[Winona Online Democracy] Dwayne brings some good examples to what in part I have been saying. There are other alternatives to growth. "Smarter" planning and developing can help eliminate many of these types of problems he is talking about. Not only are high traffic areas a safety issue, but it also distracts from the tourism and visiting poplulation. I think I mentioned in an earlier note that I overheard visitors coming from St. Mary's University into Shopko, say it took them 20 minutes to get there. Needless to say they were not happy campers and it soured their entire taste of Winona. People move out of cities because of traffic issues. Does it make sense to build an area to have some people move in, as other move out. Again the question is bigger better?
A couple of weeks ago the Wilson Township Board had experts from the University of Minnesota come and discuss alternative septic systems and the extremely high level of success with them. We are not talking about the systems of 20 and 30 years ago. We do live in the 21st century and even septic system have evolved. My sister can tell you first hand about a city sewer backing up into her home due to heavy rains. She had over $30,000 worth of house damage and the insurance would not cover it because it was considered "flood" damage and living smack dab in the middle of city she did not have flood insurance. The city can say all they want agains septic systems. City systems are not by any means superior or safer If you listen to the experts from the U of M, it is far easier to monitor community septic system than it is city septic. They have set up monitoring systems that catch issues before they get out of hand, you cannot do that with city sewer. Again the question is bigger better? The City has an opportunity to plan constructively and proactively. They have an opportunity to work coopertiviely with other government bodies for good of the entire of community of Winona. What an opportunity!!! Janice Turek ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dwayne Voegeli" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 8:55 PM Subject: [Winona] Wilson Issue: 3 Examples of Problems > [Winona Online Democracy] > > The Winona Daily News has had some stories that serve as good examples of > the problems that occur with growth. In these cases, water pollution and > traffic accidents. > > 1. Below is an article from Sunday's paper. It's entitled "Old System, > Big Problem: Rushford's old wastewater treatment plan can't handle > excessive rain" and it was the top story on the front page. What goes for > Rushford, goes for small and big cities all around the country. > > 2. Also in Sunday's paper, on page 4A there is a story about another car > accident near the Highway 14 and 61 intersection, near Shopko and Econo > Foods. I myself have witnessed a car accident there that sent a car air > borne and crashed into the poor car sitting next to me. I was lucky, I > only had broken glass fly into my window. How many accidents occur there a > year? Yes, I readily acknowlege that the main cause of accidents is the > drivers inattentiveness or other problems. I'm not blaming the > intersection for the accidents but we must also acknowlege that some roads > make accidents much more likely. > > 3. On page 3A of today's Winona Daily News there is a story about rain > water overwhelming the storm sewers. Those are not accidents or "natural" > problems. Those are all human made problems and they are perfectly > predictable. The more impervious (solid) surfaces you create, the more > flooding and water pollution problems you create. Remember that tourism in > Minnesota is something like a 10 BILLION dollar business. Most of that > tourism deals with lakes, rivers, trout streams, camping, and other things > that involve water. Polluting water is simply a bad business decision. > > Many civilizations have killed themselves by cutting down too many trees > (which causes a loss of top soil) and polluting their water sources. Will > we avoid that fate? > > Dwayne Voegeli > > July 20, 2004 > > ------ > > Winona Daily News > > Article Title: "Old system, big problem: Rushford's old wastewater > treatment plant can't handle excessive rain" > > Sunday, July 18, 2004 > > Britt Johnsen > > ----- > > When rainwater overflowed in Rushford last month and put the wastewater > treatment plant in violation of state law, Rushford Public Works Director > Jeff Copley made a phone call to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. > The call got the city out of state violation because the city was > attempting to fix the problem, Copley said. > > But Rushford's problems are not over, and some officials said such problems > are also present in other cities. > > Excessive rain is always a problem for the river town, though Copley said > Rushford is working to correct the problem. > > "Anytime you build a town in a river basin, you're going to have some sort > of environmental impact from the groundwater coming up," he said. > > Many small towns were built on the river because it was once a primary > means of transportation, Copley said. And many cities, not just in the > southeastern part of Minnesota, are trying to play catch-up with their old > systems. > > "Infiltration, as they call it, is an issue in all the small towns across > the upper Midwest," said Barry Kramer, city administrator for Lewiston, who > has also dealt with overflow issues. "They all have aging systems at this > point in time." > > The beginnings of Rushford's sewer system date back to over a century ago, > and the system wasn't built to handle a population of 1,700, Copley said. > > In the past 10 years, Rushford has grown by about 300 people and 60 homes, > and numbers are expected to continue rising, said Mayor Ted Roberton. With > the combination of people and rain in the past four years, sewer systems > have violated state laws each year except one, Copley said. > > To combat the problem, the city is installing new sewer pipes when it can. > > They've been installing for years, Copley said, but money is a problem. He > said about 45 percent of the downtown infrastructure still needs to be > updated, and 15 percent of the entire city's sewer pipes need to be fixed. > > "When you identify a problem, you fix what you can, when you can afford > it," Copley said. > > After studying fees of hookups to water and sewer to houses, the city > decided it needed to hike the prices. He said an average hook-up fee for > other cities Rushford's size is nearly $800. The old fees were $75, and > fees are now $300. > > It's a way to buy into the system, Copley said. "It's a cost-benefit to the > city because you are allowed to build more homes." > > Funding such projects is a "nationally recognized issue," said Bill Dunn, > an environmental planner for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. > > Lewiston is also dealing with updating its waste water system with the same > funding challenges. Dunn said the city has requested placement on a list of > priority projects to be funded by the MPCA. > > In previous years, Lewiston has had problems with rainwater. Two years ago, > the city was unable to build more homes until they found a new way to deal > with wastewater treatment. Their old system was a pond system, where an > unused body of water was the end-point for sewage. They now have a > wastewater treatment plant, which has allowed them to build homes again. > > The city is asking for $811,000 from the MPCA, Dunn said. The number is > "relatively small," he said, as most projects are seven figures. Officials > don't know when they will find out if they will get the funding approval > for the project. > > ------------ > > Dwayne Voegeli > > Winona County Commissioner > > (507) 453-9012 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > 359 Pleasant Hill Dr. > Winona, MN 55987 > > ------------ > > > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. 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