Pacifica Pier News

Business owners and residents near Reina del Mar Avenue in Pacifica are often treated to ocean views, fresh sea air — and unfortunately, occasional nauseating whiffs of the Calera Creek Water Recycling Plant.

The innovative facility, which was completed in 2000, coverts the city’s sewage into water for nearby wetlands and Class A sludge — a brown, mud-like substance that can be used for fertilizer.

The $53 million plant has been hailed as an environmental success — especially compared with the previous plant near the Pacifica Pier, which dumped treated water straight into the ocean and ultimately required millions of dollars in repairs.

But as plant employees struggle to perfect the water-recycling and sludge-making process, there have been some unpleasant aromas generated along the way.

“The odor at times is so bad it nauseates you,” said Barbara Ash, who, with her husband Hal, owns the Vallemar Station Restaurant on the east side of Highway 1 across from the plant. “It’s totally disgusting.”

Ash said they have actually lost business as a result of the smells. One customer, Ash said, came in complaining about a dead animal smell.

“‘That’s not an animal, that’s the sewer,’” Ash recalled saying.

Plant manager Dave Gromm said when the smell is particularly strong, he fields about 10 complaint calls from the public a month. He’s not enthused about the odors either: He and his employees can smell it on their clothes.

“They used to have this nice air, and now they’re smelling our treatment plant,” Gromm said of nearby residents. “That’s not acceptable.”

The good news, Gromm said, is that it’s possible to fix the odor problem; the bad news is the plant doesn’t currently have the capability to do it.

Pacifica’s used water — which comes from toilets, showers, kitchen sinks — gets channeled through six pump stations. Screens filter out large objects; rock, sand, and asphalt are taken out with a “grit removal” process. Then, the biological sequence — a large “science project,” as Gromm puts it — begins.

Millions and millions of microorganisms begin feeding on the remaining particles. The resulting biomass sinks to the bottom — the water on the top is treated with ultraviolet light and channeled 30 acres of nearby wetlands.

The water part of the plan, Gromm said, has been extremely successful. Things tend to get stinky, however, during a phase in the process in which the remaining material is turned into sludge. As the biological process continues, “mercaptans” — part of a malodorous sulfur-containing compound — are released into the air.

At that point — depending on which way the wind is blowing, and how strong the smell is — Gromm’s phone might start to ring.

But Gromm and Public Works Director Scott Holmes are hot on the mercaptan case. Gromm and Holmes have been working with an Indiana-based company that has developed new technology — an air-blowing system — to eliminate this bad-smelling step of the process. Gromm already has purchased one of the blowers and figured $250,000 into this year’s budget to purchase and install the new components. He hopes to complete the project before the end of the year.

Gromm and Holmes understand the public’s reaction to the smells, but urge people to be patient.

“I know people’s tolerance for odor is zero,” Holmes said. “I feel the same way when I’m at home.”

Staff writer Amelia Hansen covers the Coast. She can be reached at [650] 348-4301 or by e-mail at ahansen@sanmateocountytimes.com .

LOAD-DATE: June 11, 2004
Copyright 2004 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
San Mateo County Times (San Mateo, CA)
June 10, 2004 Thursday
SECTION: LOCAL & REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 595 words

HEADLINE: Sludge city;
Odors from water plant

BYLINE: By Amelia Hansen, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: PACIFICA

BODY:
have caused

complaints