Consider our plight

Dear editor:
I arrived in this town in 1954. The sewer and water system was designed previous to that.
The town’s construction required all weeping tile to be drained into the sanitary sewer system. It seemed to be working well at the time.
However, as time progressed, so did the building system. All the holes in building sites have been filled, schools added, a larger Rainycrest, and east-end construction has filled up and expanded the demand on the old sewer system design with restaurants, motels, and a multitude of housing!
The town staff who are responsible for dealing with the problems that are occurring with the inadequate sewer systems don’t seem to be bringing these issues forward for the elected officials to deal with.
Every event that floods some east-enders out, and cause $40,000-$60,000 to our residences, doesn’t seem to matter to them.
We are warned to install sump pumps to alleviate the water problems. But some of that drainage water we pump out contains raw sewage and it lays around our yards and driveways.
Our street drains are about 50 percent effective because the system has disintegrated. Manholes are above grade and pipes have settled or frost has made them from two-six inches above the drain surface of the gutters.
Our streets have ponds of water up to eight inches deep that don’t drain into the working gutter intakes.
That water seeps into the surrounding soil and our pumps either pump it out or the old existing weeping tiles allow it to go into the sanitary sewer.
Perhaps some budgeting of taxpayers’ funds should go towards an ongoing program of some new trunk lines to ease the overflows of the sanitary sewers.
Should the street systems be repaired to allow street drainage to go down the gutters, and perhaps repairs should be undertaken to fix the non-draining street drains?
The east-ender taxpayer would like our overpaid town executives to consider our plight. We not only are having problems with our high taxes, but our insurance deductibles are not out of sight.
Thank you for any consideration!
Respectfully yours,
John Steinke
Fort Frances, Ont.