Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 9, 2008
4. Water Quality
WATER RECYCLING:
School won't use recycled water; Redwood City may revisit issue; dual plumbing installation will keep possibility open - Inside Bay Area
SEWAGE SPILL:
About 1,000 gallons of sewage pours into South Fork of the Eel River - Eureka Times Standard
WELL CONTAMINATION:
Chico considers extending water service - Sacramento Bee
WATER RECYCLING:
School won't use recycled water;
Inside Bay Area – 1/9/08
By Shaun Bishop, MediaNews staff
The council voted 4-0 Monday to bar the use of treated sewage water for irrigation at the project site, known as Area H, after some residents and former members of the city's Recycled Water Task Force said they were concerned about using reclaimed water in areas where children would play.
With its action, the council headed off what could have been an impassioned debate over the
"What it does is put that park and that school on equal footing with all the parks and other schools in Redwood City," said Mark Mclaren, a member of the city's Recycled Water Task Force, who emphasized he doesn't speak for the group.
The school and park are part of a larger development proposed for the site known as the Preserve at
Three council members — Jim Hartnett, Rosanne Foust and Jeff Ira — recused themselves from Monday's vote because they live near the Area H site.
City staff members plan to craft a more comprehensive ordinance describing when and where recycled water should be used throughout
The policy approved by the council Monday states that irrigation system sat the Area H park and new school sites will not be connected to the recycled water system, which treats raw sewage to eliminate harmful pathogens so the water can be reused for irrigation, industrial and other purposes.
However, the council stopped short of an all-out ban on using the water at the school and park. The city could still hook up those systems to the recycled water pipeline in the future, said Interim City Manager Peter Ingram.
The policy also states that "dual plumbing" for both potable water and recycled water will be installed in the school's toilets to allow them to be flushed with recycled water at some point in the future.
Before approving the policy, Councilwoman Barbara Pierce cautioned that restricting the city's recycled water program won't help the city in its effort to decrease its use of potable water.
"The developer certainly is aware of the limitations on the city's drinking water," Pierce said. "I think it's important for community members to understand that while we're responding to their concerns, there still is an overall need."
Christina Lai, a longtime critic of the recycled water project, said she would have preferred that the policy ban the water's use in toilets, too. She and several other residents said they are worried unsupervised children may come into contact with the water.
Asked about that concern, Ingram said: "Frankly, if a dog, cat or a human is in the toilet bowl, there's going to be stuff in there that makes no difference what kind of water is used to flush it."
Despite the resident concerns, state regulatory agencies have consistently said recycled water is safe, said Public Works Director Larry Barwacz.
Max Keech, the developer of the Area H project, which also includes about 150 townhomes and the restoration of 93 acres of tidal wetlands, said he is in favor of the city's use of recycled water.
Keech said one option in the plans for the school, which are still being revised, calls for artificial turf at the school's fields. Combined with the use of native plants at the park site, there might be very little use for any kind of water at the location, Keech said.
Still, Keech plans to use recycled water in the toilets of the townhomes and elsewhere in Area H.
The Recycled Water Task Force will hold its annual meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. today at City Hall,
SEWAGE SPILL:
About 1,000 gallons of sewage pours into South Fork of the Eel River
By John Driscoll, staff writer
A sewage tanker crashed into the South Fork of the
The driver of the Roto-Rooter truck told the California Highway Patrol that he fell asleep around the Hooker Creek overpass, then the truck hit the guard rail and plunged into the river around 12:15 p.m. He was not injured, but the 2,500-gallon sewage tank leaked about 1,000 gallons into the river, and the truck's fuel tank spilled about 50 gallons of diesel.
The U.S. Coast Guard and CHP responded. A second pump truck arrived on the scene and pumped the remainder of the sewage out of the wrecked truck's tank. Redwood Towing was also called to remove the truck, said Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Supervisor Chief Warrant Officer Matt Ricks.
”We're here to monitor the recovery efforts,” Ricks said by cell phone.
Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health Director Brian Cox said he had conferred with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state Department of Public Health, which warned users of the river.
The river is swollen and fast-moving with recent rains.
”Because of the dilution, there is not going to be much that can be done,” Cox said.
That said, the cleanup could prove expensive for Roto-Rooter.
”The bills are probably going to be really large,” said CHP Officer Erik Van Emmerick. #
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_7919763
WELL CONTAMINATION:
By Christine Vovakes, staff writer
Representatives of ABB said the company will voluntarily make city water available from the local utility to those homes in the Skyway Homes Subdivision with wells that have levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) above the state's maximum contamination level of 5 parts per billion.
The project is estimated to cost more than $2 million and is tentatively set to begin later this month, ABB spokesman Ronald C. Kurtz said.
According to California Department of Toxic Substances Control spokeswoman Carol Northrup, 63 homes will be connected to city water.
"The next step is to figure out how far the contaminated groundwater plume goes, and then how to clean it," she said.
The TCE is thought to have seeped into the groundwater 30 years ago at an industrial site. ABB acquired the facility in 1990, long after operations had ceased.
California Water Service Co. provides water to approximately 100,000 people in the
"We'll extend our distribution system out to the Skyway neighborhood," the utility's district manager Mike Pembroke said. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/620575.html
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