Thanks to the Enterprise for an informative article last week about The Homestead Resort’s sewage system. Following are a few points of clarification.
The Homestead’s sewage was referred to as “treated”, and even “highly treated”--and thus “safe”. However, what needs to be understood is that the sewage is not fully treated until it has gone into the ground to be filtered through the soil and absorbed by plants. The sewage spray that blows into the park is only partially treated. It has been filtered to remove particulates, and it’s chlorinated. Chlorinating kills some pathogens. However, it is not full treatment. Many harmful substances survive chlorination.
That’s why sewage that people might be exposed to must be further treated. The Homestead’s sewage is not further treated until it goes into the ground, and until then it’s not intended for human exposure. That’s why the state and the National Park Service have both determined that the sprayed effluent is unsafe for human contact. And that’s why, for example, The Homestead’s state-approved Irrigation Management Plan states, “All irrigation spray – including aerosol drift – must be contained within [the spray area] limits.”
