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Massaponax Creek sewage leaks should be taken more seriously

Date published: 5/27/2007

This is regarding a recent article ["State investigates Spotsy sewage leaks," May 11]. I was glad to see that Spotsylvania County leaders acknowledged the obvious and finally announced that there might be a health hazard in Massaponax Creek due to a raw sewage leak.

Why did it take a state investigation for the residents near Massaponax Creek to find out about the 45 raw-sewage overflows during the past five months?

In a May 10 press release, County Administrator Randy Wheeler stated, "The sewer overflows are a matter that we take very seriously"--but not, it seems, seriously enough for the county to alert the residents near the sewage overflow areas of a potential health hazard.

Even Supervisor Chris Yakabouski's comment ("It's not like it's overflowing in people's yards") downplays the seriousness of the situation, especially considering that children from the nearby Breezewood subdivision play in the woods and creek downstream from the site.

Once again, growth and development decisions are affecting the quality of life of county residents. Everybody is for smart growth and against dumb growth, but our leaders seem unable to tell the difference between the two, while county residents pay the price.

Until smart growth is truly realized in Spotsylvania County, residents should expect, at a minimum, to be notified by our leaders when their health is jeopardized. Truly, that is the smart thing to do.

Carl Ingebretsen, Spotsylvania

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Date published: 5/27/2007