Knowing that at earliest it will be seven years before sections of the Ward 3 will get sewers, Councilwoman Camille Vella Wilkinson wants to ensure her constituents have access to low-interest loans to replace cesspools with septic systems.

That’s why she introduced an ordinance that would allow the creation of a wastewater district in her ward. A district would open the door to low-cost financing through the Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency, saving thousands of dollars over the term of the loan for homeowners.

That all sounds good, but some of Vella Wilkinson’s fellow councilmen thought the plan, even though limited to Ward 3, could set a precedent for other wards and may carry added costs that would negate savings.

“We’re not going to see a shovel in the ground until 2020,” Vella Wilkinson said of sewer construction in the ward that includes most of Green Airport. And she wonders if some areas, such as that neighborhood off Strawberry Field Road south of the former Leesona Plant, will ever get sewers. Wells have been installed near the former manufacturer of textile machinery to cleanse the ground water of pollutants.

“We need relief for these people,” she told the City Council Monday night.

A district would impose a set of rules and regulations, such as a required inspections and pumping of septic systems. That was an issue for Ward 9 Councilman Steve Merolla even if the district was restricted to Ward 3.

Much of Merolla’s ward is without sewers, and there is no plan to bring them to Potowomut.

“I would not vote for my own district,” he said.

“I don’t have full faith in the Warwick Sewer Authority. I don’t want to see fines and penalties imposed.”

Merolla went a step further, stating his belief that sewers can be a mistake in some parts of the city and that money spent on them would be better used helping people install septic systems.

“A functioning septic system recharges the aquifer,” he said.

Ward 4 Councilman Joseph Solomon tried to peg down the added costs of a wastewater district.

“What’s it going to cost the homeowner?”

Janine Burke, executive director of the sewer authority, projected inspections would run about $100 a year. She pointed out that regular inspections, followed by proper maintenance would serve to extend the life of septic systems, thereby in the long run providing a savings to the homeowner.

Vella Wilkinson felt there was nothing that would require homeowners within a district to register.

“The resident can make that decision,” she said.

Yet, it would appear there is a catch-22. Burke said the authority can’t access the low interest loan program “because we don’t have a district.”

“Once we pass this,” countered Solomon, “the sewer authority is going to be driving the bus. I think before we embark on this, we should know the cost.”

On the other hand, Vella Wilkinson is anxious to push the district along so as to help her constituents.

Chief of staff Mark Carruolo offered a solution. He said districts are frequently detailed mechanisms reaching well beyond the single-page ordinance Vella Wilkinson proposed. His suggestion was for a resolution, rather than an ordinance, calling on the sewer authority to outline a district for the ward. In such a manner the council would get a complete picture of a district and whatever cost it might mean before enacting an ordinance.

Vella Wilkinson docketed a resolution for consideration at next Monday’s meeting.