Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 27, 2009
4. Water Quality –
County recommends go-ahead for Cemex quarry expansion
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Stay away from Spring Lake algae
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More El Rio residents to discuss sewer system plan
Ventura County Star
Pismo OKs sewer for new school campus
Santa Maria Times
DEP finds E. coli, problems at Pa. water plant
Oakland Tribune
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County recommends go-ahead for Cemex quarry expansion
Santa Cruz Sentinel-8/26/09
By Kurtis Alexander
County planners say a limestone quarry in the hills above Davenport, owned by material supply giant Cemex, could be expanded with little risk to local water supplies.
In a recent review of Cemex's long-proposed quarry expansion, the county concludes that precautions can be taken, like filtering the runoff from mines, to prevent contamination of an underground spring used by Santa Cruz for drinking water.
Cemex, which also runs the cement plant in Davenport, has sought for more than a decade to enlarge its 87-acre quarry - by 17 acres. But environmental concerns, namely the fate of the city's Liddell Spring, have slowed that effort.
The environmental impact report released this summer downplays the possible threats.
"There are no significant unavoidable impacts," said county planner David Carlson in a presentation Tuesday before the Planning Commission.
The commission, which has final say over the expansion, is scheduled to make a decision on the proposal Sept. 23.
In spite of the county report, which considered years of studies by both Cemex and the Santa Cruz Water Department, city officials remain unconvinced that quarry expansion won't disturb their spring.
"It is irrefutable that the city has lost water production (because of mining)," city Water Director Bill Kocher said Tuesday.
Kocher says his experience suggests that more mining, which entails blasting of the earth's surface above Liddell Spring,
will only mean more contamination of groundwater and less clean water for the city.
The spring, which has provided drinking water for nearly a century, accounts for about 10 percent of the city's total supply.
Cemex officials don't deny that mining can cloud underground water with sediment, but they say the disturbance is "minute." Rainfall, they say, is a much greater cause of turbidity as are other natural phenomena.
The county report recommends Cemex take several measures to reduce the flow of sediment - no matter what the source - should the company expand. Among the recommendations are installing drains in the quarry to capture and filter runoff as well as constantly monitor the underground water conditions. The report also says Cemex should pay for any losses the city Water Department might experience.
Planning Commissioner Rachel Dann on Tuesday asked for more specific benchmarks to gauge water contamination and called for more specific penalties should there be disturbances.
"The agreement (with Cemex) has had so many problems in the past," she said.
Cemex's mining rights date back to the '60s, though the county has final say over new development at the quarry.
The quarry's limestone is the primary material used to make cement at the nearby kilns. Cemex officials say the quarry can supply about three or four more years' worth of limestone as is, but need to expand after that.
The current economic climate has temporarily halted Cemex's cement operations, but officials say they intend to be up and running soon, though they have not provided a time line.
The Planning Commission has scheduled another study session on the expansion Sept. 9 and a final public hearing for Sept. 23.#
Stay away from Spring Lake algae
Santa Rosa Press Democrat-8/26/09
By Kent Porter
The smelly blue-green algae in Spring Lake is a health hazard, especially to children and pets, according to public health and environmental officials who are warning people to avoid contact.
The warning applies to swimmers, boaters, and recreational users of the popular lake.
Officials say testing has identified toxin producing forms of the algae that can be dangerous when ingested.
They say dogs are especially vulnerable to poisoning because they drink the water nearby and lick algae off fur. Children are also vulnerable because they tend to ingest more lake water from swallowing than adults.
Toxins from the algae, which can also appear as green or white or brown foam floating on the water, can cause people to experience eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea and cold or flu-like symptoms.
The warning was issued by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Sonoma County Department of Health Services.#
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090826/ARTICLES/908269970
More El Rio residents to discuss sewer system plan
Ventura County Star-8/27/09
By Scott Hadly
Another group of property owners in El Rio who will have to take their homes off septic tanks and hook into the sewer system are set to meet tonight at Rio Plaza School on Simon Way in Oxnard.
It is one of a series of meetings for the 1,300 property owners in El Rio and Strickland Acres who have to hook into the sewer system because of changes in state law meant to prevent the pollution of groundwater, said Reddy Pakala, Ventura County’s director of Water and Sanitation.
At the meeting tonight at 500 Simon Way, there will first be a presentation in Spanish at 6 p.m. and then an English presentation at 7:30 p.m. The presentations will cover what is required to connect to the sewer system, the costs and the necessary permits needed for the work.
This public meeting is for property owners within what the county is calling Phase 7 and Phase 7A, or an area bordered by Balboa Street, Walnut Drive, George Street and Lemar Avenue.
About 450 properties in the area have already been connected to the sewer system, which is operated by the city of Oxnard.
Although property owners have been hearing about the new requirements for almost a decade, Pakala said the expense of shutting down the existing septic systems and hooking into the Oxnard sewer line isn’t cheap and many property owners bristle at the new rules. County officials estimated the costs range from $2,000 to $8,000, depending on whether the property owner does the work themselves. In addition, there is a $3,539 sewer connection fee.
The county estimates that it cost $38 million to build the sewer lines to connect the homes in the area to Oxnard’s sewage system. About $18 million of that cost has been covered by either state or federal money, and the county hopes to get about $10 million in federal stimulus funds for the program.
The county is offering both a loan and a grant program to help offset the costs, said Pakala. The grants will be available for very-low-income property owners. Those grants are limited and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. To qualify as very-low income, a family of four cannot earn more than $26,250.
Low-interest loans — 2.6 percent — are also being offered to help property owners cover the costs.
This will give property owners the option of paying the sewer connection fee in one lump sum or paying between $14 and $20 a month for 30 years over the life of the 30-year loan.#
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/27/more-el-rio-residents-to-discuss-sewer-system/
Pismo OKs sewer for new school campus
Santa Maria Times-8/27/09
By April Charlton
Coastal Christian School in Arroyo Grande has moved another step closer in the years-long journey to build a new school campus on James Way in Pismo Beach.
The Pismo Beach City Council recently gave its unanimous approval to provide sewer services to the private school campus once it’s finally constructed.
“We have been a long time waiting,” John Mack, Coastal Christian spokesperson and project architect, told the council earlier this month. “We are anxiously waiting to get the will-serve letter (from the city) so we can get the conditional-use permit from the county.”
Coastal Christian owns a 28-acre parcel within the 182-acre Los Robles del Mar property off Old Park Road, and has been attempting to develop the site into a new campus since 2004.
However, when the Local Agency Formation Commission voted in 2007 to not annex the Los Robles del Mar property to Pismo Beach, citing concerns about the project’s water supply, Coastal Christian opted to try to get its new school built on its own.
Earlier this year, the school applied for a conditional-use permit from the county to construct a kindergarten-through-12th grade, 500-student campus on the parcel it owns on the Los Robles del Mar property.
The Board of Supervisors approved the school’s request, but also cautioned Coastal Christian officials that if the project’s neighbors — Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande — weren’t on board with proposed plans, the permit would be denied.
During the council’s meeting, Community Development Director Randy Bloom said when Pismo’s wastewater treatment plant was expanded and upgraded in 2000, the proposed Los Robles project was included as part of the plant’s increased capacity.
He also told the council that approving the will-serve letter for Coastal Christian was “the beginning steps of providing sewer services” to the proposed, new campus.
“This allows them to apply for annexation,” Bloom said, adding that if the county approves the conditional-use permit, the will-serve letter would come back to the council for review and final approval as an outside sewer service agreement.
The council could add conditions, such as not allowing Coastal Christian to use a water softener at the campus, to the sewer services agreement, Bloom said.
He also said the city could benefit from providing sewer services to Coastal Christian because the school would have to pay for capital costs associated with the additional design capacity added for Los Robles at the treatment plant.#
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2009/08/27/news/centralcoast/news07.txt
DEP finds E. coli, problems at Pa. water plant
Oakland Tribune-8/27/09
A western Pennsylvania water authority that won a court fight to force people with wells to use its water several years ago is under fire from state regulators for not promptly reporting E. coli contamination.
Officials with the Northern Cambria Municipal Authority say the problems found in the Department of Environmental Protection inspection earlier this month are being fixed.
The authority about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh issued a boil water notice in July. But the DEP inspection found nine dangerous violations and a "misappropriation" of state and federal funds.
Some problems violate the federal Clean Water Act. An alarm to alert water plant workers to problems has been disabled for months, if not years.
The DEP is still deciding whether to impose penalties for the problems.#
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