Category Archives: Water

Fiscal responsibility and legal actions –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2013-05-14

Chairman Bill Slaughter said “At this time we can’t discuss that issue” of why the Commission thinks its a good use of taxpayer funds to sue a local business with a valid business permit, after the Commission apparently recently didn’t want to defend against a potential lawsuit against itself.

In the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Tuesday 13 May 2013, I spoke in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, noting a trust indenture is a legal contract, and since as building a well often leads to development, as someone (Commissioner Page a few minutes before) pointed out, why don’t trust indenture decisions lead to public hearings? This might be a legal question for the state (although I would guess the County Commission could hold a public hearing on whatever it likes, even if the state doesn’t require it).

But a lot of commissions actually let the public speak on any item. For example, the Tallahassee Council lets anyone sign up at the beginning and say I want to speak on X. It’s a thought.

But during that particular item I found it particularly refreshing to hear Commissioner Page say that he was concerned about what the majority of the neighbors and property owners think about the use or potential use of the property, and nearby property owners and the majority of people who live in that area.

Now it’s curious how we did not hear much concern about that on an item a few meetings back about Old State Road. The majority of the people who live in that area did not want that road closed. The majority of the property owners, as near as I can tell from the names on the petition, did not, but no one seemed concerned about that. It is a nice concern to have.

Now at that time I heard through various people that the main reason, and correct me if I’m wrong here,

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Religious freedom and the neighbors @ LCC 2013-05-14

Apparently concern about a different religion is what it takes to get a Lowndes County Commissioner to speak up for the majority of the neighbors.

Mike Allen, Utilities Director After Utilities Director Mike Allen outlined the case again at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 14 May 2013 Commissioner John Page elaborated on his question of the previous morning:

Subdivision? --John Page But the trust deed that we have in our notebook says it’s for the Valdosta Islamic Center Corporation, so this is a, uh, I know they’re calling it the Mercy Community Center, but isn’t this going to be a Muslim worship center instead of a subdivision?

County Planner Jason Davenport responded:

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Videos: Why do we need to pave those roads? @ LCC 2013-05-13

Half a million dollars for paving without any competitive bid: it’s the county way! Only one of three potential board appointees showed up. Commissioners asked a surprising number of questions, including about a water system trust indenture, but not enough. They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
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Why a water system trust indenture? @ LCC 2013-05-13

Commissioners had questions when Utilities Director Mike Allen said a trust indenture was required by the state for any new water system, so if anything fails the trustee can step in and operate it, in this case for Merciful Community Center Trust. This was at yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

Commissioner John Page wanted to know if a site plan had been seen.
A: Nope.

Page also wanted to know if the indenture was for running a pipeline to the site.
A: Nope: it’s for a well.

Commissioner Richard Raines wanted to know whether the indenture was necessary because of the size of the well.
A: Because it’s for a business, not a private residence.

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

May LAKE meeting tonight

Same agenda as in January, local governance: Water, trash, and money.

What: Monthly LAKE Meeting
When: about 6PM Tuesday
(after the County Commission meeting)
14 May 2013
Where: Let's Eat Cafe
2102 W. Hill Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31601
(just west of I-75, at the Shell station)

Don't let the location fool you: Let's Eat is locally owned, and serves a lot of locally-grown food.

If you're on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, or just come as you are.

-jsq

Solar Music City Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Valdosta has a larger solar installation than Nashville, Tennessee, but Valdosta’s is hidden away at the Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant while Nashville’s biggest is on its new Music City Center. Which do you think shows the most leadership, and will attract the most business?

In Lightwave Solar’s May 2013 newsletter, LightWave Completes Music City Center Solar Project,

LightWave Solar recently completed the installation of a 211 kilo-watt (kW) solar system for the Music City Center, and it is the largest solar installation in Nashville.

Installed within the guitar shaped structure on the roof, the system consists of 845 solar panels and four inverters weighing 1,800 pounds each. The system will generate approx. 271,000 kilowatt-hours per year, enough electricity to power the electric vehicle charging stations and lighting for the building. Over 25 years, the clean electricity will offset nearly 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of taking 920 cars off the road.

“This project shows great leadership on behalf of the city,” said Steve Johnson, President of LightWave Solar. “We applaud the mayor’s vision in making Nashville a more sustainable city with a bright future.”

And leadership can extend even beyond solar into water and habitat:

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Videos: trucks and row crops @ LCC 2013-04-23

Plus a presentation to Joyce Evans, all about mosquitoes, and a love fest between the county and the VDT!

Here’s the agenda with a few notes, and links into the video. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s work session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
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Valdosta Utilities Department 5-Year Action Plan

Received 26 April 2013. Basically Valdosta is accelerating its plans to do something about wastewater, including adding pumpstations and force mains, as well as relocating the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant uphill. Here are the summary pages; there’s much more detail in the plan. -jsq

Utilities Department 5-Year Action Plan:

Since 1992, the City has received $179 million in SPLOST funding and over the same time period has invested nearly $168 million in capital projects for the Water and Wastewater system. This includes SPLOST funding, system revenues, bonds, and GEFA loans.

Since 2009, the Utilities Department has expended over $49 million on sewer system improvement with approximately $5.6 million spent on the Withlacoochee Treatment Plant. When the projects listed below are completed by December 2018, the City will have invested approximately $230 million in capital projects for its Utilities system from 1992 to 2018, a 26-year period.

PUMP STATION, FORCE MAIN, HEADWORKS AND EQUALIZATION BASIN PROJECT

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Sinkhole costs, and prevention vs. reaction

The day after the VDT ran Lowndes County’s admission that the sewer line break was theirs, not Valdosta’s, did the VDT start a series of financial investigation like they did about Valdosta’s water issues? Nope, they ran a piece about how much weather costs the county, with no recognition of watershed-wide issues, nor of any need for the county to participate in proactively dealing with them, to reduce costs, for better quality of life, to attract the kinds of businesses we claim we want. Nope, none of that.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT 27 April 2013, What natural events cost Lowndes taxpayers,

In the Deep South, near a river plain where floodwaters rise and ebb from season to season and wetlands that distinguish the region from anywhere else in the nation, flooding makes a significant portion of the concern for Lowndes County emergency management.

OK, that’s close to getting at some of the basic issues. We’re all in the same watershed, and we need to act like it instead of every developer and every local government clearcutting and paving as if water didn’t run downhill. Does the story talk about that? After all, the county chairman attended the 11 April 2013 watershed-wide flooding meeting that led to the city of Valdosta’s likely participation in flodoplain planning. Nope; according to the VDT, everybody around here seems to be hapless victims of weather:

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What causes sinkholes?

Fake and real sinkholes form in the same porous limestone underground here in the Floridan Aquifer, and we get an explanation of that from another limestone area in western New York.

Nalina Shapiro wrote for WIVB.com yesterday, What’s behind sinkholes in WNY?

So what causes these sinkholes to form?

University at Buffalo Geology Professor Dr. Marcus Bursik says there are two types of sinkholes. One type is caused by aging infrastructure, like old pipes that burst underground and eventually cause a collapse on the surface. This is more common and is sometimes called a “fake sinkhole.”

Like the Sinkhole on US 82 near Tifton August 2012, caused by a broken water main, and since filled in. The other type is much more common: Continue reading →