Letter to the Editor

In Rombauer Another side to sewer issue

Saturday, June 20, 2015

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the article circulated by the Daily American Republic on Monday, June 15, 2015, entitled Rombauer sewage issue by Eleanor C. Hasenbeck. First, I would like to point out that the article was written with absolutely no attempt to contact the current residents for their side of the story. The article is full of opinions and assumptions that the individuals mentioned in the article have no way of knowing or attempted to verify. I can specifically point out several statements that are blatantly false. Anyone with any intelligence knows that an occasional drive by view of something does not give a person a true understanding of a situation. I am personally not in the habit of discussing anyone's private information in a public format and am not about to start now. However, I will point out that there are, in fact, NOT as many as four families or households utilizing said property. Second, Rombauer's issues of flooding, run-off, odor, or sewer do not begin or end with this property or current residents. Anyone in Rombauer who is willing to be blatantly honest would be able to collaborate that fact. Separate from this, I will admit that the residence in question does make for a good scapegoat for these ongoing problems because of the highly visible nature of their current situation.

One thing I do want to make absolutely clear, is that those current residents are doing everything they can and are allowed to do at this point to correct the obvious problem. Any concerned individuals in the community, as well as, any outside news offficials could have been made aware of this by simply asking. I cannot speak for other residents in the Rombauer area because I do not know their life experiences; However, as for myself, I have lived in several different states in rural and urban areas and have never before encountered such flooding and soil absorbtion issues as I now know exist in Rombauer. My understanding of the residence spotlighted by this article is that several attempts have been made and are continuing to be made to rectify the problems that currently exist.

When the residents at this property first moved to the area, they were under the misguided believe that there was an appropriate working waste management system in use on the property. When it became apparent that the system was not working correctly, they took action to fix the problem. These efforts have been met with various common obstacles such as unethical individuals who begin work then leave it unfinished, inadequate information about work requirements, ongoing weather conditions, permit requirements on when work can be completed, and shortage of qualified professionals available to handle this type of soil area. These obstacles have left their hands tied on being able to quickly resolve the septic issues. This has left them as frustrated as others in the community. In real life, sometimes things just do not always work out the way we would like.

For anyone who is concerned about the current situation, the residents are working closely with the health department, professional soil experts and state licensed engineers to develop an appropriate state approved system adequate for this area. It just takes time to develop and complete the process as required. In the meantime, it is not raw sewage running into the open pit that is visible. There is an actual containment box that is not visible and that is being professionally pumped as required to prevent waste accumulation. What standing water is visible is basically the same as comes from any system piping field lines that do not come through an elaborate pumping system and rain accumulation. Professional septic businesses will tell you there is no way to prevent all water runoff from any individual rural system. Sometimes, depending on the area, it is just expected and accepted.

The truth is there are flooding and septic runoff issues in Rombauer. There were before these residents and there will be after their new state approved, engineer-developed system is installed and working properly. I now ask how many of their neighbors can say they actually have had professional state licensed soil experts examine their properties and developed systems appropriate for CURRENT regulations in this area? Research of these type issues will reveal that this is not the only rural community battling these problems. Sometimes solutions are not simple and in some cases evacuation of communities has been required. Maybe community concern would be better served if this neighborly, highly Christian community would direct their efforts into petitioning for a community based public accessible system that would benefit the entire community and prevent the problems that will continue in this area. I would appreciate if this letter was published or made public in some way just as the opinions of others have been.

Audrey Middlestat

Rombauer, Mo.