Mount Everest Fouled By Poop!

When you have no outhouses, when you have frozen ground, and when you have people on a mountain for long periods of time, you have a problem. Twelve tons of poop has befouled the once pristine Mount Everest and there are severe logistical problems to the removal of said poop. (I could have used other nouns I guess to describe this stuff, but some of those words are either worse than poop in their descriptiveness or they are too X-rated for a blog such as this.) The links below provide some fascinating insights to what happens when you can't flush and forget.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yset_chr_syc_oracle&p=poop+videos+mount+everest#id=1&vid=951540fbbf86bf72bee1b5b71c97bd76&action=click

https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2018/10/mount-everest-treating-waste-on-top-of-the-world?utm_source=campaigner&utm_campaign=181015&utm_content=newsletter&cmp=1&utm_medium=email

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/05/health/mount-everest-biogas-project/index.html

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yset_chr_syc_oracle&p=poop+videos+mount+everest#id=7&vid=b33b5089774fc1f044e23bc0b9f65822&action=view

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yset_chr_syc_oracle&p=poop+videos+mount+everest#id=14&vid=85ed3ea2863a2413f2ac107eba0f1e92&action=view

Bayridge's Stale Sludge

A sewer story close to home for a change! Many in town know that there were residential areas that had their own collection system that fed into group septic tanks and leach fields. Bayridge Estates was one of those places. Well, Bayridge hooked up to the sewer of course, but then there was the issue of emptying those giant, group septic tanks, 12 of them! 

Two of the twelve were emptied by our own late, great Al, of Al's Septic Service. (RIP Al, you are still missed!) The tanks were to be emptied one or two a year until all 12 had been vacuumed and sterilized just like our home tanks had to be. But after two, Al realized this process wasn't making economic sense for his company, so he bowed out.

The LOCSD staff had to find a replacement. Nine companies were contacted, and nine turned the LOCSD down. Seven more companies, which were out of the area, were contacted. Five, same story. The problem? The sludge had EXPIRED!! (Who knew this could happen?) This stuff is now considered HAZARDOUS WASTE!! (Well, some of us could figure out that when it was fresh, just saying'!)

Two out-of-the-area companies responded, one with a vague hourly bid, transporting the mess to Rancho Cucamonga, California; and the other, to an unspecified place for $110,000.

This all made for a fascinating presentation at our last Utilities Advisory Committee meeting held on Wednesday, October 17. Sad for all of us, Bayridge has only $33,206 in reserves now, and will have a whopping $41,693.40 at the close of the 2017-2018 budget.

To read the ghastly, but riveting, details, go to this link: https://www.losososcsd.org/files/6b6466775/Item+4+Bayridge+Estates+Septic+Tanks+Decommission+Process.pdf

You guys not in attendance missed a great event! But stay tuned. There is no ending to this sludge saga just yet!

Snapcrap!

Yes, you read that right, SnapC-R-A-P, not "chat," an app created and launched last week by Sean Miller. It alerts San Francisco's Public Works Department that a citizen using the app on their smartphone has found a pile of excrement on a sidewalk that needs to be cleaned up. The app (only currently available for iOS users) uses GPS to locate the pile (human or otherwise) and alert clean-up crews where to find it. Users get to keep track of their complaints, too!

"City officials have taken steps in recent years to combat the persistent problem of human waste on streets, including placing public toilets in 12 neighborhoods and, most recently, forming a team of five public works staffers — dubbed the poop patrol — who soon will begin combing neighborhoods and steam-cleaning areas where waste is found." http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snapcrap-20181008-story.html

Another link with a video:
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Snapcrap-App-Developer-Hopes-to-Help-Clean-Up-San-Francisco-Streets-495076441.html

Los Osos has a poop problem too, some human. But the bulk of poop left around is supplied by dogs with lazy owners who fail to pick up after them. I don't think an app would help our situation any, but our town would be a lot nicer if we could fix the open air waste problem, especially since we finally have a sewer to fix the below ground poop and pee problem caused by septic tank density.

I do know that some LO citizens DO pick up the doo-doo left by shameless dog owners, and a hearty THANK-YOU goes out to each one of you.

Birthing Our WWTF

I was noodling around for who knows what and found the website (linked below) from one of HDR's sub-consultants who had worked on our sewer plant. I though the slideshow of gorgeous photos that they had at the top of their Los Osos sewer page was outstanding and deserved some recognition here - so have a look at some of the very beginnings of our facility from the Mimiaga Engineering Group and who knew that there is a checkerboard at the bottom of the secondary clarifiers!

http://www.mimiagaengineeringgroup.com/portfolio-type/county-of-san-luis-obispolos-osos-water-recycling-facility/

Toilet Audios

Yes, there is such a thing as a collection of toilet flushes - have a listen - actually, there are many minutes of listening. One wonders if these sounds have found their way into some other application - like a sewer video perhaps?  :-D 💩

https://www.soundsnap.com/tags/toilet_flush

Scattered off this link are various sewer sounds mixed in with sewing machines and then video game sounds (go figure....):
https://www.soundsnap.com/search/audio/sewer/score?page=1

Poop-Bots

I got a little behind (ha-ha!) on reading the New York Times (we get an actual paper delivery three days a week, and pixel version daily on Kindle - where I am also late to read stuff). I had been in LA and the stack of paper had piled up on the dining table threatening dinner plates. Realizing another weekend boatload starts up again tomorrow, I was racing through the old news tonight. But I did an abrupt stop on the section "WeekendArts1," where the word  "poop-bots" froze my scanning eyes. The article was called "Dream a Little Dream. I Dare You." Page one, just below the fold, was an article on a Netflix TV show, "Maniac." The sentence reads, "Tiny wheeled 'poop bots' trudge the sidewalks cleaning up dog waste."* Well, this sewer blogger wasn't going to let a blog topic like that go to waste (ha-ha!), so here is what I found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rsYF9mIgDU

https://discordbots.org/bot/381409327673638923

https://poop-bot.github.io/

https://boingboing.net/2017/08/02/scatological-robots.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfhyB6VCMDQ


* New York Times, Friday, September 21, 2018

Fecal-Philiac Or Fecal-Phobic

Stinson Beach! Always a pleasure to share one of the well-written posts over here from the California Coastal Dweller!!

http://californiacoastdweller.com/2013/12/07/septic-tank-arguments-could-stinson-beach-be-the-fecal-philiac-pole-opposite-malibus-fecal-phobic-choice-of-sanitation/

I wrote those words above 2014 and never posted the blog blurb! So I thought it was high time to revisit Stinson Beach and see if they had solved their septic tank problem - just as we had! 

Well, they did, but not quite with the same solution. I found an article off the Orenco website on Stinson Beach! (Remember our old friends at Orenco—at every...single...meeting they could possibly attend???) Orenco may have struck out in Los Osos rather badly, but they hit the gold mine in Stinson Beach!

https://www.orenco.com/Portals/0/Documents/Article%20PDFs/Aug.pdf?ver=2018-08-02-145028-373

Lipstick On A WWTF With A Camera

Photographer Paul Cockrell has done the impossible, making wastewater treatment plants into works of art with his camera. Have a look:

https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2016/11/beautifying_wastewater_treatment_plants_one_photo_at_a_time?ref=related_sidebar

An interesting side note, Mr. Cockrell used to work as a water/wastewater design engineer for HDR. Guess who managed the construction on our WWTF? HDR!

https://www.hdrinc.com/sites/default/files/2017-05/hdr-extreme-sewer-makeover.pdf

I have to give credit to our own San Luis Obispo County photographers for their beautiful shots of our rather picturesque WWTF that we have seen in their drone shots and drone time-lapse videos. (Our setting for a sewer beats most too of course.)

5-G In London Sewers!

Sewer pipes do double duty.....yes, there is a pun in there - but sewer parts and products to go therein so easily lend themselves to that sort of thing, don't they?

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/londons-sewers-set-for-5g-makeover/10035631.article?blocktitle=News-Feed&contentID=13612

http://www.rebresearch.com/blog/sewer-jokes-and-song/

💩

Red Tide, Blue Green Algae

"Thirty percent of the population uses septic systems."

New York Times, September 30, 2018

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/red-tide-florida-tourism.html

Ugh. If you want to see a close up of dead fish on a Florida beach, read the article linked above. Be glad there is no smell component to an online article.

Did you know that "More fertilizer is consumed in Florida than any other state but California, Illinois and Texas." Fertilizer, both commercial and people-made, is a big problem as the blue-green algae thrives on it. The blue-green algae kills the fish, just like the red tide. Hence the stench! Check the tides before you book your vacation.

Sewer's Farm Road

http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/4000000030541157

Yeah, I know.....how do they mean "sewer?" One who sews with needle and thread, or are they honoring a construction which one flushes into, which happens to be on a farm road - a sewer plant shoved out of town maybe (sound familiar Los Osians)? The town apparently named Abinger Bottom 😐........and it is in the Mole Valley, you know, underground tunnels. Well, this is yet another British Mystery! Perhaps a future someone in the know will leave a clarifying comment?

The Woeful World Of Wipes

Yes, it's been a while. I have been very engaged in writing on the local Los Osos Nextdoor which includes parts of Morro Bay. They are going through a sewer war, and I have been providing some Los Osos sewer background of what they don't want to do, namely, vote NO and change locations.

Happily, they did pass their 218 vote Tuesday evening to move on ahead with their WRF, Water Recycling Facility. Note the wording difference; ours was/is called the Los Osos Waste Water Project, LOWWP. We are recycling water too, but we sound a little more old school. Well, since our plant started back in the cave man days, I guess it would, but these days recycled water is a lot more hip of a term than "waste water." It sure sounds better anyway. The idea of wasting water is firmly brain ingrained as a no-no in Los Osos. But I digress.

I subscribe to a newsletter from the wastewater industry, TPO, for Treatment Plant Operator. Since I have written on wipes in the past, I thought I would update you all (who are not in the industry) on how the problem has been combatted in this modern age. So have a look and get educated. This grinder thinger doodle looks to be able to take care of even the false teeth that occasionally wind up at wastewater treatment plants—I mean water reclamation plants!
https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2018/09/wipes-arent-going-away_sc_003ey?utm_source=campaigner&utm_campaign=180912&utm_content=newsletter&cmp=1&utm_medium=email

Jolly Video Of The LOWWP Being Built!

I was sticking my nose one again into the Nextdoor posts on the Morro Bay Sewer..... well, the word "debacle" sure does not fit the low key sewer battle they are having - maybe I can use the work "skirmish?" This is nothing like what possessed and emanated from the sewer followers over here. Fortunately.

But I digress. I was researching something to include in a post and I ran across a video that I had never seen before! It is just delightful, toe-tappingly so! It is early on in the sewer building process, so not much is built, but it is really worth a viewing! I have no idea who the creator of the video, the Mimiaga Engineering Group * is, so now I have to look them up.

Click this link, not the image:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyq3GNtLU1s

Note: Farmland.

* Oh! There we are, right on their Home Page! They were a sub-consultant to HDR, one of our main contractors. LOVE the video guys!!

Cayucos Sanitary Plant

Does anyone (besides me) see anything unintentionally hilarious in this screen capture?

Sewer Salmon!

OK. it is not quite sewer salmon, but the alliteration made such a good headline! What it really is, is salmon being raised in the treated wastewater from the Bangor, Maine WWTF. The salmon are the draw to get people to visit, and in the process, the plant gets to show off what a glorious transformation it can do to poopy water! Read the story here:

https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2018/07/effluent-raised-salmon-gets-community-involved-in-wastewater-treatment?utm_source=StreamSend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&utm_campaign=180725

BTW, one can find great stuff in TPO magazine!

Sewer Socialism

OK, this is a bit off topic, but it did involve sewers! 

Quote, "Milwaukee Socialists sought to reform the legacy of the Industrial Revolution on the local level by cleaning up neighborhoods and factories with new sanitation systems....."

(Learn about something that you never heard of! It may come in handy if you get on "Jeopardy.")

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-043/?action=more_essay

Alligator Swimming In Treatment Plant Pond

Our Los Osos sewer news is slower than frozen pancake batter these days, but fortunately other treatment plants have more exciting goings on! The Mineral Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant in Clearfield County Pennsylvania has a guest swimmer! Have a look at this video (and never mind the prologue ad - mine was for a law firm specializing in debt cases, a guy had his car towed, was going to have a problem getting to work, and got zero sympathy from the tow truck driver).

https://wjactv.com/news/local/gator-hunt-animal-seen-swimming-in-sewage-treatment-plant

Los Osos Park Septic Tank

Fun Fact: Well, it is gone now, likely filled in with slurry, but the Los Osos Community Park, when built, was outfitted with restrooms that flushed into an 800 gallon septic tank! I was researching something else at County offices today and ran into that tidbit. You never know where something sewery will pop up when researching any aspect of Los Osos!

San Francisco's Poop Problem

You can't say I never bring you horrible stories!

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/article214320174.html

Who collected this stuff is what I want to know, and I suppose WHY, too.

Recycled Toilet Paper!

Yeah - really!! My dear friend just found this group on Facebook - but as you all might not be there, I am giving you a link to their website:

https://us.whogivesacrap.org

You must see this video!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S4YGaz-7EE&version=3&hl=en_US%3Bautoplay%3D1

Stay and watch the second video, it gives a good explanation of what this is about - it's a TED talk.

Thanks XXXX for the tip!!  (And I won't give your name out, as you might not want to be identified on a sewer blog!)

Crocheted Toilet Paper

I was noodling around on Tumblr tonight and found this - have a look:

https://picsthatmakeyougohmm.tumblr.com/post/174918758345/hmmm

This just is not practical.

Movie - "Toilet: A Love Story"

This is a real movie:

"Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, the film was retitled Toilet Hero (Cesuo Yingxiong) for the China market. The movie tells the story of an Indian man who manages to win back the heart of his newlywed wife by building an in-house toilet for her, a break from the local custom of doing one's business out in the open air. The film was inspired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India Movement, a campaign to improve sanitary conditions in the country."

Above is a quote from the Hollywood Reporter, see the full article here:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-indian-comedy-toilet-a-love-story-tops-quiet-weekend-1118937

I often wonder if our "Magic Sand" sewer story isn't movie worthy too. I just wouldn't call it a love story; it falls more into the tragedy category, with many sad vignettes that played out over the many years of looming crisis. Bring a full roll of toilet paper (as opposed to a box of Kleenex) to the premier if it ever comes to a cineplex near you.

Trump Solves Sewage Problem

No, I'm not talking about PRESIDENT Trump, but developer Trump, who managed to hide 24,000,000 gallons of sewage. Really!  There are SO MANY things I could say here, but I'll just give you a link to the article!

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-donald-trump-tried-to-cash-in-by-dumping-sewage-into-the-hudson-river

Beer Has Pee Too!

I did not realize how much wastewater is generated by a gallon of beer - 6 to 8 gallons of plain water go to make 1 bubbly golden gallon - and more than half of that is WASTEWATER! Read all about it here (yikes):
https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2018/04/muffin_monster_takes_over_when_macerators_cant_cut_it_sc_001s5?ref=related_body

Los Osos Sewer Lateral Etc. Update!

The Basin Management Committee which manages the Los Osos water basin by court order meets today, May 16. There was sewer related info in the Executive Director's Report which will be of interest to sewer readers here!

Here is a quote from that report:

Los Osos Wastewater Project Flow and Connection Update

•   Of the 177 unconnected properties, 72 are waiting for the County/USDA/LOCSD low- income grant program to pay for their connection leaving 105 properties that may require enforcement. Of the 105 properties, 32 are in the process of connecting (ie: obtained a building permit), and 13 have responded to the County’s survey giving reasons why they are not connected yet. Subtracting those categories leaves 60 properties (1.3% of 4583 total parcels) that are the focus of the Code enforcement process.
  
  
•   The County is in the process of securing a Board date & preparing a staff report to amend the County Code. The Board date is scheduled for August 7, 2018.
  
•   
  Influent flows into the treatment facility are peaking at 0.50 mgd. No recycled water deliveries have been made to irrigation users yet. Effluent is being disposed at both Broderson and Bayridge leachfields. As of 3/31/2018, effluent disposal totaled 133.7 AF to Broderson and 6.5 AF to Bayridge leachfields. The development of the expected groundwater mount downgradient of Broderson continues as shown in the attached recent hydrograph of monitoring well FW-6. Recycled water agreements are being finalized with LOCSD and GSWC for the delivery of recycled water to the schools and urban areas, and the schools will be retrofitted to receive recycled water during the 2018 summer break.
  

Option to Bring Morro Bay Wastewater to Los Osos WWRF
Similar to staff’s last update, it was determined that both summer and winter peak day flows at the City of Morro Bay are expected to exceed the available capacity in the Los Osos Wastewater Reclamation Facility, and therefore an expansion would be required to accommodate the higher flows. A number of peak day flows of over 3 mgd have been observed at the existing Morro Bay facility. Additional information on the Morro Bay project can be found here: http://morrobaywrf.com/. 

View the entire report here: https://www.slocountywater.org/site/Water%20Resources/LosOsos/pdf/2018-05-16%20Los%20Osos%20BMC%20Meeting%20Agenda%20Packet.pdf

Purified Pismo Pee—Tastes Great!

Read all about Central Coast Blue here!
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/latest-news/article211170159.html

4/mg L Nitrogen!

Wow. These guys had even tougher standards than we did and our 7/mg L nitrogen, the Riverhead Sewer District on Long Island, New York.

https://www.tpomag.com/editorial/2018/05/a-new-york-plant-adopts-reuse-and-eliminates-the-pumping-of-100-million-gallons-of-groundwater-annually?utm_source=StreamSend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&utm_campaign=180425

This was just a fascinating read because of our similarities in treatment plant size and their being near an estuary, the Peconic River Estuary. "....an EPA-designated nationally significant waterway. The shallow estuary has been prone to algae blooms, including the brown tide that decimated the scallop population in the 1980s."

I signed up for an online wastewater magazine subscription. I'm sure I was supposed to be a worker in the industry.... but due to living in a town with most likely the l-o-n-g-e-s-t sewer war in history that I am still writing about, it seemed like a useful idea for this blogger: https://www.tpomag.com/

Poop Train Pauses In Parrish: 10 Million Pounds Of Poop Stuck Two Months!

A bureaucratic foul-up caused a 42-car train with 400 containers of New York poop to ferment in Parrish, Alabama's rail yard for two months. The residents were not happy. You can read about this rail constipation off the link. The New York Times finds the best stories, really, they do!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/nyregion/poop-train-alabama.html

Where does OUR sludge go? Last I heard, it was trucked to Engel and Gray in Santa Maria. But what happens if they fill up? A sludge train from our county to the large facility in the Central Valley (yes there was a great deal of controversy in the early 2000s and beyond) could help us out! We sure don't want oil trains in this county, but what about poop trains? (And will we have any choice?)

http://www.synagro.com/offerings/rail-transportation/

Check out their location map!
http://www.synagro.com/locations/

And finally, for more sewage information - a bit of history, a lot of money, wimpy regulations, and LAWSUITS! Read an excellent paper, Regulate This: The Politics and Practice of Poo Farming, by a Harvard Law School student on what we euphemistically call - biosolids!

https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8852199/Christenson06.html?sequence=2

(There is a wealth of resources just in the footnotes!)

Museum of London - FATBERG!!!

I was tardy getting all parts to The New York Times read from their April 1 edition. Last night I was cleaning out my office and ran across an article in the New York Times Magazine section called "Fatbergs." 

Sewer followers, this is a MUST READ!!!! Below is the link. Don't be put off by the subscription pop-up, just remove it by clicking the "X" in the upper right hand corner. The fatberg in question was broken up by sewage workers in hazmat suits and a section of it was saved and put into a London museum! That London fatberg, reported here in 2017, was the length of 22 double-decker buses and weighed the same as a blue whale! The online image is far superior to the print edition, so do NOT miss this article—and, as with all things New York Times, the writing is superlative!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-fatbergs.html

Enjoy!

District 2 Supervisor Candidate With A Reclamator Past

Someone very interesting to Los Osos sewer history has popped up in our SLO County District 2 Supervisor's race - Patrick Sparks, the attorney for the "Reclamator" guy. Surely you remember crackpot Tom Murphy who tried to convince the citizens of Los Osos that we really didn't need a sewer, they needed a Reclamator in their yard instead? I think ("Wrecklamator" might have been a better name.)

(Click to enlarge images. Sadly, note the quotes around the words "Legal Opinion" on page 2!) 

Here is an article about Tom Murphy: https://calcoastnews.com/2008/10/reclamator-inventor-sues-water-resources-establishment/

Check out page 4 of the Regional Water Quality Control Board minutes to find Sparks and Murphy:
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb3/board_info/minutes/2008/05_08_mins.pdf

Read more "Wreclamator" and the Fraud Alert put out by the Water Board: https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/fraud-alert-doesnt-deter-reclamator-proponents/Content?oid=2945838

Sparks speaks at the Board of Supervisors (Item 7):

Mr. Patrick Sparks: AES Chief Legal Counsel, states  the Reclamator meets the Gold Standard for recycled water...

http://slocounty.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=447

See a copy of the Water Board's Fraud Alert and what I wrote in 2017: http://losewersaga.blogspot.com/2017/07/ 

And last, but (maybe) least, here is the candidate Sparks himself, in an article in the CalCoastTimes: https://calcoasttimes.com/2018/02/03/patrick-sparks-enters-district-2-supervisor-race-macelvanie/

Here is a dangerous and a completely untrue Sparks quote: 

“Gibson cost the city of Los Osos in excess of $100 million for a sewer project that could have built a different way for less,” Sparks said. “The same problem is now occurring in Morro Bay.” 

First off, we are not a city, and crackpot technology will bomb just as bad in Morro Bay as it did in Los Osos. You people in Morro Bay really have to be careful about voting for someone willing to represent and support the inventor of an impossible faux sewer solution, which only caused the citizens of Los Osos time, confusion, and ultimately, money. 

San Francisco Sewer Video

Well, I suspect many of us reading this blog will not be around when our present sewer is ready for replacement, but here is a look at what San Francisco is up against:
http://abc7news.com/politics/sfs-aging-sewers-provide-gross-glimpse-into-need-for-repairs/2558293/

Check out the roaches! Reminds me of my hippie days in Venice, California.

ARB Lawsuit Settlement Followers Take Note

You will recall that there were not enough Supes present at the last Board of Supervisors meeting to be able to vote on $money$ matters, so here we go:

See item #2 under Board Business:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/1045/QWdlbmRh/6/n/91217.doc

And check all of the documents off of this link:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=8476

Monarch Grove Hooking Up!

The Monarch Grove housing tract has had its own wastewater treatment plant since being built. All 83 homes are served by a tidy little package plant that of late has become a bit loose around the seams and in need of an expensive facelift, or abandonment—the cheaper and more reasonable way to go—to hook up to the Los Osos sewer.

First Monarch Grove had to be accepted into the Los Osos URL. There is a whole story as to why it wasn't, not to be gone into here, as I am trying to point your attention to a document from the Board of Supes, February 6.

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Public-Works/Forms-Documents/Projects/LOWWP/Monarch-Grove/2-6-2018-Monarch-Grove-Hearing.aspx

Read about the plan and rationale for "capacity charges" for Monarch Grove. The charges named for them will have no impact on what charges the rest of hook-up-ees are paying.

Sewer geeks, aside from Monarch Grovians, might want to attend the April 3 meeting of the BOS!

Poop Toys Hit The Market!

Well, hard to believe, but it is time for people older than babies to play with poop! Perhaps children will be the main customers, but I doubt it. Have a look:

https://www.hasbro.com/en-us/product/don-t-step-in-it:9988C0C6-451B-4FFA-8AE8-9C0DC66A32E9

https://nerditis.com/2017/12/22/life-in-plastic-toy-review-flush-force/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUmOPLhMFtU

I could not find the toys on some of the manufacturer's websites, so here is a nifty compilation:
https://www.thegameaisle.com/2018-toy-fair-trends-part-1-poop/

At least these things are not home-made......

Gibson's Plan To Lessen Sewer Settlement Shock

Los Osian Facebook users, see how Bruce Gibson will help us with the ARB lawsuit settlement costs:
https://www.facebook.com/bruce.gibson.1069/posts/1604269509665995

There was a lot of talk about how the County was culpable in screwing this up resulting in a $9.95 million settlement to ARB, but this really is just hogwash. ARB was sneaky and low-bid one part of the two collection system contracts offered. Then they lost the other bid. When the work for that bid they won started to overwhelm what they planned for, they started to lose money, so they did a bunch of sketchy change orders, trying to squeeze the County for more $$$. 

The County had no choice but to accept ARB's bid and suspected that this was coming, but the law made them take it. (The other collection system bid was won by W.A. Rasic (remember the "WAR" logo on their equipment? No problems, on time, on budget.)

Gibson just posted tonight. He explained this plan this afternoon as his Los Osos Office Hours (February 22 - so I guess it is now yesterday afternoon.) He also outlined the plan again at the LOCAC meeting later, in the evening. He better get re-elected, or we might be screwed. No one else could possibly know the ins and outs of this sewer game is played to be able to figure out how to protect us from a backbreaking payback. Especially in negotiating with the state to try to lower our EPA loan down from 2%. Maybe the whole thing could be refinanced, saving us a bundle!

When he posts this information on his webpage, you might find it yourself before I post the link here (for non-Facebook users).

This was posted on Nextdoor today, which is from Bruce's Facebook page:

Bruce said: My position on the proposed settlement of the Los Osos sewer lawsuit: While I’m not happy about it, I will support paying the $9.95 million settlement from the county’s general fund reserves at our Board of Supervisors meeting on March 6. This is the final bill for constructing the sewer and it closes a long and contentious chapter in the history of Los Osos. Sewer rates will not be changed at the March 6 meeting. Assuming these funds are to be repaid to the general fund by sewer users, I will not support raising rates above the maximum levels approved by ratepayers in 2009. Any increase above the maximum levels would have to be approved by ratepayers. The details: Q: Where’s the money coming from to pay this settlement? Short answer: From the county’s general fund reserves. Long answer: On March 6, the action before the Board is to pay the settlement using funds from the county’s Solar Plant Mitigation Funds. These funds were collected in lieu of the sales tax that would have been paid if the solar panels and other construction materials for the big California Valley solar projects had been purchased in SLO County. They mitigate the sales tax loss (not the projects’ physical impacts) and currently total about $15 million. Q: How will this affect sewer rates? Short answer: The effect is yet to be determined. No change to sewer rates will be made on March 6. I will not support raising rates above the maximum already approved by ratepayers in 2009 in order to pay this settlement (see question below). Long answer: The effect on sewer rates depends on, a) the BOS as a whole requiring the sewer ratepayers to repay the reserve fund, which seems likely, and b) how the repayment is financed in terms of interest rate and length of loan. I am currently working with county staff and the State Water Resources Control Board on a refinancing proposal that might produce a minimal effect on rates. It will take several months to know whether this can be accomplished, but the SWRCB indicated at the time of the original loan that we could ask for a reduction in the interest rate below the current level of 2%. Another approach, among others, might be to structure the repayment as a loan from the county’s general fund. Q: What maximum rate increase could you support? Short answer: Any increase must be within the voter-approved rates. The maximum charge for a single family home could be raised by about $4.79/month under the currently approved rate structure. Long answer: In 2009, sewer users voted to approve a “rates and charges” ordinance under the provisions of Proposition 218. For a single family home, the rate is currently $44.06/month (fixed) plus $7.54/month per unit of water used indoors. A “unit” is 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons. The average home is charged about $157/month total – less than the $165/month we had originally estimated. The maximum fixed rate authorized in 2009 is $48.85/month or $4.79/month more than currently. The maximum average charge would then rise to about $162/month. Q: What if the BOS wants to raise rates higher? Short answer: The board would have to put any greater rate increase to a vote by the sewer ratepayers under the provisions of Prop 218. The ratepayers then decide. Longer answer: I won’t support even asking ratepayers for such an increase to pay this settlement. Q: Why did the county get sued? Short answer: A contractor on the sewer’s collection system, ARB Inc., submitted a low-ball bid to get the contract and then wanted more money for the work they were obligated to perform. Long answer: The sewer’s collection system (pipes in the streets) was so big that we split the contract into roughly equal halves. ARB was awarded the contract on one half, with a low bid of about $26 million – way under the next lowest bid of almost $35 million. This appeared to be a low-ball bid, but the county was obligated by state public contracting law to accept it. As work progressed, ARB claimed they were owed more money for the work they contracted to do because of conditions in the field that they claimed the county should have told them about. The strategy of increasing payments through unjustified change orders is not uncommon in public contracting. Q: So was the county at fault for this by being incompetent, inattentive or deceptive? Short answer: No. Long answer: The $26 million bid was clearly low when compared to the six competing bids, which ranged from approximately $35-$42 million. When ARB bid (unsuccessfully) on the other half of the collection system, their bid was $36 million. The county had stringent construction management procedures in place for both halves of the collection system. The contractor on the other half (W.A. Rasic, low bid of $29 million) made no unreasonable claims and completed their contract within budget. Q: Why is the county choosing to settle this lawsuit rather than fight it? Short answer: ARB claimed they were owed another $23 million. If this complex case went to trial, we would likely expend another $1.5 million in attorney and expert fees and risk an unsympathetic jury awarding them the $23 million they sought. We held our nose and agreed to a $9.95 million settlement to avoid that risk. Long answer: This case is extremely complex, involving the arcane details of construction practice and contract law. In four years of defending this litigation, we have already spent over $2.4 million on attorney and expert fees. The case was moved out of the SLO County courts and is being heard in Santa Maria, where juries are expected to be unsympathetic toward government.

ARB Lawsuit Over At Last!

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article200135409.html

Well, it is finally over. And sad to say, it is cheaper to settle than to fight the thing. ARB didn't follow the rules. I guess they have paid their attorneys too during all of this time. So they, like we, are out that money. We did get a sizable discount anyway, which is also how these things usually go.

Here is the original article on the lawsuit:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article200135409.html 

Read the County staff report here:
http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/8402/SXRlbSBEb2N1bWVudCAoUHVibGljKSA=/14/n/90145.doc

Religious Beliefs V. Sewering Needs

I have a Google news alert for the word "sewer." I have used it for years to find interesting tidbits to post here when the news is slow in our little (but famous) corner of the sewer world. It is always amusing to find the postings for the word that are referencing a needle and thread or a sewing machine! Such is the oddball English language.

Anyway, I ran across an article that illuminated a unique reason for declining hooking up to a sewer. One would have thought with our deep and extensive decades-long sewer war that this might have come up here, but it did not.

Please do have a look and maybe you will find this story as fascinating and compelling as I did:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pennsylvania_court_orders_amish_family_to_use_electric_sewer_pump

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/01/amish_electricity_court_ruling.html

Unconnected/No Excuse Properties Shrink To 68!

The latest Basin Management Committee meeting packet was released Friday evening (January 12) for the meeting to be held at the South Bay Community Center on Wednesday, January 17, 1:30 P.M.. Item 6, the Executive Director's Report, contained this interesting tidbit:

• As of 1/1/18, 95% of the lateral connections have been completed, an increase of 23 connections since last meeting.   

• Of the 214 unconnected properties, 79 are waiting for the County/USDA/LOCSD low income grant program to pay for their connection leaving 135 properties that may require enforcement. Of the 135 properties, 46 are in the process of connecting (ie: obtained a building permit), and 21 have responded to the County’s survey giving reasons why they are not connected yet. Subtracting those categories leaves 68 properties (1.6% of 4200 total connections) that are the focus of the Code enforcement process.  

• The County had to cancel the Nov. 7 BOS meeting regarding enforcement. The County plans to go back to the Board with a County Code Amendment in a month or two. The intent is to strengthen our legal position regarding the enforcement process.

You might want to see what else is in the packet, which you can find off of this link:

https://slocountywater.org/site/Water%20Resources/LosOsos/

WOW! Russian BOTS In A Sewer Blog!

Those of you bots over in Russia who are bumping up my miniscule stats, WHY? 

I know you are not real, but any attention to a tiny sewer blog written from a tiny town to have so many hits, is....well....BIZARRE! 

What the HE-double-hockey-sticks are you doing sluicing around in American sewage? To what purpose? No one here is running for any office! 

PS - You know I can see you, right?

Giant Poop Creatures (And More)!

New find on the internet!

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2533074/russian-artist-sinks-to-new-low-by-making-sculptures-out-of-poo-to-celebrate-the-year-of-the-rooster/

New Times Article - Sewer Discount 4 Low Income

This will be a bonus for some - read the New Times article off this link:
https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/county-opens-los-osos-sewer-service-discount-program/Content?oid=4010093

Cuban Sewers

Where do I go when I want to find out some info quickly? Wikipedia!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Cuba#Wastewater_treatment

Wastewater treatment

According to a 2006 report by the “Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba” to the US President, there are only five wastewater treatment plants in Cuba, and all of them are “inoperative”. They provide “some degree of treatment” to only four percent of collected wastewater, the remainder being discharged without treatment.

I was in Cuba recently, but only spent time in Havana or on a bus, (or in the Cienfuegos Bay, which is another story, although I did also visit the Bay of Pigs), so the manhole cover images I bring you below are all from Havana. Click the link to a map of Havana. I wish I could ID where each cover came from, but I can only generally say that they came from old town Havana. I did not know exactly where I was most of the time. Also, I did not see or smell anything untoward, so maybe it was the right season (no rain) or things have been upgraded:

https://moon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/01_01_Havana.jpg

The link directly below is a sewer disaster for your reading—well, not "pleasure," that's for sure. Hold your nose. I wasn't in Los Osos during the floods in 1995-96 where sewage emerged from the flooded underground and septic tanks popped up out of the ground, but this sounds baaaaaaddddd:
http://ens-newswire.com/2012/10/03/sewage-troubles-in-havana/

Perhaps it is understandable that the sewers are a bit balky, considering they were commissioned to be built around 1908 (actually built in 1915). Sources:

The Organic Municipal Law Of Cuba. You can get the free E-book off of this link: https://books.google.com/books?id=AoUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=sewers+in+cuba&source=bl&ots=t7mRwIc6gI&sig=8BTfGgUVEvg2gR1tZ97pGVFMWsA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfwLrBsbjXAhUE5GMKHcUVDlwQ6AEIYTAL#v=onepage&q=sewers%20in%20cuba&f=false

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba/pollution.htm

Here is an interesting article on recent sewage problems:
https://translatingcuba.com/the-sewer-waters-phantom-truck-gladys-linares-hemosoido/

Well, happy reading on all of that!

On the ground—literally—in Havana, are my manhole captures. I can't be certain they are all for sewers, but the ones labeled "alcantarilla" most likely are. (If you click on each image, you can enlarge it, BTW.)

For the curious, I did take photos of things other than manhole covers, and I thought I might include a typical view from a street, but I guess I have maxed out my upload capabilities for a Blogspot post, I can't get anymore photos to upload.

Tame Sewer-Related YouTube Episodes

I was randomly watching TV tonight and happened upon the Mythbusters show. I thought I had recalled one of their programs from years past dealing with a sewer. What I found looking online to try to refresh my memory brought up the first two videos below. 

But this is not at all what I remembered! Then I realized the show was called "Dirty Jobs" and found you have to pay Amazon to watch it. Oh well, watching the two parts to blasting manhole covers in the air for free is OK, and I did find the cool videos of unclogging sewer lines in: Denton, Texas; Edina, Minnesota; Los Angeles, California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DokeJj0pxPw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JrCYYLHQPY

Denton, Texas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xdoqcSOixs

Edina, Minnesota.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUyYd8T5jy4

Los Angeles, California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fewPbl0k9VA

New Funds For Hook-Ups Up Hinge On Checkbook

UPDATE! Great news! The LOCSD passed the resolution tonight - those in need will get their lateral money. I don't know how long it takes to set up the account though, and real contractor bids will be needed by the applicants, so call the District office 805 528-9370 for more information. Penalties for not hooking up are apparently around the corner, so this really is here in the nick of time! There is around $139,000 left, so if you want to be part of figuring out ways to help people out with the rest of it, attend the Finance Committee meetings. Info for date and time will be posted on the LOCSD website.) 

There were funds gathered years ago by friends of low-income folks to be administered by the LOCSD to help with the sewer costs for the plant that was to be built back in the early 2000s (and delayed numerous times by lawsuits). That sewer project was stopped in 2005 and in the fallout from that, these funds went into a back burner Community Foundation savings account. This money was safe from being raided by the board that bankrupted the LOCSD. This money was sort of left to languish until the LOCSD posted this on their website:

The link to the live page is here (I am reposting this from an earlier post).

Now these funds are in another position. They need an OK from the LOCSD board to acquire a bank account and checkbook to disburse them. As with anything in Los Osos sewer-land, I do not feel comfortable that there is only one side to this apparent no-brainer. Take a look at the agenda item about this from the meeting that will take place tomorrow - Thursday night:, 7:00 p.m. at the District Office (some history is included there):
https://www.losososcsd.org/files/99c2e8b69/Agenda+Item+12A+Adopt+Resolution+Establishing+Bank+Account+for+Low+Income+Assistance+Funds+and+Approve+Applications.pdf

I hope that those of you interested in helping out the remaining people who need assistance with the hook-ups will show up tomorrow night at the LOCSD meeting and will say so when public comment times comes for this item. Supporting keeping the money here in Los Osos, with our far cheaper way to disburse this money as opposed to the County doing it, is important. If you can't show up, please write a letter of support to the board to do so.

Contact the board at this address: board@losososcsd.org