The Rosemere Neighborhood Association Pursues Water Quality Issues in Vancouver and Clark County – 2001

In the summer of 2001, Rosemere residents complained to the RNA Board that they had no access to the City’s sanitary sewer service. They could not afford the expense of installing sewer mains for their entire street. They asked the RNA Board to find out what could be done to upgrade. Since then, the RNA has delved into a myriad of serious problems surrounding septic issues. The end result of these problems is that our ground and surface water is contaminated with high levels of E.coli (among other pathogens) that arise directly from human waste in the watershed. Septic ordinances are not being enforced. Long-range plans do not remediate failing septic tanks and cesspools in a timely fashion. At the present pace, it would take the local government more than 300 years to fix these problems, and we simply do not have that much time. Now is the time for all governmental jurisdictions, state, federal, environmental organizations, concerned citizens, and neighbors, to band together and find solutions to these problems before we have no water left to drink.