Win Gruening’s recent column about Juneau’s landfill reminded me of a related issue that many people probably aren’t aware of.
We were the first to start a home in Bayview (Mile 8) out North Douglas in 1983. AELP connected the area to their power lines and soon others began building homes too. We had our own subdivision water, and each house had its own treatment system connected to a single outfall line.
Luckily for us, the CBJ eventually took over the water and sewer service and ran a sewer line from the Mendenhall treatment plant across the wetlands to connect Bayview to the city system.
The CBJ sewer line along North Douglas Highway only runs from the bridge to Bonnie Brae subdivision (Mile 4.25).
For several decades, most North Douglas homeowners between Bonnie Brae and Bayview have been waiting for the city to extend the sewer line. Meanwhile, those resident’s treated sewage leaches into Gastineau channel, the Mendenhall Wetlands, and Fritz Cove. Many of their septic systems are likely old and in danger of failing. This is not a want, folks, but a serious overdue need.
Why is the JACC (which we voted down) so high on our Assembly’s priority list when basic infrastructure like a CBJ sewer line is so far down the list?
Sewer lines and landfills are not fun to talk about but are more of a community need than a shiny new arts center.
•Scott Spickler is a retired business owner and 39 year resident of North Douglas. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.