To the Editor:

I strongly oppose the plan by the majority of the Plumstead Township Board of Supervisors to sign a settlement agreement with Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority that would expand the sewer system. The agreement would threaten the township's groundwater supply by pumping tens of millions of gallons a year of water out of our aquifer, and could lead to hundreds of public and private wells going dry.

How can Supervisors Mulholland, Froio and Formica ignore the unanimous recommendation of their own Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) on an issue as important as our water supply?  The EAC strongly urged that a consultant be hired to determine whether expanding the sewer system would lead to future water shortages. That would be the responsible thing to do.

Mulholland’s remark that the township's past efforts to maximize groundwater recharge by treating sewage locally hasn’t hindered development is naïve and misses the point. We need to be certain that whatever development is approved will not deplete the groundwater supply on which we all depend.

If the EAC's recommended study indicates that an expanded sewer system would damage our water supply, then large developments that would require public sewers should not be approved in the future. Mulholland, Formica and Froio's opposition to a sewer-impact study would allow them to blindly approve development plans without being accountable to future generations and represents questionable leadership.

Thomas N. Alvaré