To compare and contrast...
Port Angeles, home of the fabled and oh-so-visible waterfront Turd Tank, which at a cost of $50 million dollars is supposed to...Supposed to...Well, let's just see what the PDN has to say about the recent rains:
Stay
out of Port Angeles Harbor for the next week, Clallam County public health
officials advised today after heavy rainfall on Sunday pushed 7 million gallons
of diluted sewage into the water.
The environmental health section of county Health and Human Services said that contact with fecal-contaminated water can result in gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses.
Some
of the city's drain lids were vibrating in place as water was trying to blow
out the top, while the gushing water lifted other lids completely out of place
in lower lying areas such as Marine Drive, city Engineer Mike Puntenney said.
“The
system reacted as anticipated,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Port Townsend...
It rained
heavily in Port Townsend, too, but there were no sewage overflows, said John
Merchant, public works operations manager.
The city's trunk line was upgraded to better handle the flows, he added.
“Periodically, we might have [an overflow] because of a blockage, but right now, with the rain, we've been doing pretty good.
“Our flows almost tripled, but we were able to handle it.”
The city's trunk line was upgraded to better handle the flows, he added.
“Periodically, we might have [an overflow] because of a blockage, but right now, with the rain, we've been doing pretty good.
“Our flows almost tripled, but we were able to handle it.”
Did the basement of Harbor Towne mall flood? Was H20 living up to it's name?
ReplyDeleteSo, if the turd tank can't handle the overflow, what good it is?
If you tracked the basics of the CSO project you would know it won't be complete until summer 2016 when phase II is finished...simple facts....oh that's right...based on comments here, facts are irrelevant.
DeleteShit on both floors at H20
DeleteTurd tank not hooked up yet, the next CSO phase is to replace a 25 year old pump the city never put aside money for. no worries tho, they are now doing "priority setting" Note to priority setters, "get the shit out first, at all levels, then let what's left set priorities.
Maybe the shit will flow straight to Victoria....
ReplyDeleteTo further compare and contrast, and to tie this story in to the Lincoln Theater story...I see that Port Townsend will be showing "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", a silent film from 1928, at one of their two functioning downtown theaters. There will be live musical accompaniment. Tickets are $20 per person.
ReplyDeleteNow, really...Can you imagine an event like that happening in Port Angeles? Can you imagine anyone there shelling out $20 for such an event?
No, the few people In Port Angeles who might be interested in such things are probably more than happy to drive to Port Townsend, and spend some time in their lively and lovely downtown. Ahead of the curve beats being behind the eight-ball every time.
But but but, we have the highest paid city staff anywhere, all these engineers, all these department heads and deputy department heads and supervisors and foreman--millions upon millions spent on this issue---how can this be?
ReplyDeleteWho got all that money?
Did the turd tank every actually get plumbed and built to hold the outfow? I remember it being a concept but did it ever come to fruition? If so then it's clearly a monumental failure.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I understand, it did get plumbed in. They spent millions re-fitting the tank, etc. The issues now are about getting these huge volumes of water over to the tank.
DeleteOf course, keeping the huge volumes of water OUT of the system would cost a mere fraction of the millions they spent, but, where is the fun in that?
Please note the quote from Mike Puntenney: "The system reacted as anticipated."
ReplyDeleteWow. Just imagine what "the system" could do if they'd spent $100 million on it. CSO "water fountains" at every intersection!
There is no doubt that if you spend enough money, and I mean huge sums of money, that you can patch up most any stupidly designed or constructed system. Those that depend on feeding off public money, which includes contractors, consultants and city staff, LOVE these huge projects. You didn't hear Glenn Cutler complaining about the millions in fees presented by the consulting firms, any more than you hear his replacement and minion, Mike Puntenney. In fact, they rely on these consultants to manufacture the data used to justify these projects, and the huge sums required of the public to pay for them.
ReplyDeleteThe "CSO" project seems to have bankrupted the city. As the City Financial officer said recently, the City realizes it has taxed the residents to the limits. The biggest of all the crazy projects has been the CSO project.
And, Mike Puntenney and his staff have no shame.
He steadfastly defends the "most expensive project in the city's history", as the City asks residents to eliminate programs and services like assistance to victims of domestic violence, and health services.
What sad examples of the worst in humans do we have in Port Angeles?
Before the project is even finished, the City has been offering to pay residents not to use it. Nice scam. Get the taxpayers to spend huge sums to pay engineers, consultants and contractors to build a huge system, and then get these same taxpayers to pay themselves NOT to use the very system they paid to build! What kind of crazy city is this?
No wonder Port Angeles can't prosper.
May I quote this in Port O Call?
DeleteOf course, Dale. Everything here is fair game.
DeleteI believe they think it is modern "interactive art" with the sewage gushing from those. See, they do like the arts? And not a dime spent. Another thing, the other day I noticed a sign on Thurman's reader board that said "rain catcher with "spicket"...A couple days later they changed the spelling to the correct word "spigot". Quick, call Barney Fife and Thelma Lou.....
ReplyDeleteI saw that "spiket" thing, too. LOL!
DeleteToo bad the turd tank can't catch this stupid website. Of course it would be constantly overflowing if that were possible.... Too bad the conversation is so one-sided here, could be the not so moderate moderator.
ReplyDeleteWell, gee...Sorry if something hit a sore spot. But the conversations here are what they are. I allow probably 98% of comments, and only try to keep out those that are horrendously libelous or late night meth head spooky off topic. All the rest, including yours, as you can see, make it through.
DeleteEvery time a toilet flushes, Glenn Cutler gets pennies from Heaven...or something like that.
ReplyDeleteOff topic, a bit. But, given as we've been talking about the stupid things Port Angeles has done, and storms, and costs of infrastructure, etc, I thought the following was of interest. Funny what we don't hear about.
ReplyDelete90% Renewable Electricity By 2015 Is Uruguay’s Goal
January 8th, 2013 by Jake Richardson
In September of 2011, Uruguay announced it could increase its wind power capacity by 800 MW. Not long afterwards, that figure was increased to 1,000 MW. In the beginning of January 2013, a new goal was publicized: 90% of all its electricity from renewables by 2015.
And:
"94% Renewable Electricity By 2017 Is Goal For Nicaragua
January 6th, 2013 by Jake Richardson
Nicaragua has one of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the world — it intends to have 94% of its electricity come from renewable energy by 2017. The spark for this new energy push was an energy crisis due to a heavy reliance on foreign oil. Reducing this over-reliance from 70% to 6% could be made possible by renewable energy infrastructure development."
Wow! Look what some countries are putting tax money into.
I know, too much to expect, that we could match what little countries like these do, here in the mighty USA!
Oh, and to put that in perspective, consider this, from the same article:
Delete"The switch from fossil fuels to renewables could move Nicaragua from one of the most oil-dependent nations to one of the least in a very short time. “You must recall that this is taking place in the second-poorest country in Latin America and amid the worst financial, economic social and increasingly political crisis of world capitalism since the Great Depression of the 1930s,” said Nicaraguan presidential advisor Paul Oquist."
Really, consider the implications. If the *second poorest nation in South America* can kick the fossil fuels, think what can a second rate city in the US of A, like Port Angeles, accomplish?
Or, to put it another way, look what they can do, and we can't.
gotta get them congressmen out of bed with the oil companies
DeleteComparing PT to PA regarding storm run off is dumb.
ReplyDeleteNot to spare the problems, including poor leadership and management in Port Angeles/Clallam County, but Port Townsend is much farther removed from the influence of the Olympic Mountains and foothills immediately rising above the city.
Like shit, water runs downhill!
Port Townsend does not have a combined sewer so of course it didn't have problems...so blame the PA citizens from 50+ years ago when the combined sewer was installed (as in most other cities of the time)
ReplyDeleteActually the city sewers and the storm water runoff systems used to be separate. Storm water ran off into nearby creeks and went to the strait. Now the city is paying for sewage treatment of all the storm water and the sewage. How's that for stupidity? This city council is forever lulled to sleep by city staff who get their information from the consultants who the city pay millions for work that should be done in house--only there is nobody in house than can do it so they make these huge salaries just for calling up consultants and handing consultant reports to the city council and beam with pride as if they did something.
ReplyDeleteWell, I agree with you about the stupid city staff. That has been shown over and over. I don't know why nothing is ever done about it. In fact, these idiots get promoted up the salary ladder after wasting millions!
DeleteBut, you're not entirely correct about the sewers and stormwater. Virtually all of the City does have a separate stormwater pipe system that runs rain water out the nearby creeks, and eventually out to the Strait. But, in some parts of the City, roof downspouts are connected to the sewer pipes, and it is that water that cause the overflows like we saw last week.
You are right with this part: the City now collects that combined sewage and rainwater, and spends huge sums of money to treat rain water like sewage. And, the City staff think this is just SO smart.