The day and time of standing alone as an entity is over. City and county governments must work together. Regions must join together to promote themselves and work in harmony. The world is flat. Everything affects us down to the very streets on which we live.

With this in mind, the Selma Water Works and Sewer Board is faced with a challenge of assisting another utility as it attempts to find a way to appease federal wastewater regulations. Since December 2008, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Overlook Hills Water and Sewer utility have worked under a consent order that requires Overlook Hills to do whatever necessary to bring its sewer system into compliance with its permit. Its lagoon system will not work. Nothing will work but to connect to a public service, said W.F. Cosby, who represented the 92 residences needing the assistance at a recent Selma Water Board meeting.

While we agree with water board members that some questions should be answered, we also realize the types of deadline pressures under which the Overlook Hills utility is working. This is not the first time the utility, which is located in Valley Grande, has approached Selma and sought a helping hand.

More research into the issue might prove prudent. However, holding back because the utility is in another jurisdiction seems filled with folly. The city must work with the county and others to ensure growth and stability for all in the region. That’s the nature of the new world in which we find ourselves. That’s the only way we’ll survive.