An egret takes flight in the newly restored Bixby Marsh (credit: Sean Hiller, Daily Breeze)
The Daily Breeze has excellent photos of the newly restored and newly opened Bixby Marshlands right next to LACSD’s Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson.
“Protecting the environment is important to the Sanitation Districts and sharing the natural wonders of the marshland with the community is a goal of the district. This became a bigger project than we envisioned at the beginning because we wanted to do it right. I think we did a very good job.” Mary Jacobs, LACSD Civil Engineer, Planning Division
LACSD is looking for community volunteers to help lead tours of the marshland.
Some June photos of the Valencia Water Reclamation Plant (LACSD) with Magic Mountain roller coasters in the background.
-
- Valencia WRP with Magic Mountain in the background
-
- Valencia WRP with Magic Mountain in the background
-
- Valencia WRP with Magic Mountain in the background
-
- Valencia WRP with Magic Mountain in the background
-
- Valencia WRP with Magic Mountain in the background
Marjorie presents the main door prize to Pat (OCSD) - an XBox 360!!!
By Marjorie Boone,
Southern Regional Safety Conference-Chair
June 4th, 2009, Carson – The Annual Southern Regional Safety Conference (SRSC) hosted by LABS, is the kind of event where CWEA declares “We care for our members” and many, many agencies responded by sending employees – despite the economic times. It was an amazing turnout – attendees traveling from across this great State. We had several people from many different vocations, including operators, collections workers, managers, directors, vendors and so on – who came together to share their dedication for compliance and employee safety.
The 2009 SRSC resoundingly strengthened this traditional safety event by offering a full range of solid technical content. As we talked with attendees, a theme emerged: they overwhelmingly got what they came for – a technical transfer of knowledge and interaction with fellow safety professionals, field personnel and managers with similar issues. Pat Carnahan of the Orange County Sanitation District was our lucky winner that got to take home the X-Box 360 door prize!
Pictures courtesy of Marjorie Boone, SARBS Director JoshuaCasey Corproate Training and Wendy Wert, LABS Director (LACSD).
Click picture for larger view…
Exhibitors:
- CavCom – hearing safety/radios - www.cavcominc.com
- CEC – Gorman-Rupp representative – www.cec-h2o.com
- Haaker Equipment – Vactor trucks – www.haaker.com
- JoshuaCasety – safety training – www.joshuacasey.com
- JWC Environmental – grinders/fine screens – www.jwce.com
- Sancon Engineering – pipeline relining – www.sancon.com
- Sewer Lock – manhole safety/security – www.sewerlock.com
- West Coast Safety Supply – www.westcoastsafetysupply.com
- 2009 Southern Regional Safety Conference
Nearly 80 hikers and dozens of volunteers conquered the hills above Malibu on Saturday. Water for People LA reports they raised over $5,000!
Watch the Hike-a-thon video here.
Join LABS on Thursday, June 18th for a fascinating dinner presentation on Water for People’s new Rwanda efforts! 6:00pm at the Monterey Hill Restaurant. Flyer and RSVP here.
Click a picture to see a larger version. Learn more at www.waterforpeoplela.com.
EnerTech’s high-tech waste-to-energy biosolids facility in Rialto has officially commenced operation the company announced on Thursday.
The facility is using the “SlurryCarb” process to turn 270,000 wet tons of biosolids from several local agencies into “e-fuel” – dried pellets that can be used to fire nearby cement kilns. The Atlanta based company also release some great photos of the new facility. HDR was the consulting engineer on the project was .
The announcement got nice press in the PE, NYT and on Reuters (links and pictures after the jump…).
By Wendy Wert
LABS Director
The art-deco splendor of the Queen Mary’s opulent Royal Salon played host to the 2009 LABS Awards Banquet. This annual event honors exceptional achievements by local talent in the water and wastewater industry. This celebration on January 10th began with the class befitting its venue with an energized social gathering of nearly 70 LABS and CWEA leaders, members, award winners and friends.
WE&T magazine has a cool on-line photo gallery of divers preparing to enter a deep tunnel used for storm overflow from the wastewater collection system. It’s not LA, but the photos are still fun to see.
“Deep underground, 90 m (300 ft) beneath the city of Milwaukee, a 400 million-gallon overflow tunnel was filled with wastewater and sediment. Highly trained divers blasted debris with pressure hoses as they made their way through the tunnel. Click here to enter our photo gallery”
If you have photos of Los Angeles wastewater projects please send them to: news@sewerleaks.com.
(photo credits: Susan Brownstein and Joyce T. Lee)
Water for People Los Angeles hosted a big hike-a-thon on Saturday at the Kenneth Hahn State Park in Baldwin Hills. The event was well attended with roughly 50 people hiking. There was a pre-hike party with bagels and coffee as well as three quiz stations spread around the course where hikers could win prizes by answering questions about clean water.
Learn more at www.WaterForPeopleLA.com
The brand new processing facility in Rialto will use the SlurryCarb process to turn wastewater sludge into clean burning fuel pellets called “e-fuel”. The fuel is then used by nearby cement facilities to fire their kilns.
According to Atlanta based EnerTech:
On October 15th the plant began start-up by accepting its first truckload of biosolids. The event was observed by representatives from the five municipalities currently providing biosolids to the facility.
And the Orange County Sanitation District points out in a news release:
On November 3rd OCSD will send an average of 11 trucks a day to EnerTech’s Rialto facility. This is the equivalent of 225 tons of biosolids, which is about 1/3 of what OCSD produces. This new facility is OCSD’s closest recycling location. It is an environmentally-friendly way of recycling biosolids and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
EnerTech’s Rialto facility website.
The City of LA announced a TBM has been delivered and is starting work on an underground tunnel as part of the Avenue 45 and Arroyo Drive Relief Sewer project.
USC Professor Burt Jones and a group of students and professors from the school’s Marine Environmental Biology program have developed several methods of monitoring ocean water quality over long distances and over long periods of time. The goal is to track ocean water quality in real-time.
By Wendy Wert
Sewer Leaks Editor
On July 26, 2008 Operators participated in a historic event, the last scheduled “paper” CWEA certification testing program. In January 2009 computer-based testing (CBT) will begin. To learn more about CBT visit CWEA’s special webpage: www.cwea.org/cbt.
CWEA is in the process of establishing a Certification Prep Committee to lead the work on study sessions, moderator training, moderator guides, and study guides to ensure consistent high quality. If you are interested in serving on the new committee send an email to CWEA at mls@cwea.org.
The Atlanta Journal Constinution has an update on the Rialto biosolids facility being built by EnerTech, a private company based in Atlanta. Later this year EnerTech’s facility will take in 700 wet tons of bioslids daily from five local sanitation districts and convert it to 145 dry tons of energy pellets (called e-pellets). The pellets are sold to local cement kilns. HDR is the consulting engineer on the project.
“In the past, that might have been fairly expensive,” said Mike Sullivan supervising engineer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, another participant. “But with other alternatives disappearing and the cost of diesel fuel rising, it’s becoming much more [attractive].”
AJC story here. Rialto project updates here.
The LACSD’s Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson has been improving the wetlands area located next door to the facility in accordance with their 1995 Master Facilities Plan. The 17-acre wetlands, known as Bixby Marshland, was there long before people came to the South Bay, but was chopped up when the Harbor Freeway and local housing developments were created.
The Districts is working with San Rafael based WRA Environmental to redesign and restore the marshland so it can be opened for public access. The marsh will have trails, shade structures and plenty of ponds and islands for birds and animals. The trails and parking lot will open to the public in Spring 2009.
(click photo to enlarge)
On Tuesday May 13th over 30 professionals involved with the Los Angeles Basin Section Young Professionals group visited the Santa Monica stormwater treatment facility. A free dinner followed. Stay tuned for future events. Read more
“Flowers for Mother” by Dave Wielenga, The District Weekly
Politicians and residents seem awe-struck by the beauty of the recently completed Dominguez Gap wetlands which will clean storm water before it enters the LA River. The project has been in the works for over a decade. The 40-acre basin is full of ponds, flowers, birds, trails, benches and other people friendly benefits. Money quote:
One of our most challenging restoration efforts ever, the Dominguez Gap will return important ecological functions of water quality improvement, wildlife habitat, and aquifer recharge. The project will become an exciting destination for birdwatchers, hikers, bicyclists, and the interested public. - Jim Bays, CH2M HILL Principal Scientist.
The District Weekly (L.B.) story here
LA County Public Works press release
Story and photos by Wendy Wert
Sewer Leaks Editor
On April 12, the Central Basin Municipal Water District and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts hosted the 2nd Annual Earthday celebration in Whittier. More than 3,000 attendees enjoyed creative festivities designed to enhance environmental awareness and encourage stewardship.
The garden area allowed folks to decorate a pot, plant a seed, obtain information about California friendly plants, composting, gardening, and healthy cooking. A kids zone was set up to allow children to decorate a cookie, visit touch tanks with live animals and join in a West African drum circle. The event was such a success that it is likely to become an annual tradition!
Sewer Leaks editor Wendy Wert shares photos from LA’s World Water Day celebration on March 22nd in Santa Monica. Pictures here.
This is a test of the gallery without Flash…
Credit: Paul Cockrell, professional photographer
