Attention all water folk;
Mark your calendars; this meeting is important.
The Incremental Recycled Water Program (IRWP) concerns every living creature in Sonoma County. This project intends to dump partially treated sewage in the Russian River ABOVE drinking water intakes and create 6 huge open ponds of partially treated sewage throughout the county. Sewage effluent is harmful to any river water even if dumped below drinking water collectors and open ponds guarantee that contaminants will be released in the air. The IRWP is bad government, bad science and irresponsible stewardship of our environment.
There is growing, peer-reviewed, scientific evidence that new and emerging pathogens resistant to antibiotics, as well as drugs and drug combinations are in partially treated sewage, euphemistically termed "recycled" water. Partially treated sewage is not recycled by definition, not when it contains potentially lethal contaminants.
I echo Brenda’s plea for every resident of Sonoma County to attend the public hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the IRWP’s Discharge Compliance Project:
Thursday, April 3rd at 5 pm in Santa Rosa.
The O.W.L. Foundation will be asking for the following at the meeting:
The IRWP should remove plans to dump partially treated sewage into the Russian River above drinking water intakes.
The public should have more time to review and comment on the EIR.
The IRWP should either REMOVE the contaminants or START TESTING for all contaminants on a regular basis and publish the results.
What: Public Hearing of the Draft EIR of the IRWP’s Discharge Compliance Project.
Where: 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, City Council Chambers
Who: The IRWP (Incremental Recycled Water Project) has four signatories: the City of Santa Rosa, the City of Rohnert Park, the City of Sebastopol and the City of Cotati. Santa Rosa is the lead agency.
Why: New and emerging pathogens resistant to antibiotics, as well as revelations that drugs and drug residue have been found in partially treated sewage. Sonoma County should not tolerate partially treated sewage in local drinking water sources nor should the public be exposed to any suspected biohazard.