Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 29, 2008
4. Water Quality
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Wastewater has Dixon all aswirl - Vacaville Reporter
SEWAGE SPILL:
20,000 gallons of sewage flow from CMC out to Morro Bay; Water samples so far do not indicate danger, but warnings will be posted until results are confirmed today - San Luis Obispo Tribune
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Wastewater has
By Melissa Murphy, staff writer
Wastewater problems in
Besides being ordered to address capacity issues and groundwater pollution in regard to its wastewater treatment plant,
"It's a nice pickle we have ourselves in," said Mayor Mary Ann Courville. "I'm not sure where we'll start."
The city has 30 days to respond to the board's notice -- either pay the $220,000 or appeal the fine and attend a hearing in April.
Courville said she is not sure what action the council will take now, but a special meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in the City Council Chamber,
"I'm not sure where we'll start," she said. "I know we do need to discuss this as soon as possible."
The $220,000 could be the least of
According to Wendy Wyels, a supervisor with the state's Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley region, the board has the potential of slapping
The saga of
Each time the Regional Water Quality Control Board urged
"The city needs to be aware that we're serious about protecting the groundwater," Wyels said. "We've warned them from the very beginning and throughout this process."
Since 2005 the city has only satisfactorily completed four requirements and still needed to have addressed at least eight other criteria, according to a letter sent to the city from the water board.
In total, the city is required to meet 17 different requirements by October 2009.
After receiving notice Friday of the fine, City Engineer Royce Cunningham said he was shocked because meetings with the Regional Water Board and its Executive Officer Pamela Creedon had been "positive."
Wyels disagreed.
"I wouldn't characterize the meetings as positive," she said. "The executive officer never ruled out the fee. It's been years with no action and now they (the city) wants another CDO with a longer timeline."
The City Council approved a rate increase in 2006 to help pay for those improvements and to show some progress.
"I knew we had to do something," Courville said. "That's why we went forward to raise the rates. It's a shame the taxpayer group didn't trust us enough."
In the fall of 2006, the Dixon Chapter of the Solano County Taxpayers Association urged voters to pass "Measure L," which overturned the council's rate decision.
Thus, a citizens Wastewater Committee was formed by the council to create a different game plan to comply with the order and how to fund it.
For almost a year, the committee has worked to create a new timeline proposal and was preparing to start an outreach program to inform residents about salt-based water softeners, a major influence in salinity levels in the wastewater.
Former Vice Mayor Gil Vega, who voted in support of the rate increase, was not pleased that city is now in this position.
"To say that there was no warning is disingenuous," Vega said. "There was plenty of fair warning at least for the last 10 years. The people who overturned the council's decision are personally responsible for this. I don't see how this was a more cost-effective solution."
Wyels explained that the water board is working on a new Cease and Desist Order, that if adopted, would rescind the 2005 order and start over with a new timeline.
That order is not finished, but Wyels said the board would take into consideration the new timeline the city has drafted. #
http://www.thereporter.com//ci_8108315?IADID=Search-www.thereporter.com-www.thereporter.com
SEWAGE SPILL:
20,000 gallons of sewage flow from CMC out to Morro Bay
San Luis Obispo
By David Sneed, staff writer
A sewage spill into Chorro Creek has health officials urging the public to avoid the ocean at
About 20,000 gallons of sewage spilled from the California Men’s Colony prison at 4:10 p.m. Sunday when power was lost and an emergency generator did not start. The sewage flowed into Chorro Creek, which flows into
“The power failed and then our backup generator failed, so it was kind of like a double power failure,” said Mike Minty, chief engineer at the prison’s wastewater treatment plant. “It’s all fixed now.”
Water samples taken Sunday from three locations all came back within state health limits, but the advisories at Morro Rock and the boat launch ramp at the south end of the Embarcadero in
“We want to be very cautious because it was such a large spill,” said Richard Lichtenfels, the county’s supervising environmental health specialist.
The county has imposed a quarantine on the sport harvesting of shellfish from
The shellfish quarantine extends from Morro Rock to the southern end of the bay. It applies to mussels, clams and scallops.
New water samples were taken Monday. The water contact advisories will be lifted if those samples come back today within safe bacterial limits.
California Men’s Colony had a history of sewage spills before the facility’s sewage treatment plant was upgraded last year and the main collection line replaced.
Before the upgrade, the prison’s aged sewage system logged about 150 violations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
The prison’s sewer plant also serves
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/260066.html
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