Raw sewage leaking into Buffalo River

[suckhole]

This is why I think it's important to work with other clubs. Even if out of state they can send e-mails and support efforts like this and whitewater parks. And Vice versa. Not to mention the social aspect- they host us in their back yard and we do the same.....

[Richard]

Kendra Jones returned my call and said the AG's office has filed suit (suite . . . choose the spelling that suits you).
Court date is March 2 at 10am in Jasper. Afterwards, I recommend Ozark Cafe. Its right across the street from the court house.

[Roy Staggs]

Richard, Mr. Scott Moore with the health department may not have a good understanding of how a “self contained” composting toilet system works. They can be used on very small areas because the end product is not dumped in or on the ground unless you want to use it as fertilizer after it has been processed my mother nature INSIDE the system. The disposal of gray water is also an issue because you don’t want it flowing directly into the river but it can be disposed of by installing “lateral lines” under the front or back yard on the side away from the well. You will have to mow the lawn more. I don’t have any idea if this system would meet area codes or regulations or state codes or regulations for that matter. I do know it would be light years better than what is going on now.

[Richard]

Roy, I thought your solution was the way to go and I presented it to Scott but he said the issue is the field lines. He said only one lot was large enough to meet the code requirements.

[Roy Staggs]

I really don’t know much about the regulations for disposal of grey water but I suspect the same formula for the length/number of lateral lines as determined by “perc test” for a septic system is being used for gray water disposal. I don’t see the two being equal in the potential harm to the environment, or, there may be some other formula for disposal of gray water. I just don’t know. I guess I need to better educate myself. Hey, they didn’t hire me because I was smart, they hired me because I’m petty.

[Richard]

they hired me because I’m petty.

Whew! Roy, sure glad you spell checked.

[dwilson]

Aerobic Systems are the anwser. Take a look see at the ones on this site. http://www.aerobicsystems.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The water discharge is clean when it leaves the tank. Not ta drink clean but what most DEQ people want to see used in areas that don't have waste water treatment plants.

[Richard]

They may be in the process of fixing the existing system.
http://www.harrisondailytimes.com/artic ... 066197.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[memphis2]

I can’t get those Harrison newspaper articles, it says I have to pay to access the archives. However, according to this article on KY3

http://www.ky3.com/news/local/81791677.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

, it sounds like the problem has gotten significantly worse in the past few months. For most of the first year of the leak, apparently, local residents have been trying to capture and haul away the overflow. However, that effort stopped a few months ago and so now the sewage is flowing freely into Mill Creek, 5 or 6 miles above its junction with the Buffalo.

If that report is correct, then shouldn’t we try to get the sewage-hauling operation re-started right away? I don't think it would be that expensive. The article says they expect it to take another 2-3 months to repair the equipment. If it’s a matter of funds and the Marble Falls community doesn’t have the money, then perhaps the paddling community could raise some money to help pay for sewage-hauling for 3 months (or find nearby volunteers with the proper equipment). I am a regular poster on the national message board paddling.net, and I’d be happy to try to stir up some interest on that forum, if someone starts a drive for donations. A large part of the members there have been on the Buffalo, including many who live far to the East or North.

[Prairie Tater]

Update here: http://www.ky3.com/news/local/83780152.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[memphis2]

Good news, a temporary pump was installed on Friday, which should handle the load until the permanent fix is done, acording to PT's link above.

I wonder what it cost, and why it took so long? Do we always have to wait until a beautiful resource is getting dumped on before we fix a problem that we should have (and some did) see coming? We had a similar problem here in Memphis with the Wolf River a few years ago, with a very similar result.

Oh, well, I guess that's water under the bridge now (or crap up the pipe, as the case may be). Glad the problem got fixed.

[Jim Krueger]

Certainly the temporary equipment, and projected 'more permanent' repairs to the lift station, and the sewer district reforming itself, is good news. However, I understand from reading about the history of Dogpatch that the current owners of all this system and property have been embroiled in legal problems for years. It just seems like the folks of the Marble Falls community will never have the security they need until they actually own the lift station and treatment ponds. Do any of you have a better understanding of this?


Best Regards
Jim

[memphis2]

Well, reading between the lines of the KY3 news coverage, perhaps they did finally establish ownership. Consider:

1. Commissioner Crain mentioned an “important discovery” and one of the articles says “a document” was found.
2. The latter articles say that ADEQ was holding Marble Falls responsible for an immediate fix.
3. Funds for the pump installed Friday apparently came from the same agencies that earlier had denied funds due to lack of proof of ownership.
4. The articles say they “refounded” the Marble Falls Sewer Improvement District (SID).

Those things seem consistent with them finally establishing proof of ownership, although they never come out and say so – but that’s news coverage for you.

If true, they may still have a problem. The Marble Falls SID apparently only contains about 25-40 houses and a few small businesses, while the sewer works were built to handle much larger volumes and thus might be expensive to operate - not to mention that the works are getting old now, and probably haven’t been maintained well since Dogpatch got into financial trouble in the early 1990s.

I don’t know how well off the Marble Falls community is, but it may be that the demise of Dogpatch has left them with a sewer system that is not affordable or suited to a community of 25-40 houses. If that is the case, they may need some assistance to help them reconfigure the system to a more suitable size before they are able to take full responsibility.

[DeBo]

First, I would like to give a big thanks to ACC members who live in the area for keeping the calls going to ADEQ and for bringing the problem to the attention of the Harrison newspaper. It is the persistence of our members and members of the Ozark Society that has made sure this issue is working toward a resolution.

My understanding is that the lift station was way oversized for the number of homes it was servicing. ADEQ called a meeting several months ago to try and help the community to address the problem but no one even showed up.

Now, the community has reformed and it looks like a properly sized pump will be installed with a grant from an agency in Fayetteville.
It is amazing how quickly solutions can be found when embarrassing stories appear in the paper and one is threatened with a law suit!

[dogpatch]

Most of you have probably already read this, but for those of you that might have not............

http://www.harrisondailytimes.com/artic ... 106918.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;