3A - Draft of Comprehensive Plan

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Ensure a high level of maintenance of individual sewage treatment systems. Individual sewage treatment systems-when properly installed, used, and maintained-provide an adequate level of sewage treatment.All properties that lie outside of the sewer service area have their sewage treated by individual treatment systems. In a seasonal area,these systems often do not work as designed when they experience peak usage and/or are not properly maintained year-round. Especially along the shoreline,this has a dramatic affect on the quality of the area's resources. A more aggressive approach towards inspection and maintenance of individual systems should be implemented, especially in shoreline and wellhead areas.The City must remain open to new and innovative ways to treat sewage. Facilities that have a risk of fire damage(industrial uses,commercial uses where flammable liquids are present,etc...)or house large populations of people(schools,group home facilities,etc...)must be located on the municipal water system for fire protection.The City's municipal water system provides enough pressure and volume for excellent fire protection throughout the industrial park and most of the downtown.With the office/campus concept growing in appeal,there is a trend to locate facilities with a high number of people to more remote areas.This is especially true where there is an availability of raw land outside of the downtown core. Public safety dictates that these facilities, especially where they serve the vulnerable, must be located so as to be served by municipal water service. The City's wellhead must be protected from potential sources of contamination. Nearly the entire City's water supply is highly susceptible to contamination due to the soil types, mainly coarse sands and gravels, above the aquifer. These soil types provide little protection against contamination from the surface.The City has completed a wellhead protection plan.This plan needs to be fully implemented, including overlay zoning districts where needed,to minimize the potential for contamination of the City's drinking water supply.