Congested roads and crowded school classrooms are not the only signs of Utah County's growing pains.

So is an abundance of sewage.

And that's what is at the root of the latest controversy in northern Utah County -- a foul odor emanating from the sewage plant in Pleasant Grove that services North County cities. The Timpanogos Special Service District is planning to spend $85 million to expand the plant and install odor-control devices. The price may seem steep, but it's just part of the cost of growth. The district is seeking a revenue bond that would be repaid through sewer fees collected by member cities.

The plant is reaching it capacity, processing 18.3 million gallons of effluent a day from the 160,000 people living in northern Utah County. That's enough waste water to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

If you think a baby's diaper is bad, magnify that a few thousand times and that's what people living downwind from the plant have been putting up with. The expansion plan would incorporate odor-controlling devices to eliminate the odors that Pleasant Grove officials say are hindering city growth.

It's a reasonable plan, but it has faced unreasonable opposition from Lehi, which is located far enough from the plant that it isn't troubled by the smell. A mini-controversy arose when Lehi Mayor Howard Johnson signed a letter with other north county mayors asking the service district to make improvements that would control the odors. Members of the Lehi City Council complained that Johnson had obligated the city to pay -- which he didn't. The letter was merely advisory since mayors have no direct authority over the district board.

But who, then, should payfi Lehi's council wants to plop the burden on a real estate developer who wants to build near the plant in Pleasant Grove. Lehi, it seems, doesn't want to pay for a project that makes its sister city smell sweeter, even though a considerable quantity of Lehi poop contributes to the problem. Even Johnson, after first joining with the other mayors in the letter to the board, knuckled under. He now says he has seen the light and agrees that the bill should be paid by the developer.

Fortunately the service district board -- composed of representatives from every city and Utah County -- sees it differently. Lehi residents will share in the cost of the upgrades, as they should. This is a team effort, after all.

In an ideal world, sewer plants would be located far away from sensitive nostrils, but we do not live in such a world. With open space at a premium in North County and odors unrestricted by municipal boundaries, such conflicts are inevitable.

But unlike the animal rendering plant that once fouled the air in Provo's East Bay, sewage plants cannot easily be moved elsewhere. And they can't close. They provide an essential service similar to power plants, freeways or fire stations. Each of those facilities causes some problems for people living nearby, but that is part of the price of having electricity, transportation and fire protection.

The same is true with sewage. It has to go somewhere. And it is best handled by a corsortium of cities, not by each one individually.

Lehi's demand that a developer shoulder the cost of deodorizing the plant in Pleasant Grove is unreasonable. Since Lehi benefits from the plant, it is only fair that the city should help eliminate the adverse effect the plant has on the host city.

Of course, Lehi could always pull out of the district and build its own plant. But we think that's unlikely to happen. It would only bring the stink closer to home.

Rather than trying to shirk its responsibility, Lehi officials should show gratitude to the people living in Pleasant Grove for putting up with the facility. The best way to do that is to gratefully shoulder a fair share of the cost of improvements.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.