Yecch! The sound of a thousand toilets being flushed into a field

We have a pretty good idea what it takes to be considered a Third World country. But what, we wonder, does it take to become a Third World county?
That's a question Mahoning County might want to ponder.
One criteria, we'd think, would be the pumping of human waste or the remnants thereof onto open land. Life doesn't get much more primitive than that.
The question arises after a Warren septic cleaning company was given a permit by the Mahoning County Board of Health to dispose of septic and other solid waste by dumping it on a 67-acre site in Jackson Township.
Last week, dozens of angry neighbors showed up at a Jackson Township Board of Trustees meeting to voice their disapproval.
Those closest to the site are worried about runoff from the land spilling over onto their property, getting into nearby streams or endangering the water table from which their wells draw.
Hundreds of thousands of area residents have reason to wonder about the possible contamination of the nearby Meander Reservoir. Imagine the amount of runoff that would be involved if this summer had anything close to the heavy rains of last summer.
One couple at Monday's meeting discussed the township's image. "People will look at the community as an eyesore," said Cathy Smith. "If I was thinking of moving here and heard they were dumping, I would be less inclined to move [here], and if I wanted to sell my house, who would want to buy it?" said husband, Bill.
Another way
There are alternatives to open dumping for companies that pump out septic systems. For a fee, municipal treatment plants will process septage, the liquid and solid material removed from household septic systems.
Of course, that costs a few pennies per gallon, and it may not be as convenient for the company as just driving into a field and dumping the stuff at the company's convenience. But should that be too high a price to pay for the disposal of human waste in a civilized society?
Should the people of Jackson Township, or any other township, be forced to accept thousands of gallons of septage in their backyards for the convenience of a company or to save a few dollars for a homeowner miles and miles away who needed his septic tank pumped out?
We noticed a recent story about the Sharon Fire Department, which can no longer wash its fire trucks in the fire station because the drain is tied into the storm sewers rather than the municipal sewage system.
It seems strange that in one city there's concern that a little oil or grease might find its way into open streams, while a couple of dozen miles away it is presumed OK to risk run-off from human waste getting into a reservoir that is the primary source of drinking water for two counties.