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Brentwood Press - AntiochPress_07.25.08 - Index

12A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY JULY 25, 2008
Wetlands a possible pollution solution
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Testing on an experimental wetlands
project – located at sewer plant number one
in the southwest corner of Discovery Bay
– is set to begin later this year. If successful,
the project has the potential to create not
only an eco-friendly alternative to removing
pollutants from the town’s wastewater,
but could serve as environmental model
for future generations looking for surrogate
solutions.
Sitting on approximately two acres
of previously unused dry sludge ponds
– empty since the late l980s – the emerging
wetlands have transformed the property
into a peaceful oasis of cattails and bulrushes;
an independent eco-system now
home to frogs, snails and an assortment of
birds and wildlife.
Town Manager Virgil Koehne, who
implemented the project late last year with
the support of the Community Services
District Board, sensed that the empty parcels
might one day serve a higher purpose.
“I thought, ‘What a waste of space,’”
said Koehne. “And I immediately began
thinking about how we might be able to
make this area work environmentally;
hence the wetlands.”
And the goal? To determine if pollutants
such as copper, aluminum and pharmaceutical
products can be biologically
removed from the wastewater as it fl ows
through the facility; drawn to the roots of
the weeds, their toxins effectively absorbed
as they pass through a naturally occurring
carbon layer. About 20,000 gallons per day
of partially treated wastewater go through
the wetlands and are then returned to the
treatment plant for fi nal processing.
Lawsuit from page 1A
16, said that the women wanted the suit broadened to
include “all others similarly situated.” There are about
800 Section 8 vouchers held by African-Americans in
Antioch, he said.
The new suit also seeks “an order from the court
requiring the city to stop targeting African American
(((CQ))) Section 8 holders,” said Seligman. “It’s
a powerful remedy, which basically says you’re under
the jurisdiction of the court.”
The suit is based not only on the testimony of the
fi ve women (actually, six women, because a separate
suit making similar discrimination claims against the
city has been fi led by a private lawyer on behalf of
African-American Section 8 recipient Onita Tuggles),
but also on data.
The suit’s data analysis states that African-Americans
comprise 14 percent of Antioch households but
are the targets of two-thirds of CAT Team investigations.
It also states that 72 percent of the “unfounded
referrals” by the CAT Team to the housing authority
(referrals that attempted to remove the recipients from
the Section 8 program but did not result in termination)
involved African-Americans and only 18 percent
involved white Section 8 recipients.
City Council members have in the past affi rmed
their support for the CAT Team against the charges,
but they are not responding to the lawsuit, referring
reporters to City Attorney Lynn Tracy Nerland, who
These experimental wetlands might one day replace traditional methods of
removing pollutants from wastewater. Here, Town Manager Virgil Koehne
measures the depth of the water in one of the wetland areas.
In layman’s terms, the pollutants get
sucked out of the water, absorbed into the
plants and are then either physically disposed
of or allowed to decay naturally.
Armed with those objectives, a smattering
of information and a lot of questions,
Koehne contacted the civil and environmental
engineering department at UC
Berkeley to offer up a living classroom to
the students and faculty in exchange for
some expertise and advice.
Professor David Sedlak was thrilled
by the invitation. “This has been a topic
I’ve been interested in for over a decade,
and I’ve been particularly interested in
fi nding alternatives that are not particularly
energy heavy,” said Sedlak. “So when
Virgil got in touch with us with his interest
in Discovery Bay, we got very excited.
It’s great to be helping someone who really
wants to solve a problem and not just leave
it for someone else to worry about.
“It just seemed like a great deal for
them and a great deal for us,” agreed
Koehne, who with the Berkeley students,
eventually planted thousands of cattails
issued the following statement on behalf of the city:
“We emphatically reject the allegations … regarding
our city’s community-based policing efforts. We believe
that any objective review of our city’s policing efforts will
reveal that these efforts are focused exclusively on criminal
and/or dangerous behavior. Claims of other, sinister
motivations are untrue and irresponsible.
“Antioch’s Community Action Team was established
in July 2006 in response to neighborhood demands
for help in dealing with growing crime rates
and persistent neighborhood problems. The team
brings neighborhoods and police into partnership to
resolve issues, including violent crime, narcotics activity,
dangerous or substandard structures and sanitation
issues.
“This partnership has been extremely successful.
Antioch residents of every background have credited
the Community Action Team with helping to restore
the safety and security of their neighborhood’s parks,
streets and homes. Our city’s residents have a right to
be safe in their home and neighborhoods and our city
government has an obligation to protect this important
right.”
Nerland held a press conference on July 16 in the
City Council chambers to further address the allegations.
It was attended by several residents who turned
out at City Hall to show their support for the city, including
two African-Americans: Gary Gilbert, former
head of United Citizens for Better Neighborhoods,
Photo by Ruth Roberts
and bulrushes along the property, and then
sat back while nature took its course.
While the project appears simple
on the surface, there remain myriad unknowns,
including such matters as operational
procedures, accountability and ultimate
effectiveness. But much also depends,
said Koehne, on the California State Water
Board, which dictates the safe levels of
pollutants in water throughout the state.
“Whether this process will remove
enough of the pollutants, we don’t know,”
said Koehne. “But if it doesn’t, then we
will have to fi nd other ways to do it, and
then rework and re-establish things. It’s all
still in the initial stages.”
Over the next few weeks, solar sensors
and probes, acting in place of electric
conduits, will be installed at various points
throughout the wetlands. The probes will
monitor and check the water for temperature,
levels of oxygen and salinity, as well
as pH levels and clarity. The information
will then be sent to a company in Texas,
and from there, Koehne and the Berkeley
students and staff can log on for instant
results.
Koehne estimates that the wetlands
project over the course of two years will
cost in the neighborhood of $300,000; potentially
millions of dollars less than more
traditional methods.
“How much we are able to remove
and control with this method remains to
be seen,” Koehne said. “However, in the
end, I truly believe the wetlands will be better,
and I also believe it’s important to be a
part of the green movement. Will all eyes
be on Discovery Bay if this is successful?
Could be. We’ll see how it goes.”
To comment on this story, visit www.
thepress.net.
and Ellen Hayes, a member of the Antioch Police
Crime Prevention Commission.
“We have a police department we are really proud
of,” said Hayes. “It offends all of us when people come
up with these accusations against our chief and police
department. We see that these people are clearly doing
their job.
“In Green Hills Circle there were 139 complaints
against Section 8 families in their neighborhood, and
that’s ridiculous. Nobody should have to live under
those conditions. We are not going to let a small minority
of people affect the quality of life for all of us
in Antioch. Some of these people are afraid to face
the truth about themselves: it’s their behavior that’s
causing the problems that they are having.”
Gilbert thanked city offi cials for not backing
down against the racial charges.
“I appreciate the fact that the city has stood fi rm
with this entire matter,” he said. “So many times when
an issue comes up and involves race, people say, ‘Let’s
settle this to make this go away.’ I cannot express how
proud I am that the entire city staff said, ‘This is not
about race, it’s about behavior.’”
To listen to audio of four African-American women,
including Bunton, Payne and Scott, making their
charges at a City Council meeting in September 2007,
go to www.thepress.net, and select Audio under the
Multimedia link. To comment on this story, visit www.
thepress.net.