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This past week marked a big event at our house--we were finally connected to the public sewer system that has just been completed along the west side of Chautauqua Lake.
When it happened, it was really a "non-event." The toilet flushed the same way, the drains in the sink were no different than before--yet, we knew that our wastewater was now going to a better place--the public sewage treatment plant in Celoron.
Actually, I think that I slept better that night, knowing that this 10-year odyssey of getting sewers up the lake had finally come to a successful conclusion at our home. Yet, at the same time, it reminded me of another public service which would also be welcome--the extension of public water systems.
Though we have a good water well, have excellent deliverability from it, and it carries no smells of sulfur--we know, in our heart of hearts, that it would be better and smarter for us to be on a public water supply.
When public water is supplied it means that there is (or should be) an institution or governmental entity behind it guaranteeing drinking water from a safe and reliable source.
I add the words "should be" because nearby Fredonia, after many "boil water" episodes, currently struggles with this. Why they have not shifted to the reliable and safe drinking water from nearby Dunkirk remains a mystery to those of us who look at Fredonia from afar, from over here at this end of the county.
Where we live, the City of Jamestown has been gradually expanding its water service, coming from its plentiful wells in the Jamestown aquifer, to other communities in the south County. Lakewood, Falconer, and portions of the Towns of Ellicott, Busti, Kiantone and North Harmony are now being served by public water service provided by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. This not only helps these communities, but Jamestown benefits by selling more water which it has in abundance.
On at least one occasion, this resulted in a huge increase in local employment when public water service was extended to the Cummins Engine Plant in Ashville which now employs over 1,000 people. It was needed not only for consumption but to provide for adequate fire protection.
What concerns me now, however, is why the public water system in our area has not been further extended into the Towns of North Harmony and Ellery. There is a need for such water in places like Bemus Point and Stow, but from what I can see, there is now no movement to address this need. Though North Harmony created a small district near Lakewood, the Town of Ellery, on the east side of the lake, has created no public water districts--though public water is obviously needed in the Village of Bemus Point and in other places in that Township.
Public water service cannot be extended unless water districts are created. I could go on about how public water especially helps restaurants and public gathering places like schools--where the current requirement to regularly test water from private wells is an ongoing need, cost and concern.
But, you get the point--safe, sufficient, public water supplies are a necessary part of public infrastructure. And, like everything else, we need to be supporting their extension and availability if our county is going to grow and prosper in the future.
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.