Deadline for public comments has been extended to July 2. They say their project has "no impact" on the environment. We disagree. If you read the articles linked below, you will see why we disagree. We believe that there is more than sufficient evidence identifying grave risks and concerns about the effects recycled wastewater will have on the ecosystem of Big Tujunga Wash. Before this project moves forward, a full EIR (Environmental Impact Report) needs to be done. If you agree, please write a public comment letter saying so. Who is impacted by the Hansen Area Water Recycling Project? residents of Arleta, Pacoima, Sylmar, Kagel Canyon, Lake View Terrace, Sunland, Tujunga Dear friend & neighbor of Hansen Dam/Big Tujunga Wash, Public information meeting on April 6, 2004, from 7-9pm at the Sunland-Tujunga Municipal Building (7747 Foothill Blvd). We are continuously adding additional references to this website. You will need Acrobat Reader to open many of these. What YOU can do -- send a Public Comment letter by April 12 Sample letter (Eick) - short Sample letter (Benson) - Detailed DWP's official Project Notification letter (should have been sent to those immediately impacted by project -- did you get one?) 2004-02-26 Daily News "Wastewater plan criticized" 2004 March - Foothill Sentinel - "Recycling Project Doused with Doubts." Frequently Asked Questions about this project (not all "recycled" water created equal, difference between spreading grounds project and today's proposal, why Lopez is a good site for pilot project...) Read about why the Tujunga Wash is unique in the world Read our concerns about long-term effects of residual medication exposure Understand why it is impossible to irrigate new golf course with recycled wastewater without contaminating groundwater (and therefore the native habitat downstream): "The Use of Effluent Water for Turfgrass Irrigation" U.S. Water News Online: "Reclaimed wastewater... uncertainties must be addressed" > Residual Medications "Residual medications" pose a significant health risk and are of grave concern, yet only VERY recently has this issue really hit anyone's radar. Now, scientists are just beginning to document and study effects of residual meds in recycled wastewater. Note that most studies and discussions of this issue are about the potential effects on humans -- a comparatively hardy species. Who is studying the effects on fragile (and endangered) species like those that live in the Tujunga wash? Per The Recharge Report (from the Groundwater Foundation, Vol 4, Issue 6, October 2003): "...based on a new study done in Tucson, caution is in order. US Geological Survey found human-excreted medications in the aquifer used for drinking water in Tucson. The medications apparently were not stripped out of the wastewater at sewage treatment plants before the wastewater was used to irrigate golf courses and school yards around Tucson." To read more: US Water News Online reports Read about Lake Mead's contamination from residual medications in recycled water. This story is about a San Diego recycled wastewater- residual medications concern. Residual meds in recycled water - the Clarkson University Newsletter. And, finally: This issue of the Stormwater Runoff Water Quality Science/Engineering Newsletter is devoted to (previously) Unrecognized Environmental Pollutants: "...there are a wide variety of chemicals that are introduced into domestic wastewaters that are being found in the environment. These include various chemicals (pharmaceuticals) that are derived from usage by individuals and pets, disposal of outdated medications in sewerage systems, release of treated and untreated hospital wastes to domestic sewerage systems, transfer of sewage solids ("biosolids") to land, industrial waste streams, releases from aquaculture of medicated feeds, etc. Many of these chemicals are not new chemicals. They have been in wastewaters for some time, but are only now beginning to be recognized as potentially significant water pollutants. They are largely unregulated as water pollutants." You can read the rest of this article in the March 2004 issue of "Stormwater Runoff Water Quality Science/Engineering Newsletter." Also mentioned in the above article - "drinking water disinfection by-products (DBP)" -- Recently, "More than 200 previously unidentified DBPs have been identified for the first time." THIS IS WHY the TWC&S recommends that a FULL "Environmental Impact Report" (EIR) be done for the Hansen Area (waste) Water Recycling Project. Recent discoveries and new science have revealed NEW HEALTH DANGERS in recycled wastewater -- it is foolish and reckless to take the unnecessary RISK of pushing the Tujunga Wash recycled wastewater project forward, until technology has caught up with this new awareness of the risks & hazards. Previous studies have been rendered obsolete by the new knowledge. Those of us who live here know what is at stake. We don't want our health, and our children's health, jeapardized, and we don't want the unique environment of the Tujunga Wash (the largest stand of alluvial fan scrub habitat remaining in the WORLD) jeapardized. A full E.I.R. is not unreasonable to demand, knowing what we have to lose. "We begin to feel an uneasy certainty that man is becoming too ingenious for his own good. We've had the scientific knowledge to anticipate this destructive chain reaction. Why haven't users and responsible bodies of government acted on this knowledge?" Rachel Carson, 1963, author of "Silent Spring" |