..........ugh.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/nation-world/national/article57458618.html
You will have to endure an ad with this link below, but it is a pretty good video report. Where, oh where, does the pee go? As you pass by, do you get an....aroma?
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Franciscos-Dolores-Park-Reopens-with-Renovations-Including-New-Public-Urinal-366800571.html
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Washington D.C. Poo Creates 13 Megawatts!
Yes, there can be a lot of bad jokes made on the results of Congressional workings in Washington, but I will leave those to this year's presidential candidates and pundits. What is indisputably working in Washington, irrespective of your own political bent, is that the wastewater treatment plant (DC Water's Blue Plains plant) is one of the world's largest to convert stinky water into electricity! It is not at all practical to attempt this here, with our puny 1-plus million gallons of water per day, but for Washington's 370 million gallons per day, it works! Read all about it here:
http://www.solidwaste.com/doc/dc-water-gets-charged-up-on-human-excrement-0001?sectionCode=News&templateCode=Single&user=2124006&source=nl:44835&utm_source=et_6214354&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SOL_2016-01-29&utm_term=8B6151B5-326C-4D25-A47F-7FA24BE85D17&utm_content=DC%2bWater%2bGets%2bCharged%2bUp%2bOn%2bHuman%2bExcrement
Monarch Grove Update!
1-28-2016
Thursday night - 74 to zero - Monarch Grove HOA members voted in favor of hooking up to the sewer! Next step - the Supes, next week, vote to amend the County's Local Coastal Plan (AKA the Estero Area Plan) by moving the Urban Reserve Line on their legal maps and descriptions to include Monarch Grove!
Yayyy Monarch Grovians, welcome aboard the sewer train!
Also, from Kerry Brown at the LOCAC meeting, the County is moving ahead with the Community Plan and the draft EIR. They are working on the Habitat Conservation Plan as well and hope to release them simultaneously. She will have a better timeline at the next LOCAC meeting and there will be public meetings on this ahead.
Thursday night - 74 to zero - Monarch Grove HOA members voted in favor of hooking up to the sewer! Next step - the Supes, next week, vote to amend the County's Local Coastal Plan (AKA the Estero Area Plan) by moving the Urban Reserve Line on their legal maps and descriptions to include Monarch Grove!
Yayyy Monarch Grovians, welcome aboard the sewer train!
Also, from Kerry Brown at the LOCAC meeting, the County is moving ahead with the Community Plan and the draft EIR. They are working on the Habitat Conservation Plan as well and hope to release them simultaneously. She will have a better timeline at the next LOCAC meeting and there will be public meetings on this ahead.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Monarch Grove Buried On BOS Agenda, But Still Breathing
Well, the Board of Supe's agenda for the Tuesday meeting does indeed have Monarch Grove on it, but it took some digging to find it. The item comes up after 1:30 under the heading, "Hearings:."
- Hearing to consider proposed amendments to 1) San Luis Obispo County General Plan - Land Use and Circulation Element, San Luis Bay Inland Sub Area of the San Luis Obispo Area Plan, 2) the County Official Maps – Part III of the Land Use Element/Local Coastal Plan (Estero Area Plan), 3) San Luis Obispo Sub Area of the San Luis Obispo Area Plan, 4) Title 22 of the County Code – the Land Use Ordinance for the Winter 2016 General Plan Amendment Cycle; includes approval of environmental documents. All Districts.
Here is a link to the relevant documents:
Beware—there are four items on this proposal, so you will have to dig through quite a bounty of pdfs to find the relevant documents for Monarch Grove. And good luck Monarch Grove! This ought to be a slam dunk to have the urban reserve line moved to include you guys, but you never know......
Monday, January 25, 2016
Monarch Grove On BOS Agenda!
I know, the scan is tiny, but click on the image for the larger size!
See item 2!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016, the BOS is addressing the Los Osos urban reserve line which never included the neighborhood of Monarch Grove. They are unique in that they have their own sewage package plant. But now that sewer hook-up is fact upon us starting next month, time to include them IN the line so that they can hook up to the sewer and discontinue using their old—and must-be-decrepid-by-now—plant. Tune in to Channel 21 or have a look on your computer if you want to see what happens. It will probably be a snoozer of an item but this being Los Osos and all.......... You will find the link to the show on this page around 9:00 AM, Tuesday. I will be viewing and rooting for inclusion!
I have blogged about this before, but some background info can be found off these links if you are interested:
This was the opinion on hooking up in 2007, but the opinion might have changed by now as they won't pay as much as the single family homes that have no pipes already in the street, and the plant is 9 years further along the road to obsolescence:
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Lateralpalooza!!
Saturday's latest sewerfest was a HUGE success!
It was squashingly well attended at all three sessions (SRO—actually, people were sitting on the floor up front), and apart from a couple of Debbie Downers wearing scowls, the mood was one of attention and curiosity.
The program consisted of speakers (Second District Supervisor Bruce Gibson, Project Manager John Waddell, County Presenter Mladen Bandov); a Powerpoint; various county tables around the room with information (all of which is on a link off of the County's sewer website); Central Coast Green Build's table with booklets; and the largest attraction outside on the quad, was some of the vendors who will be offering their services at "lateral time." (The list of vendors is off the link above.) Yes, food, drink and munchies were served.
March 28 is the target date to start hooking up. Some of us in the last section won't hook up for a year plus. In any case, the County will send you a post card several weeks in advance, and at that point, you have six months to get the lateral trench dug and to hook up.
The advice was: Talk to the contractors and get several bids. What they do is: get the permits; dig the trench; install the latreral from the house to the stub-out (that plastic capped thing with a wire sticking out in your yard); have the inspection done by the County on the work. You will be able to decommission the tank by abandoning it, which is crushing in the lid and filling the tank with gravel or sand OR removing it. OR you have the option to repurpose it. Repurposing consists of disinfecting it with household bleach and having it inspected. Then you can use it for stormwater infiltration, rainwater harvesting (this needs a pump either inside or outside the tank) or treat the graywater and reuse it indoors for toilet flushing or other uses. Work with a professional to do these things.
Now, ANYONE can go through the training class and be certified to work under the County permit, but exactly what that entails was not delineated. Contact the County! The number/E-mail on their website for questions (any questions) is this:
Contact the County at (805) 788-2759 or rheaslet@co.slo.ca.us with comments or questions.
Check the SLOgreenbuild website for books and the decommissioning and reuse plan.
There WILL be more workshops; and in late March, weekly office hours will begin at the 10th Street office.
Rebates are still available! Costs were given for the lateral installation between $2,000 to $4,000 for easy installations, and up to $10,000 for the tough ones (like the tank is in your backyard). Low income financial assistance is available for: lateral connections; service charge discounts; and there is also a property tax deferral program if you qualify. See the County's website! Call if you have questions!
The charges that we have been seeing on our tax bills for the sewer project, around $700 a year, will be going up to around $2,000 year once the plant is running. Most homes will be hooked up this year.
We will never quite be able to mindlessly flush and forget after what we have been through, but at least the contamination will stop and the water will go to a better use than leaching out, 1,000,000 gallons a day, into the bay. Yee-haaa!
It was squashingly well attended at all three sessions (SRO—actually, people were sitting on the floor up front), and apart from a couple of Debbie Downers wearing scowls, the mood was one of attention and curiosity.
The program consisted of speakers (Second District Supervisor Bruce Gibson, Project Manager John Waddell, County Presenter Mladen Bandov); a Powerpoint; various county tables around the room with information (all of which is on a link off of the County's sewer website); Central Coast Green Build's table with booklets; and the largest attraction outside on the quad, was some of the vendors who will be offering their services at "lateral time." (The list of vendors is off the link above.) Yes, food, drink and munchies were served.
March 28 is the target date to start hooking up. Some of us in the last section won't hook up for a year plus. In any case, the County will send you a post card several weeks in advance, and at that point, you have six months to get the lateral trench dug and to hook up.
The advice was: Talk to the contractors and get several bids. What they do is: get the permits; dig the trench; install the latreral from the house to the stub-out (that plastic capped thing with a wire sticking out in your yard); have the inspection done by the County on the work. You will be able to decommission the tank by abandoning it, which is crushing in the lid and filling the tank with gravel or sand OR removing it. OR you have the option to repurpose it. Repurposing consists of disinfecting it with household bleach and having it inspected. Then you can use it for stormwater infiltration, rainwater harvesting (this needs a pump either inside or outside the tank) or treat the graywater and reuse it indoors for toilet flushing or other uses. Work with a professional to do these things.
Now, ANYONE can go through the training class and be certified to work under the County permit, but exactly what that entails was not delineated. Contact the County! The number/E-mail on their website for questions (any questions) is this:
Contact the County at (805) 788-2759 or rheaslet@co.slo.ca.us with comments or questions.
Check the SLOgreenbuild website for books and the decommissioning and reuse plan.
There WILL be more workshops; and in late March, weekly office hours will begin at the 10th Street office.
Rebates are still available! Costs were given for the lateral installation between $2,000 to $4,000 for easy installations, and up to $10,000 for the tough ones (like the tank is in your backyard). Low income financial assistance is available for: lateral connections; service charge discounts; and there is also a property tax deferral program if you qualify. See the County's website! Call if you have questions!
The charges that we have been seeing on our tax bills for the sewer project, around $700 a year, will be going up to around $2,000 year once the plant is running. Most homes will be hooked up this year.
We will never quite be able to mindlessly flush and forget after what we have been through, but at least the contamination will stop and the water will go to a better use than leaching out, 1,000,000 gallons a day, into the bay. Yee-haaa!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Tribune's Saturday Workshop Article
The Trib has an article on Saturday's sewer lateral open house which you can access here:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article55733220.html
My only beef is what did they do to Joe Johnston's photo? It is a pixelated mess! He is an excellent photographer and I hope he is registering a complaint!
Anyway, the creepy king crab leg image of some red-painted machine that Joe has caputured is pretty awesome! Here is what I mean by comparison:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article55733220.html
My only beef is what did they do to Joe Johnston's photo? It is a pixelated mess! He is an excellent photographer and I hope he is registering a complaint!
Anyway, the creepy king crab leg image of some red-painted machine that Joe has caputured is pretty awesome! Here is what I mean by comparison:
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Postcard For Lateral Meeting!
Here is what arrived in the mail at my house on Saturday, January 16! Remember to attend one of the three workshops to get the scoopage on what to do to connect your house to the sewer pipe (lateral) in the street! See you there!!
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Sludge Update!
Read what happened on Tuesday on the sludge issue:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article54396495.html
The can got kicked down the road again (this time by Arnold, Compton and Mecham)—much like the Los Osos sewer was back in the 1980s. And what happened? Why, it got more expensive to do! So my sewery prediction is, the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) that they were deciding to do or not to do was not to be done now, and the cost to do it later will expand. The yeast of time is a predictable formula for more dough$$, and in this case, more doo-doo, too.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article54396495.html
The can got kicked down the road again (this time by Arnold, Compton and Mecham)—much like the Los Osos sewer was back in the 1980s. And what happened? Why, it got more expensive to do! So my sewery prediction is, the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) that they were deciding to do or not to do was not to be done now, and the cost to do it later will expand. The yeast of time is a predictable formula for more dough$$, and in this case, more doo-doo, too.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Broadwater Sludge Message For BOS Tuesday
| SPECIAL ACTION REQUEST FROM THE CENTER FOR SLUDGE INFORMATION | |
On Dec. 15, we convinced the BofS to consider whether to move forward with an EIR on a dangerous and deficient draft ordinance allowing sewage sludge land application, or to stop that process to examine methods of sewage sludge management other than spreading it on farm lands, e.g., converting it into a renewable and sustainable energy source.
They will do so in the morning of Jan. 12, and your help is urgently needed to push the BofS in the right direction. I know time is short, so whatever you're able to do will be greatly appreciated. Our advocacy for a cessation of the CEQA/EIR processing this draft ordinance is based on two fundamental facts: 1. The County has never conducted an investigation into available methods of sewage sludge management other than land application, & 2. The proposed draft ordinance is so non-compliant with BofS directions that it fails to qualify for an estimated $200,000 CEQA/EIR review.
ACTION REQUEST: EMAIL BofS NOW - Stop CEQA/EIR on Ordinance
Send an email to the BofS advocating: 1. a stop to the CEQA/EIR process on the proposed draft sewage sludge land application ordinance, and 2. a comprehensive evaluation of feasible sewage sludge management technologies other than land application prior to any CEQA review of a land application ordinance, or 3. a stop to the CEQA/EIR process on the proposed draft ordinance until one conforming with BofS directions is drafted. Be sure to include the Board Clerk for the record. Emails: fmecham@co.slo.ca.us, bgibson@co.slo.ca.us, ahill@co.slo.ca.us, lcompton@co.slo.ca.us, darnold@co.slo.ca.us, cr_board_clerk@co.slo.ca.us
David Broadwater
Center for Sludge Information | |
Friday, January 08, 2016
November Project Update!
Here is the latest County update on our cool sewer project!
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Nov2015.pdf
The photos are SO gorgeous!
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Nov2015.pdf
The photos are SO gorgeous!
Thursday, January 07, 2016
H2O From Sludge!
How desperate are we for water? We (finally) have the Basin Plan, the ISJ is (finally) over after 11 years, we have the sewer plant coming online starting in 2016, AND, we are doing a good job conserving water (well, not to the satisfaction of some, more on that in a later post). We are not importing water and we are not seriously thinking about de-sal, either. Some of us are saving water in barrels and various water catchment devices too, and are contemplating septic tank re-use. Is this enough?
We have been impacted in so many ways since the drought began. Sure, today it rained but I don't think too many of us are fooled that this winter, even if it rains a lot, will solve our problems. I don't know how much our current wastewater project squeezes out of the sludge before it is trucked away, but here is an innovative new treatment that will work for small amounts of sludge as opposed to the processes that need mountains of the stuff to be cost efffective. Take a look:
http://www.wateronline.com/doc/biomimetic-filters-recover-clean-water-from-sludge-0001
And just for fun, take a look at the benefits of water working the OTHER way, in a much different setting (I just found this and had to share!):
We have been impacted in so many ways since the drought began. Sure, today it rained but I don't think too many of us are fooled that this winter, even if it rains a lot, will solve our problems. I don't know how much our current wastewater project squeezes out of the sludge before it is trucked away, but here is an innovative new treatment that will work for small amounts of sludge as opposed to the processes that need mountains of the stuff to be cost efffective. Take a look:
http://www.wateronline.com/doc/biomimetic-filters-recover-clean-water-from-sludge-0001
And just for fun, take a look at the benefits of water working the OTHER way, in a much different setting (I just found this and had to share!):
Wednesday, January 06, 2016
Save The Date - March 2, 2016
The Green Building Alliance* will be hosting:
March 2nd - Please join us for an evening of conversation and information regarding the reuse and decommissioning of the septic systems in Los Osos.
March 2nd - Please join us for an evening of conversation and information regarding the reuse and decommissioning of the septic systems in Los Osos.
Time and place to be announced.
|
* SLO Green Build and USGBC have merged to be the Central Coast Green Building Council.
Los Osos Sewer Job Openings!
Next Tuesday January 12, at the Board of Supes, a job opening item goes on the Consent Agenda! We are moving closer to flushing and forgetting. And on that note, we should NOT be forgetting what NOT to flush - dental floss, diapers, condoms, kleenex, baby wipes, other types of wipes, toilet scrub pads, and most of all - drugs. (I keep wondering what one does with used diapers and wipes - plastic bags, I guess, so as not to stink up the house. But then, that doesn't sound very environmentally friendly.)
16. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - PENDING LITIGATION (Government Code section 54956.9.) It is the intention of the Board to meet in closed session concerning the following items: Existing Litigation (Gov. Code, section 54956.9(a)). (Formally initiated.) (3) ARB, Inc. v. County of San Luis Obispo;
I will update number 10 with a link when the relevant documents are posted on the Supe's agenda website.
This popped up this morning:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=5533
Consent Agenda - Public Works Items:
10. Request approval to hire three (3) Wastewater Systems Workers, at pay level Steps 4 and 5, for the Los Osos Water Recycling Facility. District 2.
- And then, of course, there is this which we will probably never learn much about:Closed Session Items:
I will update number 10 with a link when the relevant documents are posted on the Supe's agenda website.
This popped up this morning:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=5533
Monday, January 04, 2016
For Headworks Geeks Only!
I somehow got on a newsletter list for a headworks company based in Houston, Texas (but they are international, hence the name "Headworks International"). I though I would share this here. The first video is theirs and some of this brand new equipment is so beautiful and sleek it looks like something out of an operating room for robots.
Sadly, we all know what is going to happen to these gorgeous metal constructs, above, as evidenced by the real-life video, below, with headworks from a South African company, S.A.M.E. Water. This video is not for the squeamish, and the rest of you? — don't be eating some giant, guacamole-clad wet burrito while viewing this, OK? (Don't say I didn't warn you!)
I very much enjoyed the musical selections on both pieces! Sort of puts this modern necessity into a whole other sphere! (Were this done by hand with giant fishing nets, the audio would of course, be different.)
I like the contrast in the English language words —"earbuds" in South Africa are "Q-tips" here in the U.S.. And the lesson really is: not all sewer equipment will harvest these things out of the wastewater stream. Best not to flush them down the W.C., as we all will be doing starting this year, in 2016! Happy New Year toilet lovers; we soon will, after 45 years, be able to flush and forget (responsibly, of course)!
Sadly, we all know what is going to happen to these gorgeous metal constructs, above, as evidenced by the real-life video, below, with headworks from a South African company, S.A.M.E. Water. This video is not for the squeamish, and the rest of you? — don't be eating some giant, guacamole-clad wet burrito while viewing this, OK? (Don't say I didn't warn you!)
I very much enjoyed the musical selections on both pieces! Sort of puts this modern necessity into a whole other sphere! (Were this done by hand with giant fishing nets, the audio would of course, be different.)
I like the contrast in the English language words —"earbuds" in South Africa are "Q-tips" here in the U.S.. And the lesson really is: not all sewer equipment will harvest these things out of the wastewater stream. Best not to flush them down the W.C., as we all will be doing starting this year, in 2016! Happy New Year toilet lovers; we soon will, after 45 years, be able to flush and forget (responsibly, of course)!
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