Clean Water aka No Poop in the River

HCP’s “NO POOP IN THE RIVER” Project got off to a great start with a power point presentation to the Berrien County Board of Health on March 3 in Benton Harbor. Jim Vopat made the presentation along with the support of HCP members Steve LaGattuta, Sara Bode,Bonnie Kasten, Bob Miller, and Dick Burd. As citizens concerned about E. coli pollution of our waterways, we requested that the Health Board enact a point of sale ordinance requiring inspection of on-site septic when property is sold, transferred, or there is a change in use by adding outbuildings or additions. The ordinance would require the septic inspection to be completed prior to the sale of the property.
Here’s the scoop on the poop—so to speak. We know from testing done by the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources that there are unacceptable amounts of E. coli in waterways throughout Berrien County. This E. coli is largely from human (not animal) waste and is the result of faulty or non-existent septic systems. While there is a statute requiring adequate septic for all habitable dwellings within the county, there is really no way for the Health Dept. to enforce such an ordinance. A point of sale ordinance would give the Health Dept. a way to insure septic compliance at a time when money is at the table and both buyer and seller motivated to fix any problems. Ten other counties in Michigan have enacted similar ordinances to deal with the same water contamination problems. (NOTE: Prior to adoption of a point of sale ordinance, Barry and Eaton counties found 10% failure on voluntary inspections).
Members of the Board of Health seemed open to our proposal and were cordial and even appreciative. Adopting a point of sale ordinance isn’t a quick fix to the problem, but it is a reasonable start. We feel optimistic that, with Michigan’s slogan now changed to “PURE MICHIGAN,” the “No Poop in the River” project will eventually succeed.
According to The Herald-Palladium article about our presentation (featured on the front page under the headline “Impure Michigan?” 3/4/2010), the Health Board will have a timeline for fact-finding regarding our proposal by their April meeting. Yes we can.