Lodi, Galt facing fines

The cities of Lodi and Galt face possible state fines for violating standards for effluent at their wastewater treatment plants during the past eight years, it was announced Thursday.

Lodi has been issued a $21,000 "administrative civil liability complaint" by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, while Galt faces a $108,000 fine. Each city was fined $3,000 per violation, said Ken Landau, assistant executive officer for the water quality board.

The penalties for Lodi and Galt are relatively small compared with other communities, Landau said. The Central Valley water board may consider the complaints in October.

Wendy Wyels, an environmental program manager for the state, was unavailable Thursday to explain specifics about the violations. Landau said he could speak only in general terms about the complaints against Lodi and Galt.

Lodi reportedly had too much pH in its effluent, total coliform organisms and total suspended solids at the city's White Slough wastewater treatment plant, according to the state water board.

Landau said the pH violation is related to how acidic the water is. If it's too high or low, it's bad for fish, he said.

"Suspended solids" is the amount of solid material coming out with the wastewater, Landau added.

Galt faces penalties for residual chlorine, pH, total coliform organisms, "settleable" solids and total suspended solids at its wastewater treatment plant on Twin Cities Road.

Using chlorine is good for wastewater treatment plants, but one needs to get rid of the chlorine after it cleans the water because it kills fish, Landau said. Settleable solids consist of sewage at the bottom of the stream. It needs to be removed because it's also bad for fish, Landau said.

Lodi spokesman Jeff Hood said that the coliform levels at the wastewater plant are actually lower than at Lodi Lake and the Mokelumne River. Many of the White Slough violations took place about the time the city was making its transition to tertiary treatment and ultraviolet disinfection in early 2005. No fish were killed, Hood said.

The violations won't affect the water that Lodi residents drink, Hood said, because the discharges were at White Slough, seven miles west of the Lodi city limits. The discharges then went downstream toward the Pacific Ocean.

"I don't think there's a wastewater plant that's perfect," Hood said.

The city can appeal or seek a settlement with the state water board, but it will be up to the City Council to file an appeal, Hood said.

Galt Public Works Directors Gregg Halladay didn't return calls for comment Thursday afternoon.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Galtonian76 wrote on Aug 18, 2008 2:33 AM:

" The City of Galt never seems to amaze me when it comes down to lack of good management within the public works department. First, a while back, they hit all of us, especially the Senior's of our community with the fifty dollar WWTP upgrade fee. Second, within the last two weeks, a critical flaw in the sewer system on "F" Street resulted in flooding of an alley duplex thus forcing families into hotels and all of their possessions ruined. Third, within the last two weeks, the sewer system backed up more than once in the areas of Oak Avenue and Palin Avenue causing raw sewage to pour out of a man hole at 254 Palin Avenue into a storm drain. Finally but not least, the department is fined for several violations at the WWTP resulting in a fine of $108,000.

I often ask myself what in sam hill is going on over there at the public works department. If Greg Holladay holds Councilwoman Barbara Payne to the standards of the law, why doesn't he hold himself and his department to the same standards? I'm thinking no pay raise for Holladay this year, pay incentive program or not, lol. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 16, 2008 8:55 PM:

" snoop dogg, you da man! "

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dogs4you wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:22 PM:

" T&C by the end of the day, you must be one tired old man. Give yourself a rest, take your meds and have a good nights rest. And BTW, the way you go off on the News-Sentinel, you would think you take the paper. You rant about Flag City, there is a business on the north side of Hwy. 12 called Flying J, ever seen that place, twice as big as Flag City, does that mean there`s twice as much of the stuff we don`t want going someplace it`s not supposed to go? Have good nite T&C "

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T&C wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:24 AM:

" Just looking at my utility bill and seeing that $19.73 charge for wastewater doesn't bother me a bit. What does bother me is the extra $8.01 for Replacement Program: Wastewater. That was supposed to have been to correct this problem long ago. Like that $50 million "pump" setup that's the size of a small backyard fountain pump that's sucking up all those toxic chemicals. We need to hold the News-Sentinel more accountable on issues that directly involve Lodi taxpayers. They, Lodi Printing and the cleaners and a few other businesses were responsible for creating this toxic mess in the first place. And why are some of these wineries and Flag City businesses even using our wastewater facilities, especially those that aren't in the city limits? I'm tired of footing the bill because our leaders continue to keep pandering to their own special interests. That's why it's time to replace Mr. Johnson with someone that really cares about the environment and not the real estate and building industry. Let's get a young, able bodied, intelligent council representative that can lead us into the future and bring decent paying jobs to this area. Who's going to buy these homes on $8 hour? "

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john95632 wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:09 AM:

" Ok city sewer committee, my sewer rates is full of SOLIDS. Paying $50 for sewer upgrade fee??? Who's pocket getting upgrade?? It's not mine. And you want us to VOTE on sales tax increase? I think you are full of Solids. NO on tax increase & YES on fixing your sewer problem on Solids. "

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wtf wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:02 AM:

" I just hope the Lodi CC doesn't huff 'n puff and hire **another** consultant to "fight" this....at our expense, of course. "

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edumacation wrote on Aug 15, 2008 8:56 AM:

" To T & C: You are only partially correct! There are three additional culprits: 1) Dont' forget our elected representatives have responsibility to ALL of us, not just their GOB bosses.

2) The local news media will lose advertising revenue, if they start printing stories more important than news stories like "group selling lemonade without a permit".

3) The last culprit includes all Lodi voters who sit idly by and allow their elected officials, the GOB, and local government to get away with shoddy work and manipulation of the city for their economic interests.

Lodi needs to shed itself of the GOB ways. the only way to stop it is to understand these social relationships and how they control us. "

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boonablis wrote on Aug 15, 2008 8:47 AM:

" LNS-lets not try and have galt and lodi in the same sentence-OK. "

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Cogito wrote on Aug 15, 2008 8:20 AM:

" I just love the many uses of the word "solids". Thats why I no longer fish in the delta. You are what you eat. "

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edumacation wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:58 AM:

" I knew thee was someting fishy going on at white slough! Just west and outside the Lodi wastewater treatment plant is a creek that dumps the Lodi wastewater into the delta. All along that area is a public fishing area. I have seen dead fish floating around there and think that area all the way to the Paradise Marina off of 8 mile road and Rio Blanca Rd. A lot of non-farmers don't know that in the other side of the levee is a corn field. "

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T & C wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:46 AM:

" The Gob's, the Gob's, it's all the Gob's fault! "

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T & C wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:45 AM:

" 8 years? So no one is at the discharge monitoring wheel to make sure things are working properly for the past 8 years? I think the department heads and supervisors are being wayyy over-paid in ratio of what they are doing!Stand by! Another Rate hike coming soon to Lodi! "

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T&C wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:45 AM:

" citizen, Galt has done the same as Lodi. They simply keep building and their wastewater facilities can't handle the wastewater they have now, yet they keep building and have pandered to developers agricultural interests use these lines as they wish without additional infrastructure. I notice our friendly newspaper didn't report the $60,000 fine levied to Flag city 2weeks ago for 30 of the same violations using the city of Lodi wastewater plant and their "new" $9 million line they extended there for the Starbucks complex, which is now closed. Maybe that's why that particular Starbucks was targeted to close? Is Flag City paying that 60K fine or Lodi. This is a very incomplete story and looks like we'll again have to get the real story from the StocktonRecord. How's Lodi going to handle that waste from the new BC/BS project and the three new developments with their fancy strip malls without that new water treatment plant? I thought the White Slough treatmentplant was to be expanded to meet these criteria? "

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galt citizen wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:25 AM:

" How can this be!? I have seen our sewer rates skyrocket and we still are not in compliance. We even have an oversight committee for the sewer plant project. I hope someone is held accountable for this. Who's paying the $108,000 fine? I'm sure it's the tax payers. Guess we will be seeing another increase in our sewer bills. And the council wants to increase our sales tax too!!!??? Vote NO on that measure. We can't afford it "

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