DATE: Saturday, April 19, 1997              TAG: 9704190003

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   27 lines

KIBBLES AND BUGS IN CHESAPEAKE SIT! EAT!

What do you do if there's not enough do-do for a sewage-treatment plant to do what it's designed to do?

What the Chesapeake School District did was simple, cheap, brilliant and weird.

The problem: Not enough waste was coming from three schools in southern Chesapeake for a new $1.02 million sewage-treatment plant to work right. The microorganisms in the plant didn't have enough to eat to get a running start at breaking down the muck. There will be plenty to eat once the 1,300-student Hickory Middle School opens in the fall, but what to do till then?

The solution: Since the end of February, the school district has purchased 500 pounds of dry dog food, a mere $229.50 worth, to feed the microorganisms. That may be all that's needed. The microorganisms - call them Fido - now are doing what they're supposed to do. The plant works.

A tip of the hat to Chesapeake School District employees who dared to do something outlandish to save taxpayers' money.

And it's only fair that dog food, having contributed so much to the problem of waste, be part of the solution.

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