There is a lot of debate over whether Auburn should build a water filtration plant for Lake Auburn.

I think it is important for the public to understand that a filtration plant would not make Lake Auburn water appear beautiful the way it appears now. It would not put clean water back into Lake Auburn.

The filtration plant would be placed downstream from the intake pipe. It would clean up the water and then put it straight into the pipes that serve Auburn and Lewiston customers.

If Lake Auburn becomes eutrophied (loaded with so much pollution that it suffers algal blooms), a filtration plant would not get rid of the green color in the lake, or stop the blooms from happening, or increase the oxygen level so that fish can live in the lake.

The filtration plant would only make a small amount of the water safe for drinking every day and it would send that water straight to customers. It would not put that water back into the lake.

The company to which Auburn paid $100,000 for a report last year emphasized that Auburn should continue to do everything in its power to reduce the likelihood of Lake Auburn receiving more pollution because the cost of filtration goes up as the pollution level goes up, and a filtration plant might eventually be overwhelmed.

Worst case scenario from that report: Auburn and Lewiston might have to use Androscoggin River water.

Ben Lounsbury, Auburn