Guest Column
Margaret and James McEowen

We can relate very strongly and sympathetically to Christina Monfasani's letter of Oct. 23 in the Independent ("Holmdel resident appalled at behavior at public meeting"), in which she criticizes the Holmdel Township Committee's disregard for due process with respect to the wastewater management plan and its lack of concern for residents who are not pro-development but are nevertheless pro-sewer for already fully developed residential areas with inadequate or failing septic systems. She might have mentioned there are more than 2,400 homes in Holmdel with septic systems that are 20-40 years old.

We live in the so-called Tanglewood section just south of the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel. This area is completely built out, with nominally one-acre zoning. The terrain is hilly and heavily wooded. Our irregular lot covers 1.25 acres, but the "usable for septic" part is only in our front yard (we are on the side of a wooded hill), and has an area of less than 2,500 square feet. There is no other place on our property for a septic system except our front yard; this is true for a large number of the properties in this development.

We flush our toilets as infrequently as possible. We never flush toilet tissue. We shower sparingly. We use paper plates a lot. We take our wash to the Laundromat, or use commercial cleaners. We feel we cannot comfortably sustain a full house for more than a week or two. We have our 2,000-gallon septic holding tank pumped every one or two years. We have lost or removed three large trees and two medium-sized trees because of septic problems.

We have been here for 33 years and pay heavy taxes, and we cannot even enjoy the simple pleasures of normal water use. Furthermore, in the words of Abigail Adams (wife of second U.S. President John Adams): "On a hot day, the feculence seems pestilential..." as we walk along a roadside stream near our home and breathe in the aroma of failing, decades-old septic systems.

At the time Tanglewood septic systems were installed, there were different, lenient standards and less knowledge. Many of us in Tanglewood would never be allowed to install an original septic system on our property today.

In a letter to the Oct. 30 Independent, Isabelle McFarland states, "Residents who have been hoping for sewers because of problems with their septic systems should be supported with expert advice on how to make their systems work properly..." This is nonsense. We have consulted experts and been told in no uncertain terms that our property is entirely unsuitable for a satisfactory septic system.

There are many other people in Holmdel with the same problem. (There have in fact been eight independent engineering studies during the last 35 years indicating very clearly that the portion of Holmdel in which we live is unsuitable for septic systems.)

In their flier mailing of Oct. 30, Janet Berk and Tony Orsini state if sewers are installed in fully developed areas of Holmdel, " ... owners of undeveloped property will successfully challenge sewer restrictions and high-density development will follow." This is more nonsense. There are clearly two separate issues here: zoning for future growth and quality of life for existing residents. The courts have consistently upheld a municipality's right to reasonable zoning. We believe the township has an obligation to maintain the quality of life for all of its residents.

From an environmental standpoint, a home with both city water and sanitary sewers has essentially no adverse impact on the local environment. With the exception of (very infrequent) lawn watering, the water comes in one pipe and goes out the other.

In the middle of 1999, the township surveyed the residents in Tanglewood concerning installation of sewers. Strong and unwanted scare-tactic-type interference was immediately applied by Citizens for Informed Land Use, or CILU. Material was distributed that grossly understated the actual cost of septic system replacement, exaggerated the cost and inconvenience of installing sewers, and failed to take notice of the improved quality of life and increased property values that occur when an area is sewered.

This same mean-spirited group is apparently attempting to seize control of Holmdel by any means, and they clearly have no compassion for those who for very good reasons disagree with their own selfish and wrong-headed objectives. Holmdel Township Committee, health department, citizens, and Crusaders for Infected Land Use, wake up and smell the s(tench)!

Margaret and James McEowen are residents of Holmdel