A Royal Flush

Yep, let's talk about "poo" as Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs (Discovery Channel) would say.
Discussion with a neighbor yesterday about our sewer system (I know, I know, get a life) prompts me to give you a quick primer on our waste system.

First and foremost, we are inextricably tied to KCMO unless we build our own sewage plant (not happening). That being said, the woes of the KCMO system, both water and sewer are well documented with the fix to both being in the Billions of dollars. We will get the opportunity to share in the fix. The City is responsible for maintaining the system within our borders with the exception of the two Lift Stations (Eastside and Westside Drives) which are maintained by KCMO (remember the small spill {30,000 gallons} last year?). The Lift Stations do exactly that, lift our poo, etc., into the KCMO system.

We have a closed, pressurized system. Most of the homes use grinder pumps to push the poo, etc., to the main lines that generally follow the roadway. Some homes, not many, are on gravity lines that feed their poo, etc., no need for grinders, Mother Earth does it naturally, that is, it flows down hill.

There has been some controversy from time to time on the "fairness" of the gravity folks subsidizing the more costlier grinder people. Harken back to the good old days when the mode of the day was septic tanks...or worse. Where would the poo leach back then? Safe to say, some into the Lake. So, we all benefit from the pristine water quality of the lake due to, in part, our closed, pressurized sewage system. It's not cheap to operate, but it works.

Like all infrastructure, the sewage system ages. We still have some clay pipes, we still have PVC that breaks. Grinders fail and/or wear out. The City had commissioned a video study of some of the system and thus the ball park for repairs/upgrades. Put the two together, KCMO needs, WL needs, and you can see the direction of sewer rates, UP.

So, next time you are on the throne rest assured of one thing. The costs of transporting your poo will be worthy of a Royal Flush. (Tomorrow we tackle gaming/poker at the CC).