Giant sandbox

This is what my yard has become. I used to be able to park at the side of the house where some light gravel had made the sand more stable; now the only solid ground is right in front of the house.

But I learned a few things from talking to the men who were hooking me into the municipal water/sewer system.

One was that the rectangular area right outside the back door where nothing grew was over the septic tank. Top of said tank was only about 3 inches below the surface, which explains why sometimes I smelled sewer in the house.

Because it was a bare area in a virtual sea of beach grass, that's where I would host people for picnics, etc. Ewww

Another was that under the yard was a lot of concrete. This septic tank and accompanying (6) concrete leach fields was installed about 5 years ago to fulfill state Dept. of Environmental (DEP) regulations. Cost: in the thousands to install.

The men smashed in the septic tank and most of the other structures and buried the concrete. The head of the team told me they had to leave the concrete on-site, per more regulations. He also told me that some homes had up to 12 of the leach points, depending on how many people lived there, how many bathrooms, etc.

It has cost each homeowner on Plum Island about $17,400 per unit and"buildable lot" to hook up to the $23 million system. Some people had apartments in their home so it was $17,400 for each dwelling space, or unit. Others also own 2 or more lots. And that's just what the city is charging, in order to pay off the debt.

(The city did allow people to apply for abatements and deferrals, but not that many were granted. Given the previous thousands people had to shell out for the upgraded septic system not that long ago, it's no small wonder that residents are peeved.

On the other hand, a lot of them did pay peanuts for their property that is now worth in the high six figures, especially if it's near or on the ocean.)

Owners also had to pay the contractors to hook them into the system, another $5,000 or so, depending on how long it took. These guys were at my house (actually, my landlord's house) for longer than expected because they had to smash up the concrete leach points as well. Then they had to bring in a truckload of sand to fill up where the space where the septic tank had been.

And finally, I learned how the system could indeed be compromised if the ocean floods over the dune. I knew the sewer system worked on a vacuum but I thought those blue air vents they put in when they laid the lines would disappear. They did, but now we all have off-white ones. If those vents go south, so also goes the vacuum sewer system, I would guess.

The top of the vent in my yard is 3 or 4 feet off the ground but I have seen some that are only about 18 inches off the ground.