Did you know there’s a ballot initiative this election?

There is a ballot initiative in Pennsylvania to support a bond issue for water infrastructure. You should support it and here is why.

Clean water? Vote ‘yes’
Ballot question targets funding source

Sunday, October 26, 2008
BY TANYA DIEROLF

On Nov. 4, we will be deciding more than the next president. We in Pennsylvania can also cast a vote for clean water.

A ballot question will ask Pennsylvanians to approve a $400 million bond issue to fund the Water and Sewer Systems Assistance Act. Voting “yes” will cut the pollution in our local waterways and help rescue and restore our failing and aging infrastructure.

Our 86,000 miles of streams and rivers are more than just beautiful. We overwhelmingly rely on local waterways for drinking water, with four out of five Pennsylvanians getting their drinking water from surface waters. We rely on local waterways for economic and recreational opportunities, too. Six million Pennsylvanians enjoy the outdoors, and fishing alone is a $1 billion industry in the state.

Unfortunately, nearly 20 percent of our streams and rivers are polluted. The sources are many — added nutrients and sediment from sewage treatment plants, agriculture, industrial livestock operations, manufacturing and poorly planned development. A “yes” vote will help fight this pollution in our local waterways, including the Susquehanna River and its tributaries.

This is vital to fix our outdated sewage treatment facilities, where significant improvements are decades overdue. These overloaded systems dump untreated wastewater into rivers and streams during heavy rain.

As that nutrient-rich water travels downstream, algae thrive in our rivers. When the algae die and decompose, oxygen escapes from the water, creating “dead zones” downstream.

These dead zones choke out existing aquatic plants and animals.

The Susquehanna River provides 50 percent of the fresh water to the Chesapeake Bay, so it’s important that Pennsylvania clean up its share of the problem. Both Virginia and Maryland facilities are making necessary upgrades thanks to state funding, doing their part in cleaning up the bay. Yet here at home, pollution reduction and water quality improvements have yet to be made. A “yes” vote on the ballot measure will reestablish Pennsylvania’s commitment to clean water here and downstream.

But the problem is huge and the costs are astronomical. It could take as much as $4 billion to make all necessary maintenance and infrastructure improvements to our water and sewage facilities. And the longer upgrades are put off, the more expensive they become. Without a funding source for our municipal treatment plants, local families and businesses must carry the financial burden with escalating rates on their bills.

Pennsylvania’s cities and towns must stay affordable and attractive places to live and work. Passing the costs for failing infrastructure on to local communities could lead to an economic downturn, on top of the financial problems we are all already experiencing.

Without a reliable source of clean water and a means to treat waste, new growth and economic development will stall.

The ballot question calls for $400 million funded through the sale of state bonds to investors. Grants and low-interest loans would be available for new construction of and improvements to drinking water and wastewater facilities. This would significantly help our local communities make the necessary upgrades.

It is time for Pennsylvanians to voice their commitment to the rivers and streams where we swim, fish and paddle.

Let’s step up and say “yes” on Nov. 4 to bring our sewer and water systems into the 21st century. Say “yes” to keep pollutants out of our waterways. Say “yes” to healthy communities. Say “yes” to Pennsylvania staying an affordable and attractive place to live. Vote for clean water right here at home and farther downstream.