Letter to the Editor: Concerns about Stormwater Construction

As pertains to the storm water treatment facility under construction behind the Village Green, these are my concerns:

1)   I feel the public has not been adequately informed or included in this plan, though it has been in the works for a long time.

2)  The forest root system and natural balance it created was already doing
a service to the earth as a natural filter for our human excesses. This project may destroy the existing wetland, interrupting an ecosystem of countless living creatures in the process. Why are somany trees being taken down? I worry that this may be the result: a barren landscape that will dry out in summer, get overgrown with weeds
if not maintained, and possibly cause a leach of pollutants when flooded by the rains come autumn… How well will this site be cared for after construction is completed? Why such an extreme act?
Wouldn’t it be better to assist nature by less harmful and intrusive measures?

3)  An aesthetics committee was formed of several professionals in the community who work with the plants and land here on the Islands, including people who worked on the Stage. This group was invited to
review and comment on the plans. Most were opposed to the projected course of action and shared many questions, criticisms, and
suggestions. Thanks to the hard work of these individuals, Public Works made some concessions on the plan, including saving a few important habitat trees. But did this group really have any say on what is happening here in our town?

4)  During the coming rainy season there will be little root system left to filter the storm water flow. What is the plan to prevent pollution during the duration of project completion? In a major storm event,
what if the finished system cannot handle the water?

5)  Most importantly, is this construction setting a precedent for more development in Eastsound, where so many business spaces already sit vacant?

We all need to take this issue into deep consideration and learn from it. Our community and our earth deserve better than this.

Mary W. Giampietro