Letter: Sewers unnecessary in Suffolk County
Wendy Oborne had to hire a private contractor to repair the public sewer pipe under the street in front of her home. (Aug. 20, 2013) Credit: Judy Cartwright
Here we go again! Does anybody remember the huge cost overruns, scandals and corruption surrounding the creation of Suffolk County's Southwest Sewer District? It budgeted $291 million, but the final cost was $1 billion. Now the county wants to spend another $1 billion on sewers for 12,000 more homes ["Suffolk's $1b pitch for sewers," News, March 26].
I'll bet the people looking to spend this money have never heard of self-contained composting toilets. They're on the market today, sell for less than $900 each at retail, cost nothing to install and need to be emptied only once a month. Their odorless compost can safely be put out with the trash or even used as garden fertilizer. You can install two per home for far less than Suffolk County wants to spend.
Once again, our government is flushing incredible amounts of hard-earned taxpayer dollars down the toilet. It's so easy when it's not your own money.
Eric Merz, Shirley
