Stafford Pond cesspools must go

TIVERTON — Norbert Berube, 74, lives with his wife Pauline in a home on Old Stafford Road he built himself on just under an acre of land by Stafford Pond. He's lived there since the mid-1960s. Two cesspools serve their house but those days are numbered.

The couple, and most everyone living nearby, have been told by the town that they must inspect and replace them, at his their expense, with up-to-date septic systems. Soon.

Because his property fronts on a pond that supplies the town with drinking water, the new septic system has to be what officials call "innovative and alternative system," what Mr. Berube refers to as "one with all the bells and whistles."

The new system could cost anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000, although John Lincourt, Tiverton's wastewater superintendent, is cautious about estimating ("there's a huge range," he says).

Mr. Berube used to be head of maintenance for St. Anne's Hospital. He's retired now. He said his home and land are valued now at a little over $500,000, and that his taxes went up in the last few years from $2,200 to $5,200.

He's already spent $75 for the inspection and has paid an engineer another $2,200 to help him decide what kind of septic system he needs to replace the cesspools with.

"Myself, it's killing me, because of my age. I'm retired," he said. "I don't have the money to do it, and I can't even sell it. It doesn't make sense to me."

His neighbor Sarita Pimentel, 56, shares his sentiments. "It's vary unfair to us," she said. "We're going to comply, eventually, but the time allotted is not enough."

The problem confronting them is not unique. A town ordinance that went into effect July 17, 2006 aims to abide by state regulations prohibiting pollution of waterways.

To get there the town aims to get rid of all cesspools and upgrade substandard septic systems. It will clean up watershed by watershed: first Stafford Pond (now underway), then the watersheds for Nanaquaket (2008) and Nonquit (2010) ponds, next the Sakonnet waterfront (2012), and finally the rest of town (2014) By the year 2016, said Mr. Lincourt, if all goes well the job should be all done town-wide.

Residents in the watersheds listed above can expect to get notices and be required to comply beginning in the years indicated.

The town ordinance exists against the backdrop of a state law that requires the abolition of all cesspools that lie within 200 feet of a critical resource (e.g. a shoreline, a water source like a well-head or surface water supply such as Stafford Pond) by the year 2013. Cesspools are now officially considered substandard and inadequate to protect the state's waters.

In addition, the town now requires that when a home sells, it must be brought into compliance within one year of the date of sale. Similar confrontations are taking place in towns across the state.

Stafford Pond watershed problem

Because it is deemed most sensitive, Stafford Pond watershed residents were the first priority in the town's upgrade list. And that's how Mr. Berube got snagged.

It actually wasn't the first notice. A 1996 zoning ordinance, said Mr. Lincourt, required all people with cesspools in the Stafford Pond watershed to get rid of them and replace them with septic systems by 2005. Few cesspool owners obliged.

The, last July 12, 2007, Mr. Lincourt sent notices to all 230 residents in the Stafford Pond watershed telling them they had to inspect and replace cesspools and substandard systems by Sept. 30, 2007. To each recipient he sent a list of state-certified septic system inspectors. Many residents on Old Stafford Road and Pelletier Lane, especially, have cesspools, he said.

About half complied (roughly 30 notices went to vacant lots). Of the roughly 100 who did get inspected, said Mr. Lincourt, 49 were found acceptable and up to standards, 35 were cesspools that were functional but must go anyway, 15 were failing cesspools, and one was a conventional septic system that was failing.

Mr. Lincourt sent out second notices to the 100 people who still hadn't gotten inspections, telling them they have until April 15 to do so. After these inspections are done, Mr. Lincourt estimates there will end up being roughly 100 people in the watershed who will need to replace cesspools or failed septic systems. Mr. Berube is one of them.

Failing cesspools will need to be replaced by the end of the spring, Mr. Lincourt said, and non-failing cesspools will need to be replaced by the end of July.

The same sequence of events will occur for the other watersheds on the town's priority list. Nanaquacket Pond residents are next, and can expect to start receiving notices this summer. Mr. Lincourt said that because some of the neighborhoods around Nanaquacket Pond are old "the likelihood of hitting a lot of cesspools there is good."

Mr. Lincourt said he suspects the Nonquit watershed may have fewer cesspools, since many homes in that large area are newer. The same cannot be said of the Sakonnnet waterfront, where he suspects "the old shorefront neighborhoods may still have a lot of cesspools."

Mr. Lincourt estimates that there may be as many as 900 cesspools in Tiverton that will need to be replaced. He has no idea how many substandard septic systems might flunk inspection.

Mr. Berube's dilemma

For people like Mr. Berube, the options seem few. He has to install a new septic system, with "all the bells and whistles" because he lives in the Stafford Pond watershed, despite the fact that hids cesspool still works fine His cesspool lies 126 feet from the Stafford Pond waterline.

Penalties for non-compliance, following a notice of violation, can be up to $500 per day, for each day the violation occurs.

A state-sponsored low (two percent) interest loan program for up to $25,000 exists for people who need financial help. The repayment term is 10 years. For information call John Lincourt at 625-6710.

Some septic system basics

For information about loan program, list of certified inspectors, list of contractors, call John Lincourt, wastewater superintendent (625-6701), or visit town wastewater website at: http://www.tiverton.ri.gov/government/wastewater.html.

Inspection costs:

n first maintenance inspection $75-$125, but if pump-out required could be $150-$200; routine reinspections thereafter $75

Septic system costs:

n Conventional: $12,000-$13,000

n High end technology (called"innovative and alternative" or "I & A," required for sites near water): $30,000-$40,000

Tips to know if system is failing: overflow of wastewater on property; lush green grass in one area of yard; if pumper finds water right up to cover; back up in house.

By Tom Killin Dalglish

tdalglish@eastbaynewspapers.com

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