$20,000 to flush your toilet? It could happen in rural Iowa

Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money to flush a toilet. But thats what it can cost every home in a small town to install a community sewage system. And the price can rise to $25,000, maybe even $30,000 per home if other work needs to be done.

Alexanders town council is making a public protest against government rules that are pushing tiny towns into spending millions of dollars on sewer systems. Last week the council reviewed two proposed city ordinances in hopes of fighting back against big government and agencies like the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Alexander city councilman Tom Schear proposed two laws: Unaffordable, Unsustainable Capital Improvement Projects and Freedom From Unwarranted Financial Obligations.

Small communities all across the state -- Alexander, Goodell, Rowan and dozens of others -- are being told the residents need to spend tens of thousands of dollars per home to replace septic tanks with a community sewage treatment system.

This sewer business is gonna kill small communities, said Councilman Shear, author of the two proposed city ordinances. Its going to cost Alexander at least $1.5 million for 150 people ($10,000 per person). There are 80 utility customers in Alexander, so thats $20,000 per home, plus interest, plus maintenance.

The government promises grants, but usually they dont come through, and people have to pay off the USDA over 40 years. We are talking about folks on fixed incomes and working people who cant sustain this sort of stuff. And if you cant pay, the USDA can put a lien on your property and even garnish your wages, Shear continued.

Plus, they wont tell you that many homes will have to have bigger electrical services installed to handle the grinding pumps that are necessary for these sewer systems. The pumps are unreliable and break down all the time.

When you add it all up, these things end up costing more than a house is worth in a small town. My water bill now is $25 per month. It would go to $100 per month with a sewer system.

Look at LuVerne. Their sewer project started out at $1.9 million, and its already up to $3.1 million. Their water bills went from $40 a month to $90 a month, and now they are going even higher. Theres a town in southeast Iowa that went from 130 people to 35 people because of one of these sewer projects.

I would agree to have broken septic tanks replaced. But leave working tanks alone. Cheaper alternatives are available, Shear stated.

Read the original post:
$20,000 to flush your toilet? It could happen in rural Iowa