Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 21, 2007
4. Water Quality
PERCHLORATE:
Rialto pursues state aid over perchlorate plume - Riverside Press Enterprise
SEWAGE ISSUES:
Officials seek third sewage waiver; Plan avoids $1.5 billion in upgrades to facility - San Diego
WATER QUALITY ISSUES:
Clean water act; Prison hopes helping neighbor will start ripples of good will - Sacramento Bee
WASTEWATER PLANT:
Live Oak weighs water costs; City considers using contractor to run wastewater treatment plant - Marysville Appeal Democrat
PERCHLORATE:
Riverside Press
By Mary Bender, staff writer
The city has been battling several companies that did business on a 160-acre industrial site -- believed to be the source of the pollution -- but assorted claims of legal responsibility remain unresolved while the contamination continues to spread.
"This is the best move we ever made," Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas said after the vote. "I think we've wasted too much time already."
The chemical perchlorate, suspected of causing birth defects, is contaminating 360 million gallons of
The contaminants have polluted the Rialto/Colton Groundwater Basin, an underground reservoir from which
A hearing is scheduled for today in Los Angeles Superior Court, on a lawsuit filed by Goodrich Corporation, one of 42 "potentially responsibility parties" in the long-running conflict with the city.
The plume "is headed toward the city of
Meanwhile,
"The maintenance of each well costs (the city) approximately $500,000 per year," Scott said on Monday. During Tuesday's
"The city and county are experiencing an unprecedented regional drought," Owen said. Further, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary ruling in a case to protect an endangered fish, the Delta smelt, which is expected to significantly reduce the amount of water available from the State Water Project aqueduct, Owen said. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_B_btaint21.35f65a0.html
SEWAGE ISSUES:
Officials seek third sewage waiver; Plan avoids $1.5 billion in upgrades to facility
San Diego
By Mike Lee, staff writer
The City Council set up a high-stakes showdown with environmentalists yesterday when it decided to seek a third waiver from federal law for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, which empties into the
On a 7-1 vote, the council approved San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders' controversial plan to avoid – or at least delay – about $1.5 billion in improvements at the facility. The plant treats sewage less thoroughly than the “secondary” standard set by the Clean Water Act. Sanders wants an exemption because he said the current setup doesn't harm the environment.
Environmentalists say tests to date don't support his assertions.
“I suspect that . . . this is . . . the beginning of the battle, one that I prefer we not get into,” said Councilwoman Donna Frye, who cast the no vote.
Yesterday's vote followed speeches by about 20 community and business representatives who said major upgrades would waste taxpayer money. An official from the city's independent budget analysis office said seeking another five-year exemption is “the most prudent course of action at this point.”
Top officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have said they won't prejudge the city's application, but state regulators warned a few years ago that
At yesterday's council hearing, environmentalists said they aim to block another exemption on the basis that the city can't prove its current system is not harming the ocean. They want
“It's the same old story. Nobody wants to spend money today. Nobody wants to plan for the future,” said Marco Gonzalez, a lawyer for the Coastkeeper and Surfrider groups.
Frye urged her colleagues to seek common ground with Gonzalez to avoid a potentially costly lawsuit.
Outside the hearing, Gonzalez said he wasn't hopeful that could be done.
“We are moving toward litigation,” he said.
Sanders' wastewater chief, Timothy Bertch, expressed hope that the city's environmental monitoring over the past several years would prompt a “favorable decision” by the EPA and state water pollution officials.
“The waiver application is stronger than any we have submitted before,” he Bertch said.
Sanders signaled his intention to seek the waiver in October when he unveiled a scientific study commissioned by his office.
Several scientists from UCSD and SDSU looked at existing ocean monitoring data and said no proof exists of serious harm related to the plant. However, they also noted uncertainty about some important factors, such as how far the plume of partly treated sewage travels from Point Loma. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071121/news_1m21loma.html
WATER QUALITY ISSUES:
Clean water act; Prison hopes helping neighbor will start ripples of good will
Sacramento
By Andy Furillo, staff writer
Heather Costa can wash her dishes and take a shower now without having to worry that she's ingesting poisons suspected of coming from her neighborhood prison.
Costa lives across a small country road from Mule Creek State Prison. Earlier this year, county officials tested water drawn from the well supplying her house and found cancer-causing volatile organic compounds and nitrates that could be fatal for babies.
She was nine months pregnant.
Officials at the
"But it was almost like, if there's a guy standing across the street with a smoking gun, and a person across the street who is lying on the ground, how much do you wait for?" said Richard Subia, the prison's warden. "Because there were some health concerns involved, I didn't want to wait very long."
So Subia got together with county officials and the local water district and decided to pick up the $18,000 tab to get Costa off the well water. About three weeks ago, they finished hooking up her house to the local water system.
Worried to her core, Costa began to breathe easier April 22 when she gave birth to tiny but healthy Gerald Leroy Giuffra IV.
"My baby is fine so far, thank God," Costa said.
Paying for the water hookup is one of Mule Creek prison's first steps to improve its battered standing in the nearby town of
Dirty well problems aside, the regional water quality control officials hit the prison with a cease-and-desist order last year to cut the amount of partially treated wastewater it produces. The prison also has been blamed for creating traffic jams on country roads and contributing to overcrowded schools and overloaded criminal justice and social service systems in
Neighbors have even complained the prison's lights are ruining the night sky.
Subia, the prison's warden, hopes that helping out the Costa family will improve Mule Creek's relationship with the locals.
"It's my goal to be a good partner with the community, and this is just another way I could show that I'm willing to do what I can to be a good partner in this county," Subia said.
The prison also has moved to come into compliance with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which also hit Mule Creek with a $50,000 fine in March.
The prison reduced its wastewater discharges by 15 percent in August. It anticipates knocking another 10 percent off the total by January.
To get the reductions, Subia said, the prison installed low-stream shower heads and put meters on toilets to regulate how many times per hour they can be flushed.
Water board officials confirmed that the prison is cleaning up its act.
"They're moving ahead, and they're complying," agency spokesman Steve Rosenbaum said.
Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster said local officials welcome the prison paying for Costa's water hookup and producing less dirty water.
"It's gratifying that they've come on board and that they've been a partner," Forster said. "We are improving the relationship."
But Forster said the only way the prison can get on best terms with the county is to do something about its inmate population.
As of Oct. 31, Mule Creek was jammed to 230 percent of its designed capacity, with 3,664 inmates crowded into space built for 1,594.
"It would be nice if the numbers of inmates could be decreased in the prison – that would help a lot," Forster said. "But I think that's beyond the warden's control." #
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/507954.html
WASTEWATER PLANT:
Live Oak weighs water costs; City considers using contractor to run wastewater treatment plant
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 11/21/07
By Robert LaHue, staff writer
Turning over operations of Live Oak’s wastewater treatment plant to a private company could reduce the costs of a state-mandated upgrade, but it’s not a guarantee, the city’s interim manager told the City Council Tuesday.
The treatment plant was the focus in the latest of a series of meetings between the city and stakeholders of land outside the city limits seeking annexation as part of the general plan update. Both sides have said the plant is one of the biggest issues on the table as the city’s Dec. 17 deadline looms for stakeholders, who are financing the update, to commit to finishing it.
In 2004, the city was told by the Regional Water Quality Control Board that discharged wastewater from the plant was not meeting new, stricter requirements. There is an April 2009 deadline for the city to meet the standards. Costs to do the upgrades have been estimated as high as $25 million.
Stakeholders, those who either own land affected by the update or plan to develop it, have suggested the city have a private company, St. Louis-based Environmental Management Corporation, or EMC, take over operations of the facility.
Maurice Gutierrez, EMC’s general manager for
“We would work on a fee basis,” Gutierrez said. “We’ll set the amount up front.”
Gutierrez said the company could come in and “optimize” the plant’s current operations. That could reduce the amount of capital improvements needed in the plant’s upgrade, lowering the $25 million price tag.
But the city is also a strong contender for a state revolving fund loan, which would be more attractive than privatizing since the loan’s interest rate would be lower than the profit margin the company would expect from the money it puts into the plant.
“Like any private firm, they would expect a return on their capital investment,” Lando said.
Lando also voiced concerns about the status of plant workers who also are part of the city’s road crew and that any potential fines from the state would create a situation where the city and EMC would be “pointing fingers at each other.”
The city and stakeholders agreed to continue looking at their options for the plant.
The next general plan update meeting, scheduled for Nov. 28, is planned to include a discussion of levees. #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/city_56801___article.html/plant_company.html
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