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It is the most-discussed issue in the campaign for Tuesday's Blacksburg Town Council election, a pivot on which some say the future of Blacksburg will turn, and arguably the most divisive topic in town.

In brief, if such a thing is possible, the Toms Creek sewer debate:

More than 30 years of sewer arguments took on new urgency last year as town sewers overflowed along North Main Street and University City Boulevard. In a series of 4-3 votes, the town council approved a plan to use one system, a conventional sewer along Toms Creek, to both relieve capacity problems and extend service to new areas of the basin.

Cost has been a hotly debated issue, with the town estimating the sewer's price tag at $10.8 million, not counting interest on the loans that will pay for construction. Opponents say it will cost more.

The impact on the environment isanother question, with supporters saying the sewer will rescue Toms Creek from sewage oozing from old septic tanks at residences across the basin. Opponents counter that many tanks will remain. They warn that fragile wetlands and the town's Heritage Community Park and Natural Area will be devastated by the installation of - and eventual leaks from - lines that will cross the creek and its tributaries. Supporters say that while trees will be cleared from a 20-foot right-of-way along the lines, and in places from an additional 20-foot construction right-of-way, the land around the creek will not be permanently damaged. They point out that sewage leaks will certainly be less frequent than if town lines are allowed to continue to overflow.

The future development of the basin, now set at an overall one house per acre, with clustered development preferred, is also an issue. Some opponents predict a sewer will increase pressure to allow higher-density growth, while supporters say the council is not inclined to change zoning and the sewer isn't sized to handle anything truly large, such as malls or apartment complexes.

Weaving through the other arguments is the question of an alternative sewer system. A plan being backed by Vice Mayor Tom Sherman and three council candidates who oppose the conventional sewer would relieve capacity problems with a line down the U.S. 460 Bypass, rather than along Toms Creek. This would cost between $4 million and $6 million, including interest, Sherman said.

As for extending service into the basin, some of the conventional plan's opponents prefer a system that would collect solid waste in a tank at every house or business while liquids would flow to the U.S. 460 line and on to the treatment plant through smaller-diameter pressure lines that could follow roads. The town would have to pump and maintain the tanks.

Town staff projected 50 years of costs for such a system and said it would be more expensive than a conventional sewer. But opponents of the conventional plan said the town used an improper method for calculating costs and said the conventional system had the higher price.

The council candidates supporting the conventional sewer are J.B. Jones and write-in candidates Frances Parsons and Toby Rock. The candidates opposing the conventional sewer are Ron Rordam, Paul Lancaster and Don Langrehr.

One set of votes amended the town comprehensive plan, which had said the town would look at alternative systems for the basin. Another 4-3 vote approved a bond issue to pay for the first phase of construction. In a step that council members said was new for Blacksburg, the bonds were approved under a section of state code that allows bonds to be issued by a majority, rather than under the the town charter, which requires five votes.