Is city ignoring waste system maintenance?

John Scott

At a recent mayor’s breakfast, Rich Barnard, standing in for the mayor

who was at a press conference with our local politicians, pointed to dogs

and birds as source of the ocean pollution after investigation determined

that Orange County Sanitation District’s sewer lines at the beach were

not the culprit.

Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but I interpreted that as a ploy to focus the

attention of residents on something other than the decrepit state of

Huntington Beach’s sewer system.

For more than a year, we have heard reports from members of the

Infrastructure Committee that there are sections of the Downtown sewer

system where the pipes have completely disintegrated. If that is true,

then it must be assumed that sewage has entered the water table.

It is my understanding that a sewer maintenance procedure is to put a

section of sewer line under 4 pounds of pressure. If the needle

immediately drops, the tester knows there is a leak. The section is then

narrowed until the leak is found.

My information is that this maintenance procedure is routinely done in

some sanitation districts. Is it done by the sanitation district for

Huntington Beach? Has this procedure been used in the Newland area? If

so, what did they find?

I would think that a good question to ask is: How can something so basic

and essential to our quality of life as our sewer system be placed so far

down on the list of budget priorities?

Is it a failure of city management? What items have city councils spent

tax revenues on that are more important than proper disposal of fecal

waste? Has the redevelopment agency spent any revenue to repair and

maintain the sewer system, since they have probably added 2,000 or more

toilets to the system?

It seems rather elementary that if a system is in great disrepair, it

should not be burdened further until proper repairs are made.

The Orange County Sanitation District said in a recent environmental

impact report that the Santa Ana River was a far greater polluter of the

ocean than all of the primary and secondary sewage discharged into the

ocean.

Has there been a grapefruit test performed on the Santa Ana River? Does

it also make its way to the beaches near Newland?

The sanitation district pointed out that it carries drainage from the

Chino area replete with many dairy farms. We have all read about the

pollution that arises from a concentration of pig, chicken and cattle

businesses.

John Scott is a Huntington Beach resident.