“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us….” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Boonville and Washington, two cities with much in common. Both are located in southern Indiana, both are County Seats, both are over 200 years old, and both High Schools play in the same conference. Today both cities are thriving, and both anticipate future growth – Washington’s spurred by I-69, and Boonville’s by nearby Evansville. However, this was not always the case.

By the 1980s, as nearby Evansville’s thriving development crept ever closer, Boonville became a backwater. A bedroom community that was often the butt of jokes on Evansville radio stations. It seemed that no one wanted to move to Boonville. The source of this ridicule was in part choices that had been made by Boonville’s Mayor and City Council. Unwilling to raise rates, they starved their utilities of the resources needed for proper maintenance. The water and sewer systems fell apart, mains leaked, as did a storage tank. The water supply became so short that the city often restricted water purchases by wholesale customers.

Like all combined sewer communities, Boonville was confronted with a costly sewer project. The city balked at the expense and refused to act, so EPA stepped in and made improvements for the town. It was a disaster. EPA and IDEM placed Boonville on a sewer connection ban that snuffed out nearly all development. The City was subject to a federal enforcement action, and the ban extended into the mid-90s – the longest in state history. The only time I was ever in the Federal Courthouse in Indy was in 1996. I had just been hired by Boonville as their engineer, and we met with the Department of Justice to discuss how to get the City off that ban. Over the next decade the City would spend millions to get their utilities’ back into shape; both sewer and water – a sad legacy of previous neglect.

Meanwhile, two counties to the north, the City of Washington also operated a water utility and a combined sewer system. However, when they were faced with a similar set of conditions, Washington’s Mayor and City Council took steps to adequately fund their utilities. Troublesome water mains were replaced, and tanks and wells were adequately maintained. To accommodate growth, new tanks, wells, and water treatment facilities were constructed. The combined sewer system was addressed as required by EPA, and new sewage treatment facilities were added. Washington properly maintained its facilities, so the City was never placed on a connection ban, and development and growth did not suffer.

One of the primary obligations of a city is the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. Water, sewer, and electric utilities require extensive investment, and keeping those facilities up and running is a big job. Boonville of the ’80s is a clear example of how not to do it.

Putting off routine maintenance to save money is rarely a good idea.

As FRAM (oil filters) used to say, “you can pay me now or pay me later.”

David Dahl