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Vote Yes for Clean Water: Background Background information on the $400 million bond to fund the Water and Sewer Systems Assistance Act, on the November 4, 2008 ballot. On November 4, 2008 a ballot question will ask Pennsylvanians to approve a $400 million bond to fund the Water and Sewer Systems Assistance Act. Voting yes will cut the pollution in our local waterways and help rescue and restore our failing and aging infrastructure. Our 86,000 miles of streams and rivers are more than just beautiful we overwhelmingly rely on local waterways for drinking water, with four out of five Pennsylvanians getting their drinking water from surface waters. We rely on local waterways for economic and recreational opportunities, too. Six million Pennsylvanians enjoy the outdoors and fishing alone is a $1 billion industry in the state. Unfortunately, nearly 20 percent of our streams and rivers are polluted. The sources are many -- added nutrients and sediment from sewage treatment plants, agriculture, industrial livestock operations, manufacturing, overwhelmed and outdated sewer and septic systems, and poorly planned development. A yes will help fight this pollution in our local waterways, and will help clean areas downstream, like the Chesapeake Bay, and the Ohio, Mississippi and Delaware rivers. . Examples of the need for this funding can be seen throughout the Commonwealth: The Susquehanna River provides 50 percent of the freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay our failure to clean up upstream is harming the entire Bay. Thanks to state funding, both Virginia and Maryland facilities are making necessary upgrades, yet here in Pennsylvania, pollution reduction and water quality improvements have yet to be made. A yes vote on the ballot measure will reestablish Pennsylvania’s commitment to clean water here and downstream. In Philadelphia, a 2006 poll found that one in five residents and one in three businesses suffered property damage due to flooding and sewage backups caused by an aging sewer system inadequate to handle wastewater and stormwater loads. A yes vote can help Philadelphia replace and upgrade infrastructure and reduce runoff that pollutes local waterways. In western Pennsylvania, the sewage collection system is so old and fragile that as little as one-tenth of an inch of rain or melting snow can cause raw sewage to overflow into the rivers and streams. The problem is so bad that the Allegheny County Health Department has an orange flag alert system warning boaters and anglers when the water is contaminated with human waste and dangerous for recreation. An average season will have 11 alerts, lasting from one to 45 days. The City of Lebanon Authority needs to make $50 million of improvements to its wastewater-treatment plant. But without state funding to tap into, the cost of the improvements will double customer’s sewer rates — about $200 a year for a family of four- in the next five years. The problem is huge and the costs are astronomical it could take billions to make all necessary maintenance and infrastructure improvements to our water and sewage facilities. And the longer upgrades are put off, the more expensive they become. Without a funding source for our municipal treatment plants, local families and businesses must carry the financial burden with escalating rates on their monthly bills. It is time for Pennsylvanians to voice their commitment to the rivers and streams where we swim, fish and paddle. Let’s step up and say yes on November 4 to bring our sewer and water systems into the 21st Century. Vote yes for clean water.
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