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Show Utah sewage treatment needs !, and costs rise rapidly ymy I't.lhUS Will tV Sllll iiiiti.illv m sow;i;i treattnenl (he future th;u " ,,-v' ' ; UumK-d W" 111 l,u ',;lsl- ;k' JtuW- noi out roso.uch ency ft,,. cost of ik-aIli! w;)st-;iter .-Mlinont in I't.ih ovor the next -M Irs will ;iprro;u-h nullum mul jlv evoeeit Out amount, tlu Koun-,Vkmi Koun-,Vkmi notes a research report 'noised this tvk T,H cost t0 dividual home owners ami business uMishmetits is likely to double in 1 n,un areas, ami may so as high as si limes current charges in some places T(,e sewage lreatment problem is u;e-vude, but not evenly distributed. V is to be expected, the problem tends to be nutst critical in densely rvmUted areas and those undergoing rapid growth." the Foundation states. -I'uh's potential for energy resource dewlopnu'iit holds the threat of 'boom tortiT development in many now-rural jre-is. and serious problems of waste disposal could quickly develop in many ju'rts of the state." - Waste-water disposal involves two ,-Lselv related problems: the physical ,i woNem of treating sewage and in dustrial wastes to make them harmless to human life and to the environment. ,pd the monetary problem of paying for needed collection and treatment facilities. While the physical problem is brse. known scientific and engineering techniques are fully adequate to handle it Hie closely-related problem of financing needed construction and iteration of treatment facilities is seething else, however. "The real impact of the program mav best be assessed in terms of costs """V individual families." the Foundation i teles, citing the following examples: In I ta Cottonwood Sanitary District in Salt Lake County, sewer charges for an iverage home have already jtai-upled. going from $2.50 to $10 a teeth. In Salt Lake City, utilities department planners fort-see an increase in-crease of more than six fold, with charges going from $4. ;ui month for a typical household to $27 50 a month in In Mmersville and Salina, communities com-munities where the problem has become acute only comparatively recently, costs per family could go as high as $;i0 a month, and city officials question the willingness of citizens to pay such charges. Charges hero cited are based on tlx' assumption that most of the cost of constructing and operating needed sewerage facilities would ho paid from connection and user fees. It appears probable that other sources of revenue w ill be used, but users appear certain to face stiff increases in their fees even if this is done. A major factor increasing the cost burden at the local level is the recent sharp reduction in federal-aid money available for local sewage treatment projects. The I'tah legislature in its recently-concluded recently-concluded budget session recognized the problem by enacting legisation to permit the financing of waste-water treatment facilities on a t-M'iin;l h iic and also by directing that an in-depth study of tlx- problem be made to seek additional ways of dealing with the problem. "Halting, or significantly reducing, growth is a possible solution to ex-pamlmg ex-pamlmg sewage-treatment capacity in I'tah. but this alternative is not being seriously considered, for obvious reasons." the Foundation states. "Proposals of local health officials to greatly reduce the use of water in I'tah homes which would reduce the volume of wastes to be treated could have both immediate and long term impact if they were widely adopted However, the prospect of voluntary-adoption voluntary-adoption of such proposals on a wide enough scale to have significant impact in future sewage-treatment needs is !!:!!::::!n::,!;!;;:::::;:::::::::::::::;::!:!:t: uncertain, and plans for treatment facilities now under construction are based on current water-use patterns 'Efforts are being made, and will continue to lie made, to find and use more cost efficient methods of construction con-struction and operation and to devise more innovative financing methods. It appears certain, however, that a substantial burden will have to be borne by most Clahns through the remainder of this century, in terms of the property tax and sewer connection and user fees." |
