Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 25, 2008
4. Water Quality
WATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADE:
On tap: Water quality; City to upgrade facility -
WATER TASTE TEST:
Yummy water:
BAY AREA POLLUTION ISSUES:
Editorial: Charge polluters, not locals, with PCB cleanup -
WATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADE:
On tap: Water quality; City to upgrade facility
By Lori Consalvo, staff writer
"The treatment plant was built about 18 years ago and we have not invested much money into it," said Anthony La, director of public works.
Now, the city is ready to improve the facility - which takes water that runs down the mountain, treats it and distributes it to
The plant, which sits next to the San Antonio Dam on
"With the old equipment now, we periodically have to shut down during rainy seasons for repairs because the parts are old. It won't produce the six million gallons per day capacity because it is not up to date," La said.
The project, which will cost about $2 million in improvements, will include conversions to generate chlorine; replacing pipes, valves, meters and electric devices; and a complete rehabilitation of the filtration tanks.
At tonight's City Council meeting, officials will vote on awarding a contract for the project. If it is approved, construction will begin in June or July. La said the goal is to complete the rehabilitation before next year's rainy season.
Money for improvements will come from the city's water fund - an accumulation of fees that have been collected for maintenance.
"Rates for water customers will not go up," La said.
Mayor John Pomierski said since the city has the money in a fund now, it is time to upgrade the facilities.
But more importantly, the improvements will increase water flow from the treatment plant, which in turn will help the city curb its reliance on other sources.
"Water, as we all know, is critical to our existence," Pomierski said. "(The treatment-plant improvements) are a part of
The improved facility will bring
"Our ultimate goal is to make sure we keep all plants in proper working order so we are less likely to buy water from someone else," Pomierski said. #
WATER TASTE TEST:
Yummy water:
Contra Costa Times – 2/25/08
Associated Press
The city's residents have the tastiest tap water, according to the judges of the world's largest and longest-running water tasting contest.
The 18th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting was held Saturday, with more than 120 waters competing for top honors.
Sparkling, tap and bottled water from 19 states and 9 foreign countries, including
Judges based their rankings on taste, odor, mouth feel, aftertaste—and checked to make sure nothing was floating in the water.
The title for Best Municipal Water in 2008 is shared by
"It's not the first time
BAY AREA POLLUTION ISSUES:
Editorial: Charge polluters, not locals, with PCB cleanup
Inside Bay Area – 2/25/08
ASTATE WATER BOARD is taking on PCBs entering
The problem is that although the manufacture of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyl, was banned in 1979, the chemical keeps popping up in our major waterways. Part of it is in the soil and water and continues to wash into the bays as tainted stormwater.
With the ongoing reality of tainted fish and more polluted water in the bays, the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board took an unprecedented move and ordered a mass limit to PCBs. Under the new limits, PCBs entering the Bay must be reduced from 34 kilograms per year to no more than 10 kilograms within 35 years. Critics believe that's not enough, but do we have the resources to go further?
True to pattern, this idea dumps on counties and cities, with estimates running $400 million a year.
We agree this is needed; in fact, it is years overdue. It's obvious that nearly 20 years ago we knew something was wrong with PCBs. If nothing is done, fish consumption won't be fully safe from PCBs for 100 years, and, as it stands now, adults are advised to only consume fish from local bays twice a month. For pregnant women and children, once a month.
The board, though, to its credit, didn't zing counties and cities right away. Instead, studies will determine how to treat tainted runoff and find PCB hideouts on land, such as insulation equipment, transformers, paints or caulking. Then perhaps the construction of major pipelines leading into sewage treatment plants to filter PCBs out of runoff will be constructed. That's not a cheap option.
Already homeowners in the nine Bay Area counties pay fees that range between $18 and $46 a year to clean urban runoff, and those fees could easily quadruple. Odds are most of these homeowners had nothing to do with PCBs streaming into the bays.
So it seems unfair to stick the entire cost to them. Owners of properties found to have contamination or PCB runoff should be fined the amount for cleanup.
Over the years, funding should be set aside at the state and county levels to help pay for what should be a massive project. And, yes, homeowners and taxpayers can do their share as well. This affects everyone and we should all chip in to curb PCB pollution — something that should've been done years ago. #
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_8357773?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
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