LOCSD Channels Nostradamus

A friend was clearing out a spot at her house and ran across some papers that she no longer wanted. Of course, knowing how much I love this stuff, she passed this 4-page letter on to me. I had never seen it before, and when I read it, I was amazed how accurately predictions made by the LOCSD board came true. This was written in November of 2003, twelve-plus years ago.

Read it and weep. It should be crystal clear why delaying, then stopping the Tri-W project was a costly idea, not just in the $29 million that we pay for the sewer to be out of town, but in delaying remediation to a horribly damaged water supply. Very little was done to save water until 2012, when water saving measures began with the County's project. We won't be putting clean water back into the basin until mid-2016 at the earliest, if then.

As for what is going on besides the sewer project to protect our water, you might also want to check out what the Basin Management Committee is up to in their efforts to save it too:

http://www.slocountywater.org/site/Water%20Resources/LosOsos/pdf/2016-02-17%20Los%20Osos%20BMC%20Agenda.pdf

December Sewer Update! Paso Water Basin!

Just posted yesterday! The latest on our project! See the cool aerial shot of the facility! And....the ARB lawsuit simmers along.....oh well.

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Dec2015.pdf

On a very interesting note, our District 2 Supervisor, Bruce Gibson has an opinion piece in today's Tribune, likening the water controversy in Paso Robles to our years-long contentious sewer project. He did a great job writing and breaking down the stages of emotion around this contentious issue. I do hope people in Paso will be smart enough to NOT do what we have done - fight and deny and postpone. (Folks, it ONLY gets MORE EXPENSIVE. We know of what we speak - what was $34.6 million in 1984, is now $183 million in 2016, an INCREASE if $148 million, PLUS our water basin is in dire straits!)

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article58857173.html

Monarch Grove Late On BOS Agenda

Chairperson Lynn Compton had to ask the Board to vote on an extension to go past 5:00 p.m. at the BOS meeting on Tuesday, February 2.  The Monarch Grove agenda item had been switched with another item and went last on the agenda. There were three other issues along with Monarch Grove on this item. Staff presented their report. 

There was public comment. Roger Randall on the Board of the Monarch Grove HOA spoke. He said 74 voted to join the sewer and nine didn't vote, and he assumed that they were not opposed to hook up to the Los Osos Prohibition Zone sewer project. The Monarch Grove sewer's lines were scoped and jetted and passed muster. MG resident Martin Bragg spoke. He didn't want any complexity added to wastewater treatment and wanted to hook up to the County's sewer project. 

Adam Hill moved to pass this item, Bruce Gibson seconded and spoke on how the County was look forward to helping Monarch Grove hooked up and that the next steps would be at the Coastal Commission.  All five Supes voted yes and they did manage to finish up before 5:00 p.m.. 

Congratulations Monarch Grove! Hopefully you will be on  Coastal Commission agenda very soon!

Need Lateral Help?

I can't resist linking this brand new website on here as it offers services for everything lateral all in one place, from estimates, contractors, permits, repairs (and improvements), tank decommissioning, financing, and tank repurposing! Have a look!

http://thelocalconnection805.com

Outdoor Urinal........

..........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

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.

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:."

19. 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:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=5595

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......

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!

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/bos/BOSagenda.htm

I have blogged about this before, but some background info can be found off these links if you are interested:

http://www.losososcsd.org/Library/2015%20Agenda%20Packets/08.06.15/Agenda%20Item%2012B%20Approve%20Reimbursement%20Agreement%20btwn%20LOCSD%20and%20Monarch%20HOA.pdf

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:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/BOS+Related+Items/Letter+Monarch+HOA+BOS+8-28-07.pdf

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!

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:

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!!

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.

SLO Sludge In The News!

Read the latest here:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article54067830.html

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 csi@thegrid.net

I got this posting off of an E-mail list I am on, so decided to pass it on for anyone interested.

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!

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!):

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.

Time and place to be announced.

All events are open to members of the Central Coast Green Building Council as well as the general public. (donations appreciated)

http://www.slogreenbuild.org

* 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.)

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.

0. And then, of course, there is this which we will probably never learn much about: 

   
   

   Closed Session Items: 

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

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)!

BOS Agenda 1-5-2016 - The Los Osos Items

The two items below have the links to their relevant support documents. The road repairs were a result of the sewer project; and the groundwater basin item relates to sewers due to the recycled water going back into the basin. 

Consent Agenda - Public Works Items: 

13. Submittal of a resolution authorizing execution of notice of completion and acceptance for the construction of the FY 2014 Asphalt Overlay, Various Roads in Los Osos.District 2. (The money for this came out of the County's road fund,"This is a multi-year project budgeted in the Road Fund at $4,044,988 WBS 300519." 

14. Submittal of an Initial Notification of Intent to the California Department of WaterResources (DWR) to explore a boundary modification for the Los Osos GroundwaterBasin. District 2. 

On #14, the statement from the staff report most relevant to Los Osian pocketbooks is:

Costs associated with submittal of this initial notification to DWR and engagement with Basin users are within the Flood Control District’s FY 2015-16 budget. We will return to your Board at a future date if any further action is necessary. HOWEVER, we will be paying our share back once the respective boards making up the Basin Plan Committee finds out the cost and gets each board's approval to pay it. 

The last time the basin boundaries were looked at was 2003. New information delineates the basin differently. When you look at the map of this, there looks to be a confusion of the meaning of the word "basin." The DWR lines seem to outline a watershed. But when you drive down the valley, farmers are watering crops. Where does that water come from? Has any of those non-Los Osos water supplies been studied and are the farmers having water issues too? 

I hope this all goes smoothly and we don't get another awful delay as we did by stopping the 2005 sewer. The water supply has gone downhill since then due to no water traveling back to the lower aquifer (which is a hit down the road actually - it takes 20-30 years to get the water down to the lower aquifer, our main water supply, from the giant Broderson leach field). The CSD's bankruptcy due to stopping the sewer meant that there was no money for water conservation measures that would have helped. Also, with no sewer project, one wonders what the CSD could have done as they do not serve water to Golden State customers anyway. They could not make those people conserve. Without the sewer nexus, only half measures could have been done. Really, the $29 million we are paying to have this thing out of town is the least of the problems. The elephant-sized problem is the cost of doing nothing to save our basin for so many, many years. The delay caused not just the sewer costs to go up, but our water supply "fixes" as well.

The Lowdown On Laterals!

Mark your calendars!! 

The County is doing an Open House on the sewer lateral connections on 

January 23, 2015. 

Read about it under this header off of the link below:

Recent News and Events

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP.htm

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

The November 2015 Baseline Groundwater Quality Report is available now too. Monitoring the levels of chemicals in our water is part of the Waste Discharge Permit issued by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for the sewer project.

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/Baseline+Groundwater+Quality+Report+Dec+2015.pdf

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

As to the airing of grievances, Los Osos famously does it at every public meeting. Even so,

Happy Festivus to one and all!!

Basin Management Committee

This is not too sewerish of a post, but it is about water, and as we know, what is sewage when our spiffy new sewage plant is online next year, that liquid will be water to drink in 30 years from now or even sooner ,once the Broderson leach field is up and running.

So, since our returned-from-the-sewer-plant-water is part of the water plan for Los Osos, it seems only fitting to put out the word that the very first meeting of the brand new Basin Management Committee will be meeting Monday, December 14, 2015,1:30 p.m. at the South Bay Community Center. Here is a link to the agenda:

http://www.losososcsd.org/Library/LOS%20OSOS_%20Agenda%20for%20Initial%20BMC%20mtg%20(rev%2012%209%2015%20clean)%20(14154882-1).pdf

See you there! 

Los Osos Sewer Update!

The October sewer update has just been released! Read all about it here, no wait - if you don't want to read this, just click on the link and look at the pictures, one in particular, is just stellar!!

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Oct2015.pdf

Wipes Wreak Ruin!

"New York, New York a helluva town!" And now, in the sewers, it's a hellish town—due to—yes, WIPES! They do not break down and must be removed from the screens in the city's wastewater treatment plants. These undissolvable blobs have more than doubled since 2008 and have cost the city $18 million since 2010, although there are other costs not enumerated for other wipe-related repairs. These cloth-like items include baby wipes, medicated wipes (hemorrhoids), "feminine" wipes, and the everyday (post-evacuation) clean-up kind.

New York has either gained much additional population, residents are either having more kids, more posterior medical issues or have become more religious (cleanliness is next to godliness). Please have a look off of the link below. You will see on the right side of that page what that glop looks like. (Fortunately, it is a smallish photo and the colorful results of wipeage have been washed away.)

http://www.amny.com/news/wet-wipes-clogging-nyc-plumbing-and-sewer-systems-1.11153775

This has been a problem in many places, including Los Osos' Bayridge Estates. So, future sewer users of Los Osos, wake up! When we have our spiffy new plant in place, we need to keep potential problems we might cause at the forefront of our minds in the bathroom. There is a solution to this problem and in case you didn't get to the to the end of the linked article, here is a video that explains what that is: Heinie Giene!

Speak Up To Stop Sewer Sludge Spreading!

A copy and paste message from David Broadwater: (I'll admit I personally am confused - wastewater has to be SO CLEAN to be used on crops - how does this get a pass?)

SPECIAL REQUEST FROM THE CENTER FOR SLUDGE INFORMATION

From: David Broadwater, CSI   To: SLO County Citizens, re:  Sewage Sludge Spreading on County Farms Planned Stop Draft Ordinance CEQA/EIR Process - Please Help SLO County is proposing an ordinance allowing sewage sludge land application on agricultural lands growing food for human consumption, feed for animals and used for grazing livestock.  The proposed ordinance permits the spreading of excessively contaminated sewage sludge and massive increases in soil contamination with toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, pathogenic and hormone-disrupting pollutants. The draft ordinance does not comply with County Board of Supervisors directions to County Staff about the type of ordinance which should be constructed to permit sewage sludge land application on SLO County lands.  The failures of the draft ordinance to conform with those directions render it unqualified for the CEQA/EIR review the County has initiated. The CEQA/EIR process currently underway must be halted. Please contact CSI for a copy of the letter sent to various County decision-makers, and consider joining CSI in recommending cessation of the CEQA/EIR process on this grossly deficient and dangerous draft ordinance.  The tools for doing so (email addresses) are below.  This will not be easy - the train's left the station and it's gaining momentum.  Your help is essential.  Please forward this email to others who may be interested. The conflicts with BofS directions are listed on the first page.  CSI's recommendations for CEQA/EIR cessation and starting with a correct ordinance appear on page two, followed by a brief background.  The remaining pages (19 total) present detailed documentation substantiating the inconsistencies of this draft ordinance with BofS directions.  While that section of the letter is long, and perhaps tedious, it is necessary to make an irrefutable case that the CEQA/EIR process should be halted immediately.   Thank you, David Broadwater Center for Sludge Information   CONTACT: csi@thegrid.net

Brussels Sewer Museum Reopens!

There are only two sewer museums in the world and one that has been closed for over a year, the Brussels one, has reopened! Remember to visit on your next European tour!

Here is a quote from the first article about it which is linked below:

"This is a hostile environment with putrid stenches, numerous hazards including illicit disposal of toxic substances or those of insects, rats and pathogenic micro-organisms."

On the up-side, there is a gift shop which has rat dolls. (I would hope that they carry Poop costumes as well!)

Oh heck, we in Los Osos all have giant containers of hostile contents right in our own yards. Only during septic tank pumping do we get a fuller experience of what is contained therein. Can't wait for our sewer hook-up so I can say goodbye to that giant kettle of crap!

http://www.xpats.com/bowels-city-we-visit-brussels-reopened-sewer-museum

http://www.xpats.com/brussels-sewers-museum-reopens-its-doors-public

Toilet Golf

Yes, it is still very slow in the sewer news department, but it is time once again to turn one's mind from public works projects to—yes—THE HOLIDAYS; so a slight segue from sewers is permissible I believe. 

Somehow, this early, one can say •that word• (THE HOLIDAYS) and not go straight into panic mode the way one would on say, December 22, and you have not yet thought about cards, let alone gifts for anyone, and all that you have in the fridge is a box of freezer-burned mac'n'cheese from Budget Gourmet. Hey, maybe you have managed a list by this point, but you know that you have forgotten someone, like maybe your boss.

Well, to get a head start this year, I'm offering up an idea—at least for your friends who like golf! I get all sorts of strange stuff in my E-mail Inboxes, but this one item really caught my eye: toilet golf! I clicked on the link in the E-mail a second time about an hour later and the item was GONE! But a quick Google search landed many offerings!

Happy shopping!

Opensky

Brookstone

Oriental Trading

Bed Bath and Beyond

ebay

Bug Poop and Bee Vomit

You can already tell by the title of this thing that it is pretty quiet on the Los Osos sewer front if I am resorting to sensationalistic tricks to keep readership over here - all two or three of you anyway if that qualifies as a readership. (I suspect the hits I get are just bots from Russia looking for spam opportunities.) You probably have better things to do, and so should I. However, I ran across a fascinating story on a feed that I get and it was startling to say the least. Who really thought deeply about where honey comes from? (I could segue over to honey huts from here, but I will restrain myself, although that could make an interesting topic for the next post, things being SO quiet and all.)

WARNING: To go beyond this point you may never look at honey the same, and may never eat it again either.

OK, here goes, we'll ease gently into this reveal: baby birds are probably not conflicted by this vomit thing, as the thing that keeps you alive is rarely questioned (sewer malcontents listen up!). Cows upchuck grass to chew it some more to make it digestible. Some women pre-chew food before giving it to their babies. Honey, the regular non-staff-of-life stuff we stir into our tea or squirt from a plastic bear onto our toast, is really bee upchuck ("...100,000 vomits"* to make a pound of honey). Maybe we sort of knew that about honey - we did take a biology class along the road somewhere, right, bees gathering nectar/honeycombs, etc.? (We know that eating crispy coconut shrimp is just eating dressed up ocean bugs, right?)

Here's the really disgusting part though: some honey is made from the poop of scale insects!

Read on for a fascinating tale in honey manufacturing - you may as well; going down the page this far you are probably already thinking about tossing that golden jar into the recycle bin, and I'll bet I've ruined coconut shrimp too. Sorry about that, but you were warned.

* http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/your-new-favorite-honey-is-made-out-of-bug-poop-and-bee-vomit

Pooh!

A kindred soul in sewer blog writing from Stinson Beach, California has thoughtful, brilliantly written monthly columns, far different than these frequent Sewer Saga slap dashes to keep my two or three readers up to date. Please visit http://californiacoastdweller.com or Pooh! as the title proclaims, and rummage around for some good sewer reads! One of my favorites is this one: http://californiacoastdweller.com/2015/03/30/1596/

It is comforting to know in some strange alternate universe sort of way that Los Osos is not alone in its 35-year denial of sewage contamination if still alone in the belief from back in the bad old days that we had "magic sand," thereby eliminating the need to treat waste differently than septic tanks, cramed eight to twelve per acre as they are. That I think is still unique.

Well, we now face millions in payments, not just for our spiffy new sewer plant which will be online next year, but for all the water infrastructure changes that we will also have to pay for due to wrecking our water supply that is pooled beneath our town. I'm sure some day I will stop being dazed by this amazing lack of connecting the dots between leach fields and the water supply beneath them. These changes must be made, cost what they may as there is no alternate water supply.

The average income in Stinson Beach is $100,000, considerably less* than that in Los Osos. Once SB is sewered, there will not be a mass exodus from those unable to afford their homes. The exodus from Los Osos, long predicted by the sewer deniers when it was $29 million cheaper than now and earlier, costing far less than that, will likely come to pass. People with rentals are raising rents right now and homes that are big time fixer uppers are selling for quite generous prices. Well, at least those forced out will have a lucrative goodbye, I guess that is the rather sad upside. I just doubt that all of these people are the ones responsible for causing this economic disaster. The ones that are will never admit it and they will continue to live here.

*Correction! Oops - meant to say MORE there! Thanks for the catch gentle reader!

Broadwater On Sludge

I attended the Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting last Wednesday and the first speaker at public comment was David Broadwater. He had a handout on sewage sludge (see below - wish I could give you a single pdf - but those aren't uploadable on blogger.com. Click each picture for a larger size). He has spoken and written on the topic for many years which you can see if you google "Broadwater" and "sewage sludge." 

We do not need to worry in Los Osos on what is to become of our biosolids; they will be trucked far, far away as there is no safe place to put them here however non-industrial the composition. Below is a link to an interesting paper on this topic.

https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/59468/5.3.Schaefer.pdf?sequence=1

CDBG Funds To Los Osos Wastewater Project

Tuesday, November 10, off the Board of Supe's agenda:

Hearings

6. Hearing to consider a resolution approving and authorizing submittal of proposed amendments to the Urban County of San Luis Obispo Program Year 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 Action Plans for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds as requested: 1) by the City of Arroyo Grande to create a new project, and 2) by the County of San Luis Obispo to eliminate a project while reallocating funds to an existing project. All Districts. 

Here is a link to the documents:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=5317

Why is this important to Los Osos? Los Osos was not supposed to get any of these funds! The money was supposed to go to an organization called Central Coast Seniors in Oceano. It was to have been spent to rehabilitate their asphalt parking lot. However, to do that with this money, they would have had to pay prevailing wage to the workers and be subjected to the level of regulatory oversight required by CDBG  program, thus making the project impossible for the amount of money of the awarded funds.

So:

WHEREAS, the County of San Luis Obispo Department of Planning and Building request the amendment of the 2014 Action Plan to reallocate $15,000 from the “Street and Parking Improvements Projects” by the Central Coast Senior Center to the “Los Osos Wastewater Connections Project” by the County of San Luis Obispo Department of Public Works; 

The Supes are responding to the need for getting more money to those in need in Los Osos; this money could have gone elsewhere. Thanks Supes!

November 5 Financial Aid Meeting - Sewer Laterals-Septic Decommissioning!!

I expect that you got your postcard in the mail - so this is just a reminder that the sewer meeting is Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. at South Bay Community Center!

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please see this page for information:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP.htm