- No one knows the final cost of increasing the sewer-plant capacity because it has yet to be designed
- No one knows the cost of installing new sewer lines because the bids aren't in
- No one will have any part of the up-front money (the assessment) returned if the project costs less than estimated
- No one knows the interest rate that will be applied to the 20-year payment schedule arranged by the City through the County Tax collector. (The numbers listed on the City web site impute an interest rate over 11%.)
- There is a serious shortage of materials and manpower in Florida because of the recent hurricanes. In an editorial in the November 15, 2005 WSJ (Concrete for Brains) the author bemoans the 55% anti-dumping duty imposed on Mexican cement ("the basic ingredient in ready-mix concrete used for homes, sidewalks, roads and bridges, as well as for wastewater- and stormwater-conveyance systems, septic tanks and concrete pipe"). The U.S. cement industry can supply only 23% of U.S. need and "If Mexican cement could be imported at market prices, it could be shipped overland to ease current shortages in Florida ..." According to a contractors' group quoted by the WSJ, the duties on Mexican cement "contributed to a 14.3% increase in the price index for non-residential structures last quarter."
- Because of shortages in material and manpower as we compete with others for contractors, no one knows what this megaproject will cost or how long it will take
Environmental Considerations
According to the EPA's 1997 Report to Congress
- Properly maintained septic systems meet all federal and state water quality standards just as well as sewers
- Septic systems promote better watershed management and recharge the local aquifer
- Septic systems are advantageous in ecologically sensitive areas and are specifically beneficial in protecting ground water and off-shore shellfish beds
- The main reason why people favor sewers is because citizens and city governments are unaware of the advantages of septic systems
- Even wastewater engineers are unaware of the septic-system advantage because septic systems are not well covered in engineering curricula
- Engineers face financial disincentives in recommending septic systems because their fees are based on a percentage of the project and sewers are more expensive than onsite treatment
According to the Florida Clean Water Fund
- Sewers spilled over 55,800,000 gallons of raw sewage into Florida communities and waterways in 2004
- Collier County reported 44 spillages totaling more than 931,945 gallons. In 3 instances the county could not determine the amount of spillage.
- Not one sewer system in Collier County is city-owned
About the quality of Marco Waterways
- Marco waters rank among the best in the country
- 2/3 of the fecal bacteria in our canals do not come from septic systems
- If we sewered the entire island the fecal-bacteria count would only drop by 3 MPN - from an average of 9.5 MPN to an average of 6.5 MPN. (MPN is the Most Probable Number of fecal colonies per 100 ml of water and is a way of measuring water pollution.)
- According to the City Environmental Technician, an average fecal-bacteria count below 200 MPN is considered "safe" for all recreational purposes. The water in Marco's unsewered canals would have to increase more than 20 times to be considered "unsafe"!
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Prepared by Citizens Advocating Responsible Environmental Solutions, Inc. (C.A.R.E.S.)