Letter: Suggestions for SR sewage disposal

Editor: The proposed sewage disposal project appears to be a
mechanical engineers wet dream. It depends upon a very complex set
of constructed engineered elements that will be prone to failure,
expensive to build, & costly to maintain as well as being
unsightly. They will also have a definite life span and will need
replacement. The following are my suggestions.
1) Contain the effluent within the jurisdictions that created
the problem to begin with IE Santa Rosa, Cotati, & Rohnert
Park.
2) Use a natural based system rather than an intensive
mechanical system. The City of Santa Rosa owns some very large
parcels of land that could be developed as a natural series of
holding & filtration ponds. These could also serve as an
augment to the Laguna as a wildlife refuge. Many communities have
developed viable sustainable systems using natural based water
treatments for disposal and recycling of treated sewage
discharge.
3) Expand the Geysers steam fields. Demand for non-fossil fuel
based energy is only going to increase. Put this water to a good
use rather than dumping it into the river.
4) Fix the leaky pipes ‹ this is inexcusable to burden the
Alexander Valley and Healdsburg with a problem generated by a
failing infrastructure problem in Santa Rosa. These leaky pipes
will ultimately have to be replaced, but this project does nothing
to address this problem, it is just a band-aid to a larger
problem.
5) Get aggressive about recycling and water conservation. Boost
connection fees to cover the real cost due to the sprawled housing
development that is occurring in the jurisdictions that have
created the discharge.
6) Think very seriously about the visual impact that these
unsightly cooling towers will have on the environment. There is no
mitigation for this impact; therefore, there should be the option
of no project within the EIR.
Ronald Hodges, Healdsburg