Editorial: Pa. voters correct to vote ‘Yes’ for clean water

‘ ‘ ‘ When Pennsylvanians went to the polls on Tuesday, they not only elected a president and… ‘ ‘ ‘ When Pennsylvanians went to the polls on Tuesday, they not only elected a president and state and local officials but also did well to cast their votes in favor of the state referendum, allowing Pennsylvania to borrow $400 million to improve its water and sewer systems. ‘ ‘ ‘ Shortly before the election, state officials had received reports of high amounts of total dissolved solids, or TDS, present in part of the Monongahela River. ‘ ‘ ‘ The initial response by the Department of Environmental Protection was to encourage customers who get their water from the Mon to use bottled water. But obviously, this is only a temporary solution. ‘ ‘ ‘ According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, several of Pennsylvania’s old water and sewage treatment plants are simply unable to provide the cleanest water. The answer, then, is to revamp the system. The $400 million will not only repair the water and sewer systems, but will also help control runoff from storm water, lessen pollution and tackle the negative consequences of farm chemicals. ‘ ‘ ‘ By placing the issue on the ballot, election officials put the matter and the power in the hands of Pennsylvania residents. ‘ ‘ ‘ But the benefits of a ballot referendum can easily be diminished if the referendum is confusing or poorly worded. ‘ ‘ ‘ This was a problem on Tuesday, when voters were asked if they ‘favor the incurring of indebtedness by the Commonwealth of $400,000,000 for grants and loans to municipalities and public utilities for the cost of all labor, materials, necessary operational machinery and equipment, lands, property, rights and easements, plans and specifications, surveys, estimates of costs and revenues, prefeasibility studies, engineering and legal services and all other expenses necessary or incident to the acquisition, construction, improvement, expansion, extension, repair or rehabilitation of all or part of drinking water system, stormwater, nonpoint source projects, nutrient credits and wastewater treatment system projects?’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The phrase ‘incurring of indebtedness’ is misleading and no doubt carried a negative tone to many voters. According to the Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania’s should not worry about the state’s ability to borrow money because ‘Wall Street credit rating agencies rank Pennsylvania as a low-debt state.’ Furthermore, that amount of detail in one long sentence could confuse voters. Officials should reevaluate the wording of referendum questions. Only then will citizens be able to make a better-informed decision. ‘ ‘ ‘ Nevertheless, Pennsylvanians made the right choice on Tuesday. Pittsburgh, especially, as a city of rivers, will strongly benefit from the changes. Soon enough, residents will be on their way to safer, cleaner water.