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Lodi could lose permit to irrigate; Move could force costly upgrade of wastewater plant

Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2009 at 7:50 am

From Stockton’s Record:

State water quality regulators today will consider striking down the permit that allows Lodi to irrigate crops with recycled wastewater near its Interstate 5 sewage plant, a move officials say could leave the city on the hook for millions in plant upgrades.

The State Water Resources Control Board is reviewing the permit after a challenge from environmentalists, who long have worried that Lodi is polluting the groundwater farmers tap for irrigation.

Officials maintain the area hasn’t been studied enough to conclude the White Slough wastewater treatment plant, and not other operations such as nearby dairies, is responsible for degrading water quality.

They say the expense of more plant upgrades would be painful during tough budget times and could threaten at least one large cannery that is the city’s biggest producer of industrial waste.

Other officials think Lodi’s ordeal could have a regional impact. “The Central Valley has thousands of facilities that operate in this manner,” said Ken Landau, assistant executive officer of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, a separate agency that issued Lodi’s permit. “So a significant change in how to go about regulating the site has an effect far beyond the city of Lodi.”

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

March 17, 2009 · Filed Under Water Quality

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