Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 23, 2009
4. Water Quality –
The
Wastewater to tap water?
City to consider contentious project during time of drought
The
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The county had been paying a firm to operate a trash-gathering boom across the mouth of the
The
By Louis Sahagun
Facing forecasts of wet weather that could flush tons of urban trash out to sea and onto local beaches,
The boom had been decommissioned Monday because the county Department of Public Works ran out of money to keep it operating.
The problem, according to a spokesman for the department, was that a company which had been paid $450,000 to operate the boom this year -- and remove the trash it harvested -- had completed its contractual obligations ahead of schedule.
As a result, Frey Environmental Inc. of
Complicating matters, the board canceled its meeting Tuesday because several members had traveled to
With showers expected over the next several days, runoff from the
"There will not be a gap in hauling out the trash," said Diego Cardena, deputy director of public works. "But who will remove that trash, we still don't know.
"One thing is clear. In the future we will go with larger contracts of about $1.2 million."
Frey Environmental spokesman Joe Frey declined to comment except to say, "The county has asked that we not harvest trash currently."
Mark Abramson, director of watershed programs for the environmental group Santa Monica Baykeeper, expressed dismay over the county's handling of the problem. "We're happy they were able to find the resources to redeploy the boom and protect the ocean and beachgoers from the pollution associated with all debris and trash," he said. "But it's unfortunate that they are not able to foresee these problems."
Much of the trash caught by the boom is vegetation uprooted by storm surges throughout the 834-square-mile
Since 2006, Frey has removed 1,847 tons of trash from the river at a cost to the county of about $2.2 million, said Kerjon Lee, spokesman for the department's watershed management division. Now, the county believes it needs about $750,000 to continue the service through this fiscal year.
Tom Leary, who is in charge of
"It will definitely have an impact on marine habitat and sense of community," Leary said. "But it is also true that the county is a good partner with
In any case, he pointed out that the boom "has never been the solution" to
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-trash23-2009jan23,0,4422989.story?track=rss
Wastewater to tap water?
City to consider contentious project during time of drought
The
Highlights
Reclaiming water: A proposed project would clean wastewater to an “ultra-pure” state for drinking.
How: Wastewater would first be purified to irrigation standards, then sent through reverse osmosis, and finally treated with ultraviolet light. The water would pumped into the groundwater basin, allowed to percolate through wetlands or stored in a reservoir for at least six months. It would be treated one more time before flowing to faucets.
How clean: Water officials say it will be cleaner than water from the
In addition, the inland city stands to save hundreds of millions of dollars by avoiding upgrades to its sewage treatment plant and an ocean outfall pipe if the plan succeeds.
The Helix board has approved an $80 million project in hopes of supplying 12 percent to 15 percent of the district's drinking water. An environmental review is being conducted.
The city of
But
In
“I have heard all sorts of negative things, but I don't know enough about the technology,” Escondido City Councilman Dick Daniels said.
“There are lots of solutions (to increasing the water supply). I haven't heard about them yet,” Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said.
“If it's made clean enough and safe enough to drink, I wouldn't be opposed to it,” Councilwoman Olga Diaz said.
In
The water is pumped into the water basin, where it sits for six months and percolates through the soil for further cleansing before it is pumped up by the water agencies, he said.
Tests have shown that the product is cleaner than drinking water from the
Vereker said the wastewater treated through the three-step purifying process could be injected into the groundwater basin, allowed to percolate through wetlands or added to one end of a city reservoir and allowed to flow to the other side before it would be treated and piped to faucets.
“It's controversial,” Vereker said. “But we, as a region, are running very, very low on water.”
By reusing all of the city's wastewater, cash-strapped
Already, the city has run into trouble with the Regional Water Quality Control Board because of its inadequate wastewater facilities. In 2005, the city was fined $1.8 million for 451 instances of discharging inadequately treated wastewater into the
The fine was negotiated down to $1.3 million this year, and is awaiting the regional board's approval next month.
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