in favor of joining the LRSD. In a letter to the Times-Union today (see page 5A), Jim Martin, Leesburg, wrote that any benefits of a sewer system would be outweighed by the cost.
"I believe that when the dust settles, residents around these lake can count on $200 a month sewer bills, not to mention an initial $1,500 to $5,000 hookup fee," Martin wrote. "With food, gasoline, natural gas and electricity going up exponentially, I cannot afford such an expense."
"I know there are opponents and there will be," said Lee. "Sewage is a volatile issue. We're doing it because it's the right thing to do."
Tyler said he understands the LRSD represents a major infrastructure project for the area, but he said there are many residents who favor joining the LRSD.
"There are several hundred individuals who have expressed interest in joining," he said.
Tyler said the criteria for the annexation of the lake areas into the district is whether or not those communities can demonstrate legitimate need for a sewer system. He said, with a majority of the lot sizes at less than 20,000 square feet and much of the area in or near the 100-year flood plain, the Tippecanoe Lake area is a prime candidate for inclusion.
Both Tyler and Lee said that the petitions from their communities were launched independently, but both said a big factor in launching the petitions now is to help maintain local control of infrastructure plans.
"Eventually, the Environmental Protection Agency, through the Clean Water Act, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management, are going to force us to fix this," Tyler said. "Then we will have to follow their orders."
Lee and Tyler said, by joining the LRSD, their communities can avoid being ordered into a sewer project by the state to protect the area's ground water. Lee said he feels the LRSD, which is led by local residents, has a better feel for the area's needs than an outside entity would.
"We don't want some state agency telling us what we could do," he said.
Lee said another advantage of a regional sewer district is that it is funded by user fees rather than taxes.
The LRSD includes the area around the lakes in the Barbee chain, including Kuhn, Big Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Sechrist, Sawmill, Banning and Shoe. Currently, 1,800 properties would be served by the district. With the proposed additions, Tippecanoe Lake area would add about 1,900 properties and the Chapman Lakes area would add another 1,200. Lee and Tyler said an increase in the number of properties served will decrease the individual property monthly costs for the service.
In his letter, Martin wrote that maintenance also will be a factor with the potential to increase costs to property owners.
The commissioners tabled a decision on whether or not to carry the petitions to the LRSD until Oct. 28 to make time for public input.
