By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org
News Staff
Narragansett Bay is
getting cleaner but beach closings are way up this year. So far this season, 61
closures days have been announced by the Department of Health. Only 54 beach
closures occurred in all of 2012.
The DOH attributes the
spike in closures to the nearly 11 inches of rainfall in recent months. The
rain washes stormwater, wastewater, and run-off into the bay from streets,
overflowing storm drains and sewage treatment plants.
Bacteria from
cesspools is a persistent contributor to the water pollution. Cesspools are
simply metal or concrete barrels with holes, lacking any capacity to treat
sewage. Installations mostly ended in 1970. Yet, according to the state
Department of Environmental Management some 25,000 remain in use in Rhode
island.
While many communities
have installed sewer lines and require less harmful wastewater treatment
systems and septic systems, many failed cesspools are tainting wells and
contributing to surface runoff.
The Cesspool Act of
2007 required the replacement of cesspools located near shorelines, wells and
reservoirs. But exemptions were added, such as a break granted in 2012 to
delay sewer connections in Warwick.
A bill (H6031)
being advanced in the waning days of 2013 session of the General Assembly would
require all cesspools owners to upgrade to newer on-site wastewater treatment
systems (OTWS) or tie into a public sewage pipe within a year of the sale or
transfer of a home.
The cost of connecting
to a sewer system runs between $1,000 to $2,000. The price of a new septic
system is as high as $15,000. Advocates for the bill say the act encourages the
expense to be paid during the sale of property.
“When people are
moving this is the type of investment to make because the money is on the
table,” said the bill’s sponsor Teresa Tanzi, D-Narragansett/South Kingstown. The lead co-sponsor is Rep. Donna Walsh of
Charlestown.
Jane Austin of Save
The Bay said cleaing up septic systems is also a civic responsibility. Property
owners who have already paid to replace their cesspools by connecting to a
sewer system are subsidizing the municipal service through their sewer bills, she
said. “People who have tied in are paying that cost all along.”
The more cesspool
owners who make the switch, the more the public will demand that pollution is
stopped, Austin added.
Tanzi said beach closures aren’t just a health
problem but an economic setback for the tourism industry. “One lost day in a
three-month beach season is significant.”