To the Editor: Clay liner not adequate for pond

1 cow = 23 people sewage wise.

The population of Warren, Ill., is 1,496 people. This translates into 65 cows sewage wise.

Great effort was made to maintain and increase the quality of sewer and water service to the town residents of Warren. With these improvements came increased water bills; this was expected. I assume the waste water treatment plant can process sewage for a population growth up to 2,000 or 3,000. How about a population of 126,000 people?

5,500 cows = 126,000 people sewage wise….

Representative Jim Sacia repeatedly stated that the clay liner proposed for Traditions Dairy—the proposed mega-dairy near Nora, Ill., Jo Daviess County, with 43 acres of manure storage in clay-lined ponds, is the same as the clay-lined ponds at the Warren waste water treatment plant.

Warren’s treatment plant pond only contains water, not raw sewage or manure. This treatment plant has a process that only allows water to be stored in the clay-lined ponds, because the clay liner was unsealable. This pond is less than an acre. Attempts to seal the clay liner were unsuccessful. Higher levels of technology were invested in because of karst geology.

Jim Sacia says that 43 acres of clay-lined manure ponds is the same as a water-filled, clay-lined pond, less than an acre. This is false.

A.J. Bos would have to expand the Warren-size treatment plant 42 times.

You would think an FBI investigator would know better than to exaggerate.

Susan Turner

Warren, Ill.

From the Jan. 5-11, 2011 issue

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