LETTERS

What’s next, the ocean?

Posted 8/6/13

To the Editor:

The lead article in the Aug. 1 Beacon declares a “Crisis” because the Bay’s beaches have been closed 107 times so far this year, and Mr. Tom Kutcher of Save The Bay comes to …

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LETTERS

What’s next, the ocean?

Posted

To the Editor:

The lead article in the Aug. 1 Beacon declares a “Crisis” because the Bay’s beaches have been closed 107 times so far this year, and Mr. Tom Kutcher of Save The Bay comes to the conclusion that we must step up “storm water management and the phase out of cesspools.”

So the answer to this problem is always “stepped up” intervention by government when, maybe, the problem might increase with this “solution.” After the Providence ratepayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build an enormous underground reservoir for storm water, instead of the more sensible two-pipe system, why hasn’t the upper bay improved in water quality? And, of course, he has to make cesspools a target, so that everyone will be required to tie into a centralized, government-operated sewer system, which will spill billions of gallons of “treated” water into the rivers and Bay. Cesspools, if elevated above the water table, provide a good means of disposing human waste as the solids are collected in a retrievable basin and the fluids are filtered into the ground.  Before penalizing homeowners because they have a cesspool, wouldn’t it be prudent to find out how many of these have failed and how many are actually impacting the shoreline? But no such investigation is suggested as Mr. Kutcher, with proletarian pencil in cap to make it look like he really studied these things, looks down his long liberal nose to come to the conclusion that only a centralized government solution will work. 

What a surprise! Then take a closer look at the map where the beach closings occurred – 1st, 2nd & 3rd beach and Bailey’s Beach (the sky is falling!) in Newport, all located on the Atlantic. Will Mr. Kutcher next advocate that we build a facility to treat the ocean?

Erik Thorp

Warwick

Comments

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  • JohnStark

    Cesspools, rain runoff, lack of access to sewers, etc. Would anyone in 1970 have predicted that, in 2013, the Providence River would be a hotbed for Striper fishing? We can debate the finer details, but this is all going in the right direction. There are more scallops and mussels in the Bay north of Warwick Light every year. Continue the debates, but most importantly: Continue to pay attention.

    Tuesday, August 6, 2013 Report this