Recently Approved SLO County Sewer Project Nearly Identical to 2004 Los Osos CSD "Alternative" Project

To: Local Media List
From: SewerWatch
Subject: Wanna see something cool involving Los Osos?
Date: 10/1/09

Dear members of the local media,

Wanna see something cool? Check this out...

The Los Osos sewer project that was just approved by County Supervisors, after over three years, and $7 million of analysis, is nearly identical to a project that I first reported existed back in 2005 (a week BEFORE the recall election) -- a project that the 2004 LOCSD developed, and had sitting in its filing cabinet, and it was an alternative to the Tri-W mess.

The project consisted of a gravity collection system, with a treatment facility east of town, by the cemetery, with a small "pump station" at the mid-town Tri-W site. And THAT project description is exactly what the county just spent nearly four years years and $7 million concluding is the best solution for Los Osos.

Here's the link to my (2005!) story, where I first showed that the LOCSD had an alternative project sitting in their file cabinet... with cost estimates down to the hundreds of dollars:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2005/09/better-cheaper-faster-nobetter-cheaper.html

I dug that report out of a 4-inch thick, 2004 LOCSD document that was in response to several Coastal Commission questions, including why the sewer plant couldn't be moved out of town?

Gets worse for the 1999 - 2005 LOCSD.

The report on that project concludes that it did not make economic sense to move the facility out of town in 2004, however, as I also first exposed, at this link:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2005/07/sewerwatch-exclusive.html

... the 2004 LOCSD failed to include millions of dollars worth of components associated with the Tri-W sewer plant in their cost estimates, therefore, it low-balled the costs associated with the mid-town project, and IF they HAD included those millions of dollars in additional plant costs in the comparison, it would have changed the entire conclusion of that report, just like I reported, to where it DID make economic sense to build a gravity collection system, with a treatment facility east of town, by the cemetery, with a small "pump station" at the Tri-W site... which is exactly what the county just spent nearly four years, and $7 million, concluding is the way to go.

All the LOCSD had to do was act on its 2004 memo (that I first exposed in that story) using REAL numbers, and the result would have been nearly identical to what the county just did.

To put this frankly, had the 2004 LOCSD not lied about the numbers in that report in an effort to deliberately low-ball the cost of their now-failed Tri-W project, it would have shown that their 2004 "alternative" project could have, and SHOULD have, been used in 2004, just like the Coastal Commission wanted, and just what the Board of Supervisors recently concluded is the best solution.

Cool, huh?

Anyway, just thought you might find that interesting... or not.

Questions? Just ask.

Thanks,