OUR TURN: To grow, Granite Shoals needs a sewer system

Granite Shoals voters on May 14 have an opportunity to influence the destiny of their city by supporting a bond issue for a proposed wastewater treatment facility and sewer system.

After weighing the available facts, it seems the best choice residents can make is to  vote for the bonds when they go to the polls.

If Granite Shoals is ever going to grow economically, attract significant retail outlets and support a hospitality industry, the city will need a sewer system.

Such a system also is better for the environment around Lake LBJ, considering that all homes and businesses in Granite Shoals currently rely on septic systems — which increase the risk for seepage.

These are good reasons why voters should approve the bond project.

Yes, there has been some controversy surrounding the issue.

For starters, the City Council was going to authorize the multimillion-dollar project last year without seeking public approval.

That was not a wise choice for something this expensive. However, a citizen-led petition put the issue on the ballot. Now, the people rightly have a chance to choose for themselves.

The location of the plant also has drawn some fire, moving from city-owned property to a site outside the city limits that belongs to a ranching corporation.

Critics feel too many strings are attached to the deal.

No one is saying this project doesn’t have complications.

But these are details that can be worked out later once the people decide this is what they want.

In the past few years, Granite Shoals has started to find an identity. Highland Lakes Elementary School provides an anchor for the community, and the city bought 131 acres where the new City Hall is located. The Andy Roddick Tennis Center is under construction, and a hike and bike trail named for local Olympian Leonel Manzano is in the works.

But the hotels, restaurants and the retailers won’t come if the city only has septic. Right now there are about 2,000 septic systems in Granite Shoals, which is an inefficient and environmentally costly hazard for a city that wants to grow.

Granite Shoals needs a sewer system to continue building on the recent improvements, to make sure the water in Lake LBJ stays clean and to keep from losing businesses to other progressive cities in the region.

There are advantages for residents, too. The city is funding the cost of connections to homes. It is doing away with septic tanks, and damaged streets and water lines are being replaced and repaired.

The city is not taking this step lightly. The plan is based on five years of studying the need for a phased-in, bond-funded citywide sewer system. Frankly, this should have been done a few years ago when the cost was cheaper, and the government offered more grants.

Granite Shoals, as the name implies, is built on granite gravel and granite bedrock among rolling hills, all of which contribute to potential seepage from septic tanks into Lake LBJ. That could cause algae blooms and pose significant health issues.

If the city doesn’t do something now to curb this potential problem, a judge or federal agency eventually will step in and take action.

Granite Shoals voters now have a chance to choose their own destiny without some bureaucratic agency telling them what to do.

If Granite Shoals is to have a better financial future and become more than what it is today, a sewer system is a must.