Posted on February 17, 2015

Phone: 509-930-8798

YAKIMA, Wash. State environmental regulators are working on new rules that would govern how wineries dispose of water used to clean equipment and facilities.

Officials with the state Department of Ecology are drafting a winery wastewater permit that could require companies, even small wineries, to build new treatment and disposal facilities separate from their sewer connections or septic systems.

We are considering giving them extra time once the permit is issued to come into compliance with the permit, said Chelsea Desforges, an Ecology water quality program manager, in an email. We do not have a specific timeline in mind, but in the past some general permits have given businesses several years to retrofit their facilities.

Wine industry officials say the process is in the early stages but support the Ecology Departments effort.

Were all for clean water, said Patrick Rawn, vice chairman of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers and co-owner of Two Mountain Winery in Zillah.

Volunteers from the states wine industry have participated in the rulemaking.

Well adapt and move on, Rawn said.

Desforges spoke about the proposed changes at the recent annual meeting of the organization in the Tri-Cities.

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Ecology crafting new rules for winery wastewater

Communities in Jefferson and Madison Counties will use interest-free loans for projects that seek to improve drinking water and wastewater systems.

The board of directors of the New York Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) on Thursday approved a total of five interest-free loans worth about $28 million.

The EFC announced the loan approvals in a news release distributed on Thursday.

The Town of Sullivan in Madison County will use a $7.7 million loan that refinances a 2012,EFC-issued short-term loan for construction of a wastewater-collection system for the Bridgeport sewer district.

The project extends service to the hamlet of Bridgeport and replaces faulty septic systems along Oneida Lake, EFC said.

The communitys projected savings will total $4.3 million with the EFC loan, according to the corporations news release.

In addition, the Town of Hounsfield in Jefferson County will use a nearly $2.4 million, long-term loan to refinance a previous EFC loan of $2.8 million.

The loan, along with a $2 million state grant, financed the construction of a new water-distribution system to serve the Town of Hounsfields Water District #5.

The new system provides public water for residents who previously used private wells. It also means improved service for residents in Hounsfields Water Districts #1 and #2, the EFC said.

With the EFC loan, Hounsfields projected savings will total $1.3 million, the corporation added.

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EFC approves loans for Madison, Jefferson County clean-water projects

The city of Anchorage and the Matanuska Susitna Borough are wrestling over the problem of disposal of the Boroughs septic waste. ABorough waste treatment facilitycould beyears away, while Anchorages wastewater utility has had its fill of the Boroughs sludge. Back in the 1980s, the Borough did construct a waste treatment facility, in Houston, but the state shut it down due to groundwater impacts. Since then, pump trucks have hauled Valley septic sludge to an Anchorage facility, and thats not a solution, according to Helen Munoz.

Munoz is a dimunitive woman with an energy level that belies her 84 years. Shes at a local Palmer coffee shop, discussing one of the passions of her life : septic sludge and how to deal with it.

Look at what we are doing to the ocean, look at what we are doing to the ocean, look at what we are doing to Cook Inlet. Give me a break! Are people blind

Munoz says too much human waste is going into Cook Inlet. Munoz, whos son still runs the familys A1 Septic, has been in a decidedly unsexy business since her family moved to the Valley from New York in the early 1970s. She says since that time, the Borough has built new schools, roads, not to mention thousands of houses to meet a growing population demand, yet has neglected one basic human need.. waste disposal.

You dont build a house and ask to use your neighbors bathroom for the rest of your life.

Mat Su has no Borough -wide sewer system, although the cities of Palmer and Wasilla have their own sewers and treatment plants. Most residences in the Borough have septic tanks, which must be pumped out every year, or two. And the septic sludge, as it is called, is hauled to Anchorage in pumper trucks for treatment at municipal facilities.

Mike Campfield, an environmental engineer with the Borough, along with Munoz, is a member of the Boroughs wastewater and sewer advisory board.

One of the projects that is at the top of our list of priorities is to develop a septage and leachate treatment facility. The board in the past has recommended that the Borough Assembly pursue funding in the form of both a grant and a DEC backed loan, he says.

In December, the advisory board approved a Borough Assembly resolution authorizing the Borough to ask for a $22 million loan from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for design and construction of a sewage treatment plant in the Borough. Campfield says, there is still a long way to go on the project. But the arrangement the Borough has with Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility may be coming to an end. Brett Jokela is AWWUss general manager.

We dont have any deadline, were not going to turn them off. But on the other hand, we are not in control of the timeline for reauthorization of our permit, either, Jokela says. Jokela says the utilitys board wants to halt taking septage from the Valley. He says that decision is driven in part by the status of the utilitys EPA permit.

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Mat Su Pursues Waste Solution

Dear editor,

It seems to me that the CVRD really thinks money grows on trees in Union Bay, Royston and Cumberland.

On Jan. 22, they disclosed the approximate cost to each homeowner from Royston to Union Bay, for hook-up to their proposed liquid waste management plan.

Four options are on the table, all around $25,000 per home but could go up 30-50 per cent, meaning the actual cost could be $32,500 - $37,500.

Infrastructure projects rarely come in on- or under- budget. Every homeowner in that area suddenly faces a liability of $30,000 give or take.

Property values in Area B have been stagnant or down for the last few years, so putting $25,000 on the mortgage to finance this is impossible for many. It is unrealistic to expect young families, retired couples and anyone in between to spit up $25,000 or $30,000 for a sewer system they dont need. OK says the CVRD, you can borrow it from us or the province at five per cent over 20 years.

Id like all homeowners from Union Bay to Royston to realize that in the most optimistic scenario, for proposal C for instance, their monthly payments come to $219.17 if they borrow the money and include the maintenance fee. That is $2,630 a year.

For some, that is more than their property tax, and that will growing too even when interest rates dont go up, to over $2,900 by year 20. That is about $55,300 for your septic.

For half that money or less, individuals that have problematic septic systems can get theirs replaced and will not face staggering annual fees.

How much money will there be made on this project over the backs of home-owners?

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Something about these waste management options really stinks

Previously we covered the importance of getting the sewers of a potential new home inspected. Another important topic to consider when buying a new home is whether the house has a sewer or septic system. Here at Tonys Drain and Sewer Cleaning, we believe that the more you know about your house sewer system, the better you will be able to solve or avoid and sewer problems. This post septic vs sewer will briefly cover the differences between a septic system and a sewer system.

A septic tank is a watertight container buried underground. The septic tank is normally found 20 to 25 feet away from the house. The tank can be made of concrete, fiberglass, or polyethylene. The wastewater from your home travels through a pipe and flows to the septic tank. The septic tank is divided into two tanks. The tanks are known as the primary tank and the secondary tank. Sewage water goes through the main pipe to the primary tank where solids are separated and contained, allowing only water to pass through to the secondary tank.

The primary tank requires a chemical additive to destroy the solid materials. If you do not use a chemical additive, the septic tank will become full rapidly. By using a chemical additive, you are ensuring that only water passes through to the secondary tank and not solids. Once the solids have been separated, the water goes through a pipe connected to the secondary tank. That pipe takes the water to the yard. The pipe has orifices that allow water to escape into the soil.

Despite performing regular maintenance on your septic tank, it will eventually get full. It will usually get full after three years of use. However, the time it takes for the tank to get full depends on the number of people living in the home. The greater number of people that live in the home and the amount of water waste contributes to how fast your tank will get full.

Once the septic tank is full, there will be no way to use any other drains in the house. By that we mean you will not be able to use your toilets, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, etc. If you are no longer able to use any of the for mentioned utilities in your home, it is time to call a professional septic tank service company.

The technicians of a professional septic service company will suck up all the sludge in the septic tank. They will use special equipment to remove all the sludge until the tank is completely clean and as a result, all the drains in your home will be restored to their full working capacity.

Having public sewer service or a public sewer system contrast greatly with having a septic tank system. However, both systems share similarities. Similarly as in a septic system, there is a four-inch pipe that leads from the house to another source. The difference is that in a public sewer system, that pipe connects to the citys public sewer line instead of to a private septic tank. Both public sewer system and septic tanks allow for sewage water to be removed form your home. As the name inclines, a public sewer system is shared by all the homes in the neighborhood and surrounding vicinity. The wastewater your neighbors produce ends up in the same place as the wastewater you produce.

The maintenance of a public sewer system is relatively simple, especially compared to that of a septic tank. You may not experience any sewer related problems or have to perform any maintenance for up to half a decade! However, this all depends on the type of material the sewer system is made out of. The frequency of problems and maintenance differs among the types of materials, which include clay, metal, and PVC.

If you being experiencing clogs and backups, it may be due to obstructions in your drain lines that lead to the sewer. Tree roots likely cause these obstructions. Currently pipes and drain lines are connected with a special type of glue but the pipes of older systems where just interlocked into place with out any glue. Since there was no glue, tree roots are able to get into the interlocking joints of the pipes.

As consequence, it causes sewage/waste water to inefficiently drain from your home to the city sewer. In order for wastewater to once again properly leave your home, you must remove the tree roots. Inserting an electric rotating machine commonly referred to as a sewer snake or rodding machine, down the obstructed drain or sewer line, will remove the tree roots. Other materials such as grease, excess toilet paper flushing, and hair can obstruct drain and sewer lines.

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Septic vs Sewer |Tony's Drain and Sewer Cleaning

Contributed Photos

This curved tunnel beneath Homestead Avenue, in Hartford's North End, is part of The Metropolitan District Commission's Clean Water Project for separating its storm drains and septic-sewer channels. The project will improve the quality of treated wastewater before it winds up in Connecticut's inland waterways and Long Island Sound.

The State Bond Commission on Friday approved $480 million in grants and loans to wastewater projects in Hartford, Bristol, Norwich, and more statewide.

The Metropolitan District Commission received $80 million in grants and $178 million in loans for a 20-year investment in Greater Hartford to separate the flow of stormwater from sanitary sewers.

The Bristol Wastewater Treatment plant received $9.5 million in grants and $9.5 million in loans for various upgrades, including removing phosphorous from wastewater in order to protect the Pequabuck River.

The Norwich Wastewater Treatment Plants received $20 million in grants and $80 million in loans to upgrade its infrastructure and nitrogen removal.

The remaining $103 million will be used for a variety of projects across the state, including planning studies, engineering designs, and green infrastructure projects, including compensating for sea level rise.

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CT approves $480M for wastewater projects

A saga underlies the stench at West Park Properties, an 11-acre mobile home park that can be found by smell after a good rain, when its failing septic system flushes into the nearby creek, water ducking under Northcrest Drive in Crescent City before flowing over marshland into the southeastern tip of Lake Earl.

Not 200 feet downstream from the stink sits an unused sewage lift station built by the county of Del Norte in 2011 to help resolve longstanding wastewater issues at this mobile home park and two others nearby.

Four years and $850,000 in state Community Development Block Grant money later, there sits the little lift station with nothing connected to it and something reeking to high heaven next door.

Living in manufactured homes warped by four unkind decades, West Parks tenantswere among those meant to benefit from the countys sewer line extension, built with state grants allocated to local governments to improve the lives of low and middle-income residents.

Yet these tenants could soon be up an unnamed creek without a paddle unless the parks owner agrees to pay $275,000 in fees to Crescent City and Del Norte County to complete connection to public sewers.

Meanwhile, the state agency that oversees mobile home parks as well as state water quality regulators are assessing the situation, and the county has taken steps to enforce an ordinance that requires property owners pay to join nearby public services in this case a county lift station that would pump to the citys wastewater treatment plant.

City fees

Excluding $48,600 payable to the county for use of its sewer lines, the citys capacity fee for West Parks 39 units would be $226,600, not including a monthly treatment fee of $1,260, to be passed on in bills to tenants of the park, where rent is $265 per month.

The citys fee is based on a 2008 analysis that reckoned future sewer rates with financing for $44 million in improvements to the wastewater treatment plant from 2007 to 2011, according to city Public Works Director Eric Wier.

The analysis concluded that in order for the city to break even on sewer service, new hookups should be billed at $9,700 per single family equivalency, such as a stand-alone house or a three-bedroom apartment. Each mobile home is valued at 60 percent of that metric, or $5,800.

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Septic leaks smelly saga

Since the advent of the sewer pipe, there has been need for the sewer cleaning equipment. Contrary to popular myth, the sanitary system is not self-sustaining. Sewage flows gradually slow over time, and, eventually, blockages begin to build up in the piping. If steps are not taken to clear these blockages, the entire pipe can fail exposing the surrounding population to unhealthy or even dangerous gasses and materials. It is the sewer cleaner's job to clear these blockages and ensure that their municipality remains sanitary.

With time, sewage structures have become more and more complex. Consequently, we now require increasingly powerful machines in order to keep them all running properly. The modern sewer system includes laterals, mains, manholes, catch basins, lift stations, and water treatment facilities all of which are critical to keeping the sewage system working.

The combination sewer cleaner is the pinnacle of sewer cleaning equipment. Utilizing a highly advanced combination of, controlled, high-pressured water and a vacuum capable of generating suctions strong enough to move 3500 cubic feet of material per minute (3500 CFM). By redirecting the flow of the water with carefully designed nozzles, the septic truck can force all the collected sludge down the pipe to a catch basin or lift station where he can then vacuum it all up into the debris body to be disposed of at a water treatment facility. The Combination Sewer Cleaner was the first equipment line that Doheny Companies carried; a lot has changed since then but, to this day, Combination Sewer Cleaners form one of the backbones of the company. From the beginning, we have been the most trusted name in septic pump trucks and sewer cleaning equipment. For over 50 years, Jack Doheny Companies has provided the market with high quality service and support, and we continue to be Vactor's leading dealer of sewer cleaning equipment and parts.

Call us today or click the links below for more information.

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Septic Trucks, Septic Pump Trucks, Sewer Cleaning ...

WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center today to help communities across the country improve their wastewater, drinking water and stormwater systems, particularly through innovative financing and by building resilience to climate change. The center was announced as Vice President Biden and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy toured the construction site for a tunnel to reduce sewer overflows into the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. by 98 percent. The center is part of the White House Build America Investment Initiative a government-wide effort to increase infrastructure investment and promote economic growth by creating opportunities for state and local governments and the private sector to collaborate, expand public-private partnerships, and increase the use of federal credit programs.

Infrastructure is central to the Presidents plan to build on the progress the U.S. economy is making by creating jobs and expanding opportunity for all Americans, said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. By modernizing the nations infrastructure we can protect our drinking water sources and enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change by avoiding financial and water supply losses from leaking pipes and reducing pollution from sewer overflows and wastewater discharges.

Key Points

EPAs center will serve as a resource for communities, municipal utilities, and private entities as they seek to address water infrastructure needs with limited budgets. EPA will help explore public-private partnerships and innovative financing solutions. Aging and inadequate water infrastructure hinders the ability of communities to provide clean drinking water, manage wastewater, reduce flooding, and provide recreational waters that are safe to swim and fish in. Impacts of climate change including intense and frequent storms, drought, floods, sea-level rise and water quality changes create challenges for communities as they prepare water infrastructure that can withstand these impacts.

By the Numbers

More than $600 billion is needed over the next 20 years to maintain and improve the nations water infrastructure. State-by-state breakdown of funding needs: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/upload/clean-water-and-drinking-water-infrastructure-needs-by-state.pdf

Audio

Administrator McCarthy discusses EPAs new center:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/28ce3f2fe7f9df5285257dcf00577798!OpenDocument

Photos

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EPA Finance Center helps improve water infrastructure, resiliency.

Don't wait until you sell your house to find out what's wrong with it or how to make it safer. How old is too old for a furnace? What should, or shouldn't, go down a garbage disposal? Should you have ductwork cleaned? Photoelectric or ionization smoke detector? What's an AFCI outlet?

It might take a home inspector to figure it out. So here's Frank Lesh, executive director of the American Society of Home Inspectors, an organization that, like the National Association of Home Inspectors, certifies home inspection professionals. (Lesh is not just an administrator: He owns Home Sweet Home Inspection of Indian Head Park, Ill.)

In Connecticut, don't hire inspectors without first checking at http://www.elicense.ct.gov that they're registered with the state.

TBL: A few things that might alarm people: Hairline cracks in the basement, horizontal or vertical. Or both. What exactly do they mean?

A: Just a small vertical, hairline crack is not a big deal. It's very common. But a horizontal crack, for sure. And if there are lot of cracks, it shows something wasn't done right. A floor crack, other than just a little unsettling, has no structural significance.

TBL: How about a crack on an interior wall?

A: Depends on the age of the home and whether you have plaster or drywall. Typically, interior cracks are not as significant as exterior.

TBL: If someone has a 20-year-old furnace, can he assume it will have to be replaced soon?

A: It depends on the heating climate, but between 15 and 25 years is a normal life for a furnace. Today's furnaces don't seem to last quite as long as furnaces did back in the '50s.

TBL: Should people drain their water heaters or leave them alone and wait until they self-destruct?

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What's Wrong With Your Home? The Inspector Is In The House