| Subject: |
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Re: Improved sewer system proposal for our future. |
| Name: |
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Katherine Kelly |
| Date Posted: |
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Oct 19, 07 - 7:50 AM |
| Email: |
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katherinekk@peoplepc.com |
| Message: |
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When I read the title of this post I got excited that maybe someone else had a vision for the future of Crescent City that included a sound and innovative plan for our wastewater treatment facility. Expanding the current environmentally unsound facility is not looking to the future at all. It's merely taking a 50 year old idea and making it bigger, not better. When the current facility was built, it was during a time when natural resources seemed unlimited and no one really thought much about growth. Dumping sewage in the ocean was acceptable and people back then didn't imagine the mess our environment would be fifty years down the road. I think if they had given any of these issues any thought the treatment facility would not have been built mere yards from the beach. Back in the '50s Crescent City had not yet experienced the devastating tsunami of 1964. It's now 2007 and one would hope that we have grown wiser and realize that we can do better.
Knowing what we know now, it seems foolish to throw good money at an obviously bad design. There are better ways to deal with waste than expanding a 50 year old facility located a in high-danger tsunami zone. The Arcata model is but one example of working with Nature to not only decompose human waste but to provide wetland habitat for our dwindling precious wildlife. Comparing that to our standard and inefficient facility makes me think, if they can do it why should we settle for less? We can do better.
Cost for a new environmentally friendly facility would be as much a consideration as improving the antiquidated current system, but with a caveat. There are grants available from environment improvement groups that could help offset the cost. The Coastal Conservancy is but one agency that has a grant program. A little digging on the internet and a savvy person could surely dig up more. We have a lot of intelligent, talented and creative people in our town, a precious resource we often overlook. To keep letting people who are still using '50's thinking to lead us into the future, well, we can do better.
Another issue I have with our outdated facility is location location location. Drive into town as if you've never been here. Following Front Street, you see our biggest park, a place I think of as the town's "living room". We have a lot of functions there, and it's a wide open area for visitors to stop and rest, enjoy some fresh sea air, walk the dog or let the kids burn off some energy and have a picnic lunch. Would you put a toilet in your living room? Why do we have the equivalent of one in one of the town's most popular gathering spot? It ruins the beauty of our central beach front. Why not structure that area to suit our use? Even a paved parking lot would better suit our needs. We have an awesome 4th of July celebration in our humble little town, and parking is always a nightmare. We can do better.
Another aspect of location is the danger of a tsunami. It's an exercise in sheer human arrogance to think just because the facility survived the tsunami of '64 that it will survive every tsunami in the future. We are located 80 miles from a subduction zone in the Pacific Ocean! There are no guarantees that we will always have two-foot tsunamis. What if the next one is six or even ten feet? Would our facility survive that? That's quite a gamble of $42.5 million. Not only would we still have to repay the loan but we would have to rebuild the facility and clean up the hazardous waste as well. All at even more cost than something we already can't afford. We can do better.
I love Crescent City. It may be a diamond in the rough, but with some creative and forward thinking leadership we could be a sparkling gem nestled amidst our natural treasures, the redwoods and beautiful rocky coastline. As I see it, those who will lead us to that future are not the ones currently holding office. A $42.5 million debt for a disaster waiting to happen speaks to that. We CAN do better! |
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