Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District's response to "Great Toilet Bowl" article by Boutris Wittfogel

Dear Lloyd,

I noted on your website - www.lloydgcarter.com - a letter from a Boutris
Wittfogel, preceded by some comments of your own. Since you have a
robust readership and are well-versed on California and Central Valley
water issues, I believe it is important to address that recent post with
a brief follow up directly to you. You may choose to publish our
rebuttal or not. However, at the least, it is necessary for us to
present our view to you.

We all acknowledge that there are many debates and disagreements over
this State's water supply and the health of the Delta. We at Sacramento
Regional County Sanitation District endeavor to keep up with and join
the conversation when the opportunity permits. However, there is a very
well-organized campaign - in part lead by the Coalition for a
Sustainable Delta - based largely on misinformation, which has taken
hold in many venues, locales, and with specific media outlets. Seeing
this misinformation highlighted on your website is disappointing, yet
offers us a chance to set the record straight and potentially reach many
of your readers.

Please see our recent Fact Sheet entitled: Response to Coalition for a
Sustainable Delta's "Great Toilet Bowl" Misinformation Campaign. I
encourage you to read it, and perhaps give our response equal time on
your web site. I believe you'll find the "What They Say" vs. "The Facts"
very helpful. It is posted here: http://www.srcsd.com/dd-whatsnew.php.


On a related note (also alluded to in Mr. Wittfogel's letter), we take
issue the recent rash of cities approving resolutions related to our
discharge permit. We believe, again, that their decision making a based
on misinformation and the actions they are taking may ultimately
negatively affect the entire state. All of us with responsibilities over
public utilities have great regard for human health and our ecosystem,
and we strive to provide high quality and cost-effective services to our
taxpayers and ratepayers. The resolutions make claims about the alleged
impacts of ammonium in Sacramento's wastewater on the fish in the Delta
and the ecosystem in general. We believe these claims are derived from
the deliberate attempt to perpetuate misinformation about SRCSD's
wastewater treatment plant. When misinformation like this becomes part
of the public discussion, it ultimately harms all public facilities that
are responsible for managing wastewater and everyone who pays a bill for
wastewater service. The actions taken by these councils or boards have
the potential to damage everyone in California in the long run because
it encourages us to spend public money - in the millions and billions of
dollars - to "correct" perceived problems that don't really exist.

SRCSD is actively engaged in a variety of scientific activities aimed at
getting a better understanding of the cause of the changes in the Delta
ecosystem, and we too want this problem to be solved. However, the
preponderance of evidence indicates that ammonia is not a factor in the
decline of the Delta ecosystem.

SRCSD's wastewater treatment plant is highly regulated and has a very
strong record of compliance under the Federal Clean Water Act and the
State Porter-Cologne Act. These laws require that our discharge have no
impact to beneficial uses, which include the environment and downstream
water supply.

I hope you find this information helpful in the ongoing dialogue about
these issues, a dialog in which you are actively involved.

Claudia Goss
Communications Director
Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District
10060 Goethe Road
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 876-6058
gossc@sacsewer.com
www.srcsd.com