Camden County residents agree to tax increase to reduce sewage spills, preserve nature

Camden County residents last week voted in favor of a small tax increase to help their local government fund major sewer infrastructure and water quality projects.

An overwhelming majority of voters approved a referendum to increase the county’s open space tax, a voter-approved property tax, from 2 cents per $100 of assessed value to 3 cents.

Officials say that the increase will help Camden County reduce the amount of sewage that spills into waterways during heavy rains. The tax increase, which will raise about $7 million more per year, will also repair broken and leaky sewer lines, reduce contaminated soil in waterways, and increase outdoor recreational opportunities, officials say.

“It will also mean advancing some of the plans for capital improvements on our waterways, such as fishing piers and kayak launches, boat launches,” Camden County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash said. “So, it improves the quality of life for residents. It improves our environment, and enhances our property values.”

The county’s top priority is to tackle a $50 million initiative to rehabilitate aging sanitary sewer systems that are cracked and deteriorated, as well as to reduce the amount of sewage that spills into waterways, and mitigate flooding in the area.

Swimmable waterways have long been the goal of the federal Clean Water Act, passed in 1972. But more than 50 years after its passage, older industrial cities like Camden and Philadelphia struggle to reach that level of cleanliness because of outdated sewer systems.

Unlike modern infrastructure, which utilizes separate piping systems, older sewer systems send stormwater and sewage through the same underground pipes. During heavy rainfall, this combined sewer and stormwater system can overflow, spilling raw sewage and dirty stormwater into the region’s rivers and streams.

The city of Camden and Gloucester City are responsible for about 1 billion gallons of combined sewer overflows a year, according to county officials.

Camden’s main waterways, the Cooper and the Delaware rivers, often contain fecal bacteria levels that make it unsafe for humans to swim, fish or even kayak.

The overflows can also lead to flooding in the streets and in peoples’ basements.