Wrong information

"Eating crow," as the expression goes, is not a pleasant experience, but one that teaches us many lessons, including the most important one - humility.

I would like to correct and clarify an earlier comment I made in a letter to the editor concerning the discharge of raw sewage into Blackwater Creek in Baldwin County. On or about Nov. 25, lightning struck a lift pump which resulted in raw sewage being discharged in Blackwater Creek, causing a health alert. An initial Internet search I performed had some incorrect information about which facility was involved in the incident. Subsequent research on my part revealed that the facility operated by Alabama Utility Services on behalf of East-Central Baldwin County Water Authority, known as the Blackwater Waste Water Treatment Facility, is not the offending facility.

I deeply regret this and offer my apologies to Alabama Utility Servcies, the E.L.E.C.C. and residents of eastern Lauderdale County.

I am sure that AUS, like all waste water treatment companies, private and public, will do all it can to prevent the accidental discharge of raw untreated waste water.

The issue, however, of accidental discharge of raw and untreated sewage remains a deep concern for property owners along Mill Creek and Bluewater Creek, and the residents who use these streams for recreation. Ms. Lucas did make the statement that the only way there would be an accidental discharge would be by an act of terrorism. The truth is that there will be accidental discharges caused by mechanical failure, human error, and yes, even Mother Nature. Though these would be accidental, the effect on the quality of these waters would be the same as if it were intentional.

All the citizens of this area are asking is for the integrity of these waters to be maintained. And, until there is a designed treatment process that will guarantee no accidental discharges, these waterways are unnecessarily at risk. I say unnecessarily at risk because there are alternatives to discharging into Mill Creek and Bluewater Creek.

Randall Burbank

Killen