PLYMOUTH — Dr. Byron Holm, the Chief Health Officer in Marshall County, addressed the Marshall County Sewer District board on Wednesday, hoping to shed light on the process that brought the entity into being.
Holm said the testing done at that time made it apparent to him and his team at the Health Department that failing or antiquated septic systems beginning to fail were the cause of that E. coli rise. At that time, he urged the County Commissioners to form the sewer district to protect the citizens and the groundwater in those areas.
Holm told the board and those at the meeting that his job was to protect the health of Marshall County citizens and felt that the formation of the sewer district was the best way to ensure the future health of the citizens and the environment. Holm said that if the rise of E.Coli is not addressed, the contamination will continue, as well as the cost to remedy it.
He went on to address the concerns of those involved with the current project on the table of the excessive cost so far and asked the board to come up with a cost-effective way to address the problems in the county. He acknowledged that without grant funds, that would be a very difficult thing, but also said that in his professional opinion, a closed system (sewer) was the best option for the long term.
After Holm’s address, the boards newest member, Dean Colvin, made a short statement as well during the acceptance of claims, saying that the expense was extreme but the board needed to “pump the brakes” and figure out how to cut the costs.
He also cautioned against the dismantling of the board entirely since the current project is only one of 12 outlined by the Health Department and the board would be a useful tool to address those problems.
