Stop the Clog Recycled Water Is Meeting the Need

Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency
Since 1977
Dedicated to Meeting Northern Monterey County’s Wastewater and Recycled Water Needs
ClogBusters.org to the Rescue
Stop the Clog
Do you have frequent sewer
line backups?
Do you call the plumber
more than twice a year?
Between irrigation seasons, winter maintenance is performed at the Water
Recycling Facility, located two miles north of Marina.
Ways Are Being Studied to Expand Its Use
Recycled Water Is Meeting the Need
G
oing into its ninth year of
recycled water production,
MRWPCA’s recycled water facil-
ity has a proven record of being a
safe, reliable source of water for
Monterey County. The facility is designed to produce 29.6
million gallons per day, which is
enough to fill a football field 62
feet deep.
The recycled water is currently being used to irrigate edible
food crops in northern Monterey
County. Since the facility began
operation, the negative affects of
salt water intruding our aquifers
and the draw on our precious
ground water supply has been
reduced significantly.
Because the facility is capable
of producing one third more water than is currently being used,
projects are being studied to
expand its use within the region.
Do roots grow in your sewer
line?
If so, you could be a victim of
“The Clog” say the members of
Clog Busters. Clog Busters, also
known as the Southern Monterey
Bay Dischargers Group, is a consortium of wastewater collection
system companies and wastewater
treatment jurisdictions located
in northern Monterey County.
They are responsible for maintaining sewer lines and preventing
overflows. Clog Busters is a component of their public outreach
program.
Cooking fat, oil and grease,
which cool and congeal on the
inner walls of sewer lines and tree
roots that grow in them, are a
leading cause of sewer pipe clogs.
The resulting clogs restrict sewage
flow, which can back up in your
home or property, or even in the
street. In fact, kitchen grease is a
leading cause of sewer spills into
the Monterey Bay.
To learn more about how to
avoid sewer backup problems visit
www.ClogBusters.org.
Spring 2007
Customer
Payment Options
Can Save You
Time and Money
Discounts Offered
Reaching the Highest Accreditation
MRWPCA Employees Expand Their Skills
I
n February, three plant
operators of MRWPCA’s Regional Treatment Plant — Richard Gilliam, Jason Sinkler and
Tom Klotz, pictured left to right
— passed the Grade V examination. Grade V is the highest
Wastewater Treatment state
certification, which authorizes
them to oversee operations of
an entire wastewater treatment
plant. Rarely does a plant have
more than one certified operator,
but at MRWPCA, the three new
certificate holders are joining four
others of equal rank.
“The Agency encourages
employees to succeed by becoming the best they can be,” says
Assistant General Manager Jim
Heitzman. “With highly qualified
employees, we are able to run the
plant at its optimum level, further
ensure compliance with state regulations and designate another chief
plant operator should our current
one need time away from the job.”
Grade V examinations are offered
only twice a year and less than
50 percent of those applying pass
them. “In total, I spent approximately 500 hours studying,” says
Richard Gilliam.
Jason adds, “The test is one of
those situations where you walk in
filled with confidence, and walk
out six hours later, shivering, wondering for the next few months,
‘Did I do all right?’”
MRWPCA is pleased to
provide advance payment
discounts that can save you
time and money. When you
prepay your bill a year in
advance, you receive a five
percent discount. Prepayment information is printed
on each bill you receive.
Payments Can Be
Made Online
Now you can pay your
MRWPCA bill online. Visa,
MasterCard, Discover and
American Express cards are
accepted. (A small convenience fee is charged for the
service.) For information,
visit www.mrwpca.org or call
Customer Service at (831)
372-2385 or from Salinas
449-6366 or 722-9288.
We’re Here to Serve You
T
he Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control
Agency is responsible for treating wastewater for Del
Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Sand City,
Seaside, Boronda, Castroville, Moss Landing, Marina, the
former Fort Ord, and unincorporated areas of northern
Monterey County. MRWPCA’s facilities include a 30
million gallon-per-day treatment plant and water recycling facility located two miles north of Marina, as well
as community pumping stations and transport piping to
the treatment plant. (City sewer systems are maintained
independently by each city.)
Take a Tour of the
Treatment Plant
G
et an up-close look at the
award-winning water recycling plant; treatment methods;
power generation using methane
gas, a treatment byproduct; and
handling of the wastewater solids
(biosolids).
For more information, call
Community Relations at (831)
645-4604 or visit www.mrwpca.org.