Pei-Chin Low, LABS Past-President, and the LABS Young Professionals Committee are organizing a summer event surely to be remembered - a night out at the Hollywood Bowl. The performance is “A Night in Old Havana” and will be proceeded by a picnic dinner from 6-8 pm and feature food from Corner Bakery.
Tickets are $35 each or $15 for students. Please RSVP at the July dinner meet or send a check (no cash or credit cards) payable to LABS to Amanda Schmidt at RMC Water and Environment, 2400 Broadway, Suite 300, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Questions? Please email ASchmidt@rmcwater.com. Please RSVP by July 25th.
Purchase tickets at the July LABS dinner!
Official flyer.
(graphic by Miluska Propersi)
LA Times columnist Patt Morrison always likes to look at the lighter side of the heavy issues facing the city and when it comes to water recycling Morrison has an excellent column in this morning’s paper. Morrison talks about LA’s past, OC’s current system and the City’s dire water needs, pointing out:
Unless you want your water delivered by eyedropper… reclaimed water is the way it’s going to be. (snip) Cue the sparkly magic music for 2008’s makeover transformation. What’s different now? The drought is much worse. The science of treating water is much better. And for once, the DWP may be smarter about its PR. It would have to build a new facility with all the new water treatment whiz-bangs, and the city wouldn’t see reclaimed water for another 10 years.
Read Patt’s column here.
We have a previous story about the OC’s GWRS here.
The Port of Los Angeles is launching a major effort to clean-up Cabrillo Beach near San Pedro. Both the seawater and the beach sand have bacteria levels which concern Port officials. They are funding a project to remove a nearby jetty and add a recirculation pump in order flush out the slow moving water inside the cove.
The Port of LA is one of the few in the country to have a popular sandy beach right next to port operations. Officials have spent years trying to clean-up the beach.
“We may be able to do for water what we’re doing for air around the port. We just need to focus more attention on the issue,” said Geraldine Knatz, the Port of LA’s Executive Director.
Daily Breeze story here.
The four students are enrolled in the University’s engineering program and interested in civil or environmental engineering degrees. They receive a $2,500 scholarship from the Los Angeles County Sanitations Districts as part of the Districts efforts to encourage students to consider a career in the water industry.
Press-Telegram has the story.
Our upcoming meeting is on Tuesday, July 22nd at 5:30 pm at the Metropolitan Water District:
700 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Please e-mail Benita Horn ( click here ) and myself if you plan to attend. You may park in the employee parking located behind the building. Just let the guard know that you are there to attend the Water for People meeting.
Mischelle Mische
President
LA Chapter of Water For People
www.waterforpeoplela.com
The general public is far more concerned about drinking water compared to all other environmental issues - including air pollution and global warming. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they’re concerned “a great deal” about drinking water pollution. Fifty percent said they were concerned ”a great deal” about pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
The study’s details are here.
A PBS documentary about America’s crumbling water and wastewater infrastructure is coming to television in October. The series, called Liquid Assets - The Story of Water Infrastructure, focuses on 10 cities, including Los Angeles, struggling to repair, replace and expand their water and wastewater treatment plants in order to keep pace with growing populations and maintain the quality of life and health that clean water provides all of us.
The series was produced by Penn State with funding from ASCE and NACWA among others.
View the trailer, go>
WEF is publicizing the series as part of their Water is Life public outreach campaign.
The LA Times editorial series “The Great Thirst” continued Sunday with an endorsement of Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed water bond - now on the November ballot. The Times is heartened the bond includes funding for “water banking” here in the Southland and for Mayor Villaraigosa’s Water Action Plan - which includes water recycling at Tillman.
The editorial points out even with the bond there will not be enough projects to slack the thirst of the always growing Golden State. For example, the bond does not include funding for the proposed peripheral canal - considered the top option for solving several problems in the Delta.
“More people will chase less water,” the Times writes.
Read the editorial here.
The Calabasas City Council is debating the installation of sewer lines in the Old Topanga area. Local residents have some concerns about the project. The LA Regional Water Quality Control Board is asking the cities of Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village to monitor and clean-up septic tanks and consider installing full collection systems. The goal is to clean-up Santa Monica Bay which is downstream from the three cities.
The Acorn article here.
Gov. Schwarzenegger is urging the Legislature to approve a $9-billion bond which will then go to the voters in November. Included in the proposal:
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- $800 million to improve small-community water quality, groundwater and wastewater treatment.
- $250 million for water recycling projects
Story here.
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