Some of the questions I have asked public works:
*When the testing for nitrates/bacteria was conducted, were there additional tests done to determine whether these nitrates were from human septic? For example, did you test for caffeine, Prozac, or other drug byproducts?
*If some homeowners overlook their ballots and do not vote on the project, will this “no vote” be considered a yes or no vote? Or will this homeowner simply have no voice in the matter because they failed to return the ballot?
* It appears that the Red Bluff treatment facility has reached its maximum capacity with regard to effluent treatment. Your website states that wet weather can cause flows to increase over 3,000,000 gallons per day and yet your treatment plant has a design capacity of 2,500,000 gallons per day. How will the facility handle 2600+ more homes? What improvements have been made so that the facility will be able to handle this increase?
* You stated that the $18,000 would pay for sewer pipe going to our home and for a family unit’s worth of underground pipe and for a portion of the pumping station. Doesn’t this mean that our family should own a portion of the new sewer system? It doesn’t make sense to charge us for equipment that is not within our home or on our property that you wish to use to provide a service that we will pay for. PG&E does not expect us to pay for anything beyond our breaker box. They own it; we are utilizing their service and the equipment that brings it to us. We are not being charged for the pipe that brings our natural gas to us; we are paying for the gas that we use. The same is true of the telephone company. They pay for the cables and they bring service to our home. We pay for service.
*Will the monthly service be flat rate or will it be metered?
*Why is the grant money only for the entity of the Antelope Sewer Project and not for the residents? It stands to make a profit and we don't. The economy is terrible and there could not be a worse time for presenting us with $28,000 of debt. From what I have read in the draft, it appears that low income families would qualify for assistance, but presently, even middle class families are hurting. With prices at the gas pump being high, food prices climbing, and wages staying the same, no one has an extra $100 a month, let alone $155 (That’s the real cost; the preliminary draft did not factor in the $10,000 fee to convert septic systems--I read about this in the newspaper--with the service fee as well, monthly costs will be $180). How do you plan to help middle class families?
*Would a homeowner be allowed to do a portion of the work himself? Oftentimes, labor prices can be quite inflated, and I am guessing we could rent a trencher for cheaper than a contractor is paid.
*If the county can’t afford to pay for this project, why don’t they start small, where nitrates are most troublesome and plan to incorporate the other part later? That’s how successful families work their budget...they pay as they go (and also why I have so many questions---we can’t afford this right now).
Looking at the city’s treatment plant being worked to capacity as it is, looking at the lack of funding, and considering that despite the fact that septic will be diverted to the city, residents will still be drinking from the same wells, it seems prudent to downsize this project for the time being. Like the rest of the country, we in Tehama County need to look for ways to save money, not put families at risk through a plan that threatens their financial well-being. Is this an all-or-nothing plan since there has been almost $200,000 paid out for PACE to draw this up? Is there any way the plan could be modified to serve a smaller area since you are not building a new treatment facility in Antelope, but are merely pumping septic to the city?
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An engineer from public works states that comments on the project must be received by March 23rd.
Mail your questions/concerns to:
Tehama County Public Works
9380 San Benito
Gerber, CA 96035
Please read the preliminary draft and ask questions, as I have. My neighbor wrote a letter and asked what would happen if a homeowner was unable to make the payment. What procedures would the city take? Is it forseeable that someone could lose their home? She also asked if there would be an opt-out. Good questions, and I am sure that after you research this, read the draft and related news articles, that you will have questions as well. Ask them.
Write to or call your supervisors and city councilmembers in addition to public works. Tell them how it will affect you and your family to pay almost $200 a month for 20 years, a cost that is too high,
especially when there are other solutions.
Write to or call your supervisors and city councilmembers in addition to public works. Tell them how it will affect you and your family to pay almost $200 a month for 20 years, a cost that is too high,
especially when there are other solutions.
Those living in the Roundup area will tell you that the nitrate levels appear
to have a correlation to the opening and closing of the dam gates.
Gates closed, nitrate level up. Gates open, nitrate level down.
How many tests were done and at what time of year?
What if they only tested for nitrates while the gates were closed?
So while I think the focus should be limited to the Roundup area where nitrates have been high,
to have a correlation to the opening and closing of the dam gates.
Gates closed, nitrate level up. Gates open, nitrate level down.
How many tests were done and at what time of year?
What if they only tested for nitrates while the gates were closed?
So while I think the focus should be limited to the Roundup area where nitrates have been high,
I am not convinced that a sewer system is the answer. Get these people on city water.
Better yet, test the Antelope water again now that Lake Red Bluff is gone.
Better yet, test the Antelope water again now that Lake Red Bluff is gone.
Property owners deserve due diligence. A 5 or 10 year study is in order, because our water might get cleaner
every year once the water is able to move through the area instead of sitting in one place.
If you would like to discuss this issue with other Antelope homeowners
or if you'd like to read what others have to say,
check out the Red Bluff is my Town facebook page.
If you would like to discuss this issue with other Antelope homeowners
or if you'd like to read what others have to say,
check out the Red Bluff is my Town facebook page.
As a homeowner who lives in the Antelope district, I was taken aback to hear that a proposed Antelope Sewer Project would cost each homeowner about $18,000. I looked into this project a bit, read some of the preliminary draft and news reports, and I learned each homeowner's cost would really be at least $28,000. Hmmm...can't say that I have that kind of money lying around. If I did, my son would already have the braces we are saving for, my husband would not be driving the ancient truck that he has, and we would pay off all our bills. So because I have nothing better to do (yeah...right!), I read through pages and pages of the preliminary draft to see what we would be getting for this cost and after I did, I had questions.
Where does the poo go?
I don't know about you, but it was a bit difficult for me to read this map. It was small, so I magnified it in order to see where the lift stations would be. Lift station? You may ask...what is a lift station? It's where the sewer goes before it makes its way to the treatment facility. It's a way for sewer to be collected from lower lying areas and pumped to higher areas. If you would like to learn more about the aesthetic properties of a sewer lift station, drive by the Red Bluff City Park/Chamber of Commerce, roll down your window and take a whiff. On many days, you can smell the beautiful, state-of-the-art lift station located there. Where will the lift stations be in Antelope? Take a look.
By the way, the Mitigated Negative Declaration has stated that there will be no more than 7 lift stations developed and that the lift station at Sale/Williams Ave. will be relocated. So there will likely be more stations than what is seen here.
Smell that smell...can you smell that smell? It's the smell of plummeting property values...
I have included some inspiring quotes to help ease your stress.
Aren't I helpful??
Aren't I helpful??
Perfume is a promise in a bottle;
a sewage lift station is like a promise too,
only it's more like bowel than a bottle.
a sewage lift station is like a promise too,
only it's more like bowel than a bottle.
The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But you'll always feel like you're downwind from a sewage lift station.
The scents of a garden lift away the burdens of stress;
A sewage pump lifts away the effluent of all your neighbors,
but it can't help your stress.
A sewage pump lifts away the effluent of all your neighbors,
but it can't help your stress.
Write your letter! It must be received by March 23rd.
If you need inspiration for your letter, take a walk at the Red Bluff River Park behind the Chamber of Commerce building.
Walk down the Richard G. Holman Underpass and breathe in the "less than significant" sewage odor.
Walk down the Richard G. Holman Underpass and breathe in the "less than significant" sewage odor.
This could be coming to your neighborhood...
Please define an odor that is "less than significant." Less than significant is such a subjective phrase...the ones who think of it as insignificant work with effluent all day, and I'm afraid they might be used to it. My idea of insignificant might be different than theirs.
Google this: "lift station" sewage and smell. See what you get. Better yet, drive by the chamber of commerce and see if that smell is so insignificant that you wouldn't mind being greeted by it each time you exit your home.
Map segments are from the Preliminary Engineering Report.
The arrows are my own work of art. These are not part of the
almost $200,000 cost to prepare the report. I drew these arrows for free :)
The arrows are my own work of art. These are not part of the
almost $200,000 cost to prepare the report. I drew these arrows for free :)
From the City of Red Bluff Public Works Website; again, the arrows are mine...in case you couldn't tell ;)