OUR VIEW: Kudos to town for fixing bad valve at lake

» Repair allows water to flow from Mountain Run Lake to Lake Pelham the way it was intended

If town personnel had not made the repair earlier this month, we might not have noticed.

After all, that old valve in Mountain Run Lake had been stuck shut for more than 15 years — quite literally longer than nearly half the town’s residents have been here.

And for 15 years, we’ve managed to get by. We’ve had a few drought worries, but town residents generally have had the water they’ve needed for cooking and cleaning — even though a significant backup water source had been cut off.

The repaired valve and replaced valve stem are now allowing water to flow from Mountain Run Lake into Lake Pelham, the town’s primary drinking water source. Town officials say Lake Pelham’s daily yield has increased by 700,000 gallons as a result of the fix.

That will be crucial the next time we find ourselves in the middle of a drought.

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A stuck valve isn’t the only thing that can keep the water from flowing. The town recently took action aimed at keeping fats, oil and grease from clogging up the sewer system.

Starting Jan. 1, town restaurants will be required to pay $250 for a five-year fats, oil and grease permit, and town inspectors will go around making sure proper grease traps and disposal processes are in place.

We can see both sides of this issue. The $250 fee seems a little onerous, especially as we’re coming out of a recession, and the inspectors add yet another layer of red tape for town business owners.

On the other hand, fats, oil and grease can clog up the system, just like in your house. At best, the town has to rent special equipment at $3,300 a pop to clean out the system. At worst, the grease increases maintenance and treatment costs and causes backups at the sewer plant.

The fee is expected to pay inspectors and the cost of testing over five years.