Leo M. van der Ham | Mar 15, 2017


I want to provide my opinion, as a senior, of the mandatory septic systems inspection program as conceived by the Central Frontenac council. I understand their desire to be seen as contributors to the "Green Revolution”, but their timing is all wrong.
We have a receding population density, not a growing one. And using the cookie-cutter approach, lumping industrial, commercial, urban, and rural residential properties, families and singles, together potentially leads to the dilemma of how to deal with seniors, many of them in the rural residential sector, that are financially unable to affect repairs or replacement, as well as having to spend hundreds of dollars every five years on inspections.

The solution is quite simple. Make the present group of seniors exempt.

Seniors are lucky if they are still a couple, many are single and widowed. We seniors are happy if we have a daily bowel movement. Conceivably we could poop in our backyard or between the trees  and leave less of an environmental footprint than that of a single cow in a neighbour's meadow, and the same for a mid-sized dog.

I don't think that the occasional residue of a homecare person using the facilities will dramatically affect the total output. Present senior residents will have disappeared in another 20 to 30 years. Mandate an inspection upon their properties when changing hands.

So...the septic system is not perfect...it's not a calamity.  Do not have a hissy-fit.

If Council does I guess they will become totally apoplectic when dealing with thousands of goats defecating on our pristine domain.

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