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State Has Concerns Over Lodi's Wastewater Facility

Posted on: Thursday, 11 May 2006, 12:04 CDT

By Jeff Hood, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

May 11--LODI - Lodi officials received notice from state regulators last week that the city's wastewater treatment plant wasn't adequately testing treated effluent and was in violation of state rules.

But the May 3 letter to Public Works Director Richard Prima also warned Lodi that state officials are concerned the White Slough plant next to Interstate 5 is harming groundwater. That could force plant operators to change the way the city's sewage is treated before discharging it onto adjacent farmland or into Dredger Cut, which dead-ends just west of the freeway.

The violation notice, which stems from a Nov. 21 inspection, orders Lodi to submit a plan outlining how it intends to meet the requirements. It does not indicate if the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board will impose a fine against the city.

Water board inspectors found that Lodi:

» Stopped checking for chlor-ine in discharged water after the city switched from chlorine to an ultraviolet disinfection system on Jan. 21, 2005. Inspectors noted that an electric power plant on the property adds chlorine to its water before discharging it to the city plant.

» Didn't retest water samples when the first tests failed to work properly, as required.

» Didn't increase monitoring when water samples reached potentially toxic levels, as required.

"Strictly speaking, they're right," Prima said. "When we took out the chlorine, we perked along for 15 months, thinking everything was fine. The others are procedural things that we'll get squared away."

More ominous information, however, is contained in an 11-page inspection report sent with the violation notice.

Engineer George Lockwood notes that nitrate levels found at two groundwater monitoring wells near the plant holding ponds have jumped from 1990 to 2004 and are now twice the level considered safe for human consumption. State officials don't want the water migrating to wells supplying drinking water because nitrates are especially harmful to infants.

Prima said he expects the state to require Lodi to reduce the treatment plant's apparent impact on groundwater before it renews the city's discharge permit this year. The solution could be expensive, such as requiring the city to buy or lease more land on which to spread agricultural waste sent to the plant.

Peach grower Ken Hajek, who farms near the plant and has long been concerned about degraded groundwater, said the report is proof Lodi has ignored the effect its sewage plant has on the environment.

"I think the state has put its finger on the essential problems," Hajek said. "The violations and lack of the monitoring data is indicative Lodi hasn't paid much attention to it, and it's high time.

"It hasn't been one of the high-priority issues, and until somebody has enough authority to get their attention, which is either the state water resources board or some sort of lawsuit, then the city is able to take that lax approach."

Prima said a city consultant previously hired to study groundwater quality at and around the White Slough plant should have a final report delivered in a matter of days. The information will be used in developing the new operating permit for the plant, Prima said.

Lockwood declined to comment Wednesday, referring questions to a supervisor, who did not return a call.

Contact Lodi Bureau Chief Jeff Hood at (209) 367-7427 or jhood@recordnet.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

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Source: The Record

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