Cottage Grove sentinel., January 02, 2020, THURSDAY EDITION, Page 5, Image 5

COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 | 5A
Water
from A1
(Oregon Department of
Environmental Quali-
ty) discharge permit re-
quirements.”
Effluent is wastewa-
ter, treated or untreat-
ed, which flows out of
a treatment plant, sewer
or industrial outfall.
The city’s effluent,
which has been treat-
ed to remove contami-
nants, currently has no
long-term storage space
and must be discharged
by way of irrigation or
released into the Coast
Fork of the Willamette
River.
In 2006, the city pur-
chased Middlefield Golf
Course and began using
it for irrigation purpos-
es, easing the burden on
the temperature-sensi-
tive river. Lack of storage
has been a strategic chal-
lenge for the city, how-
ever, and a large part of
meeting that challenge
involves managing tem-
perature and discharge.
During
high-water
usage in the summer
months, about 75 per-
cent of the effluent is
sent to the golf course
pond to be used for irri-
gation.
According to DEQ
standards, treated ef-
fluent released into the
river must not raise the
river’s temperature by a
certain degree in order
to reduce its impact on
the ecosystem. By con-
trast, irrigating the plant
life on the golf course
requires no temperature
control and saves the
city the risk of violating
DEQ standards.
Despite this solution,
last year the DEQ issued
the city a $1,575 fine
when a sudden spike in
temperature contribut-
ed to micro-organism
growth slightly above
the regulated standard.
This was the second
time the city has been
fined for exceeding al-
lowed bacteria levels
at the golf course. The
previous year, the DEQ
issued a $4,500 fine that
was waived after the city
agreed to plant trees and
vegetation on the banks
of the Coast Fork of the
Willamette River.
And in September
2019, during heavy rains
which increased regu-
lar water flow by nearly
four-fold, the city again
found itself in violation
of DEQ discharge re-
strictions when the city
was forced to release its
excess storage.
Because of current ef-
fluent storage methods,
this wastewater manage-
ment process has been
somewhat at the mercy
of warm weather pat-
terns.
Efforts to make im-
provements to the ef-
fluent system have been
in the works since May
2017 when the city hired
West Yost & Associates
to perform a pre-design
study of the treated ef-
fluent reuse project.
The engineering con-
sultant also outlined
design considerations
and options for the city
to achieve its long-term
goal of zero discharge
into the Coast Fork of
the Willamette River.
In light of a large cost
estimate and the DEQ
violations, the city de-
cided to make the stor-
age pond and pump sta-
tion a priority.
The new pond will
allow for the storage of
about 12 million gal-
lons of treated effluent.
With this, the city hopes
to pump the effluent to
other irrigations sites
such as Bohemia and
Trailhead parks.
“Purple pipe,” or pip-
ing which carries recy-
cled water which can be
used for irrigation and
industrial use, already
exists in places like Bo-
hemia Park.
“We’re prepared for it,”
said Stewart. “We just
don’t have the state ap-
proval yet.”
Ultimately, the city
hopes to expand its ef-
fluent irrigation system
to include multiple parks
and the interchange
where I-5 ramps flow
into Cottage Grove.
As the bid for the
pond construction came
in under estimates, the
city will put out another
bid this month for the
construction of piping
to some of these destina-
tions.
“The long-term goal
is that we would not
discharge during the
summer months that we
have a discharge limit
on,” said Stewart. “Just
get completely out of
discharging to the river
and be able to discharge
solely to the golf course,
parks and use it for ir-
rigation throughout the
City of Cottage Grove.”
Current
irrigation
methods at the parks use
potable drinking water,
a system which Stewart
hopes to replace.
“That’s pretty exciting
for me,” he said. “The
other benefit of us being
able to utilize the efflu-
ent is … we may be using
close to 75,000 gallons of
treated drinking water a
day at Bohemia Park. So
if we were able to use ef-
fluent, then that reduces
the demand of treated
drinking water, which in
turn reduces the amount
of water we pull out of
the river, which in turn
is a benefit for the envi-
ronment.”
The switch is expect-
ed to reduce the cost of
treating drinking water
as well as extend the life
of the treatment plant as
about 25 percent of the
city’s treated water use
is put toward irrigation
during summer months.
The
environmental
benefits, too, appear to
fall in line with recent
concerns raised by local
citizens who have made
appeals to the city to
take actions which are
more environmentally
conscious. Stewart feels
the move is congruent
with such concerns.
“It’s really spot on with
the kinds of things they
would like to see us do,”
he said. “It reduces our
dependence on fertiliz-
er, which is a petroleum
product, and it helps us
cool the temperature so
there’s less energy be-
ing expended than if we
were to build a cooling
tower.”
Speaking to the safety
of the method, Stewart
emphasized that the ef-
fluent is being treated to
DEQ standards and thus
poses no risk to the pop-
ulation.
“Effluent is safe,” said
Stewart. “In fact, we’ve
been putting treated ef-
fluent on the golf course
for at least 10 plus years.
… There are multiple
cities throughout the
state that utilize it on a
regular basis. The key is
that our treatment plant
will treat the effluent to
the level that allows that
type of use. The treat-
ment that we treat to is
one step below actually
physically drinking the
water.”
The future pond is
slated to be completed
by the end of next sum-
mer, but part of that
timeline will depend on
negotiations with stake-
holders in the project.
The project will see
expansion of treatment
plant’s land use into the
adjacent disc golf park,
relocating two or three
holes from the course.
“Of course, we’re go-
ing to have to work with
the disc golfers and the
community who helped
build it,” Stewart said.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It’s now Jan. 2, 2020.
Be safe in your travels!
• School resumes on
regular schedule begin-
ning Jan. 6. Buses will
run on schedule as will
all school activities.
• Rural Arts Movie
night begins the new
year Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
with its soup dinner. An
interesting film is on
the agenda. It is about a
young Jewish vegetarian’s
travels to Ukraine and all
he learns. Movie starts at
7:30 p.m. Come out for a
delightful evening in Lo-
rane at the Grange, eat-
ing, visiting and enjoying
a quality film.
• Remember grang-
ers: meeting is the third
Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7
p.m. Lots to discuss for
the new year.
• Enjoy the rest of your
week — the first week in
2020. Above all, be safe
and careful on the roads.
New road rules began
Jan. 1, so watch for bicy-
cles. While they have to
look both ways, they may
roll through a stop sign.
So, be very alert!
Also remember to take
your bags into the store;
no more plastic bags.
LORANE NEWS
Contributed by
Lil Thompson
for The Sentinel
6-day
weather forecast
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
59° | 42°
46° | 38°
Cloudy
Rain
SUNDAY
MONDAY
45° | 34°
47° | 36°
Rain
Partly Cloudy
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
47° | 37°
Rain
45° | 36°
Rain
Preserving
Your
Pet’s
Memory
You have a benefits
budget. We have a
way to make it work.
We off er a full line of aftercare services
to honor the life of your beloved pet.
Call today (541) 942-0555.
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
Cremation Services • Burials • Memorials • Urns • Keepsakes • Grief Support
123 S. 7th St. Cottage Grove
541.942.0185
smithlundmills.com
Pet Tips
‘n’ Tales
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Tea for Two
Pepper and Dene share a “cup of friendship” at an
outside café. Pepper is Dene’s companion and part-
ner, even when Dene is setting up the technical light-
ing for movie sets.
uestion:
What is as inseparable as “Pepper” and salt?
Answer:
Five-year-old, Black German Shepherd, Pepper and
her partner, Dene.
“I have 130 contracts to distribute city phone books
across Canada,” said Dene. “While working 2,000
miles from home, I ‘found’ Pepper. Her breeder ar-
rived at the warehouse where I store thousands of
books.”
Apparently, three of Pepper’s litter were to become
police dogs. But after a budget cut, the department
only paw-chased two. So, the breeder came with the
“left over” four-month-old female puppy looking to
find her a good home.
It was as if Dene had read the script, entered stage
right and bought Pepper on the spot. Absolutely along
the lines of a miracle because, a week earlier, Dene had
decided on a German Shepherd for a walking com-
panion and discovered it was not easy to find one. It
seemed the universe’s laws of attraction united them.
Dene delivered books for the next month, up and
down streets, with that healthy, leashed puppy enthu-
siastically walking beside him. Imagine Pepper’s joy of
having a pet parent who walks you all day!
Sometimes there was, “Lots of snow,” added Dene.
“Pepper loves snow! We work when it is three-feet
deep. This job definitely keeps us healthy.”
According to Dene, on the delivery routes Pepper
insists on walking the 14-hour days from house to
house. She won’t leave Dene’s side. “I dare not leave
her in the truck,” he said. “If I do, even for a few
homes, she is devastated and cries and wails.”
And what does all this physical exercise amount to?
“Pepper leaps fences as if she has springs for bones
and trampoline feet,” said Dene.
Dene invented a way to cut down on book delivery
times by using a three-wheeled tri-scooter, which he
said has cut delivery time by 60 percent.
Then he wondered if Pepper could pull the scooter?
“She loves the scooter,” laughs Dene, “But, the prob-
lem is that she won’t stop at each house. She wants to
go-go-go. So, on our days off, I hook her up to the
scooter. On our first time out, I was confident that
I would not kill myself — but I had no idea of her
zest for running. Now, when she sees the harness
she freaks out, barking and jumping like an entire
team of sled dogs. She loves ‘scooting’ and can’t wait
to start. The first two minutes of our ride is always a
white-knuckle ride!”
Pepper pulls Dene at a full clip for some seven miles.
Dene is also a movie industry film technician, who
sets up the set’s lighting. Even though they live on an
acre property, “Pepper is happier when I take her to
work,” said Dene.
Pepper loves truck rides and paw-furs to be cooped
up in its cab, rather than being at home so she and
Dene can play during breaks.
One January his film crew was sent to northern
Canada. “It was freezing,” explained Dene, “and even
with the heat blasting in our RV, which is about the
size of a doghouse, there was no way to keep warm.
Pepper sleeps at my feet, so it was nice having a dog
heater on my bed. She is worth her weight in gold in
so many ways.”
Dene said Pepper is such a goofball that she prob-
ably wouldn’t have made a serious police dog. The
only “shooting” she sees is with cameras.
“The producers and actors bring their pets on set,
but I have a few rungs of the ladder to climb yet before
she can join the crew. Until then, she is my ‘star,’” said
Dene.
Q
TIPS:
“Pepper is on a raw-food diet,” explained Dene.
“She eats the warmed, thawed frozen food because it
gives her more energy. Her coat is luxurious, her eyes
glisten and she has a healthier powerful presence.”
Share your fur-avorite pet memory or adventure at
angelscribe@msn.com. Visit Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on
Facebook at/www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales
Humane Society for Neuter/Spay Assistance Program.
541-942-2789