“Zero Waste” at what price? Without clean water, where are we?
Rainbow Open Space (shown in red on the map to the right) is protected by a conservation easement, is surrounded by sensitive habitat including an adjacent wetland, is nestled among other protected lands and slightly uphill from the region’s largest natural floodway. Further, the site provides 40-acres of sheet-flow water into the immediately adjacent Leggett Ditch. The simple act of clearcutting 40-acres of trees and paving more than 15-acres with impermeable asphalt and concrete will have a profound impact on local ground water quality and storm water flood rates during rain events
. Worse still, the County proposes using the existing small, aged septic system, designed for the one single small structure on the former tree farm, to service all future domestic needs of the entire 40-acre facility and all of its employees. And without connecting to municipal wastewater infrastructure, the County is proposing to take all contaminated compost waste water, and contaminated run-off from the site, by truck to another local, yet unnamed, wastewater facility. Compost leachate can be highly toxic, containing heavy metals, benzene and other carcinogens.
The wastewater and stormwater flows from a largely paved facility as shown by the County in the above design will have a profoundly negative impact on adjacent wetlands, the Leggett Ditch and all downstream users.