For each Poo, you must disperse it across a hundred acre wood.
Oh bother.
Like this ? From the next town over.
In Chesapeake, homeowners have six months to connect to new city services – a costly project
By Mary Beth Gahan
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 13, 2015
CHESAPEAKE
Brennen Waters and his wife, Kimberly, bought their first home in May 2014 on Butts Station Road. Like many new homeowners, they had plans for improvements: Adding space for the in-laws. A covered patio to host the kids' birthday parties. Maybe a pool.
The water well and septic system weren't ideal, but the couple didn't see them as immediate concerns.
Less than a year later, construction started on an 18-home subdivision across the street. Contractors working on Hailey's Cove notified neighbors about the upcoming installation of water and sewer lines, saying they would do their best to "minimize any impact to surrounding residents."
While talking with neighbors, the Waterses found out that because the new pipes will run by their house, they have to connect to the city services - at a cost of more than $14,000.
They must pay $5,960 to the city within six months of the construction's completion. And installing the required infrastructure in and around their house will cost an additional $8,500, contractors have estimated. Refusing to participate is not an option.
Residents who fail to pay the connection fees within six months of notification will face fines of between $5 and $500 each day until payment is made, City Attorney Jan Proctor said.
"My biggest issue is that they're forcing it," Brennen Waters said.
"Six months is not sufficient notification for an average household to pay for the work and fees to connect," Waters said. "If we had not heard from others about the requirement to connect, we would still be oblivious to it."
Chesapeake officials say it's in the best interest of public health for all the homeowners to switch to the city water and sewage system.
Waters and the other seven residents affected by Hailey's Cove have yet to receive official notices from the city, but once the pipes are tested and flushed, a letter will be sent. That's when the clock starts.
The connection-fee mandate, which has been in the city code since 1969, dictates rates as high as $7,855, but the Hampton Roads Sanitation District does not charge so much to homeowners switching from a septic system, as the Waterses will do.
Connection fees in other cities range from $350 to $9,000.
After Brennen Waters approached city leaders about the issue last month, he received a letter from Deputy City Manager Amar Dwarkanath, who has since retired.
The six-month timeline is in place to "protect the health, safety and welfare of both the public and the environment," Dwarkanath wrote.
Of South Hampton Roads cities, Chesapeake gives homeowners the least time to connect. Virginia Beach allows one year and Norfolk five. Suffolk requires only that new buildings be connected to city utilities.
As development moves into the traditionally rural part of Chesapeake, city services are gradually spreading south. More than 250 acres have been rezoned for residential use this year by the City Council. Most of the nearly 800 homes approved will be built on land formerly zoned for agriculture. That means new pipes and customers for the city.
The new connections help fund the Public Utilities Department, which draws its operating budget from rates and fees, not general tax revenue.
Ed West, a utilities engineer for the city, said the expansion of services is an effect of growth and is not meant to punish current residents.
"It's just incidental that it goes past these other homes," West said.
Financing is not available, Dwarkanath said, but residents can make small payments during the six-month period if that helps.
"We can't be in the banking business," he said.
Michael Balf, who has lived on Butts Station Road for 20 years, knew the costs associated with connecting to city services, but he was unaware of the requirement to do so.
"I'm looking forward to tying into the system," Balf said. "But it's just like any other thing: Do I have the money?"
Under city code, a resident who can prove financial difficulties, or that the cost is "unreasonable," can obtain a two-year deferral. Balf, who is self-employed, thinks he qualifies.
"If they expect me to write a check for $6,000, I don't know what I'll do," he said. "You can't get blood from a turnip."
Mary Beth Gahan, 757-222-5208, marybeth.gahan@pilotonline.com
The rules here in Washington are if you are with 300 feet of a public system you must connect if your septic system fails. You have to have a pretty good reason, cost not being one of them, for them to waive that and the local jurisdiction has to write a letter to the Health District to support that reason as well