Ive been a reporter since 1988 and have covered a lot of criminal cases, written about hundreds, maybe thousands of people and have never failed to be amazed at human behavior. Is there anything people wont do to each other, given enough provocation or meanness?

In court the other day, one of the dozens of attorneys I come into contact with every week shared a story with us after a hearing. It seems there is an elderly man with plenty of money but who refused to install indoor plumbing in the house he shared with his wife of many decades.

Actually, a septic tank or connection to a sewer system is required for a house to have indoor plumbing and the man refused to have hole dug and a tank installed so they could have a toilet and the rest of the works.

This revelation led to a discussion about how and why someone could be so thrifty, nay, cheap. He allowed a water line to be put in on the property but only to the back porch. This meant his long-suffering wife had to collect water there and bring it into the house. In the 21st century?

We all wondered why a husband wouldnt allow his wife to have hot and cold running water and a toilet. Someone said maybe hed gotten so used to not having plumbing that he was satisfied with the way things were. You dont miss what you never had, right? Of course, we all commiserated with his wife, knowing everything she had to do to live 50 years or more without indoor plumbing.

We made jokes about them having to use an outhouse, or even a chamber pot on cold nights, and wondered how long it took to heat enough water to take a bath. How did she wash clothes? When I was a kid and our washer broke, my mom would wash clothes in the bathtub in a pinch. Ive helped her. Its danged hard.

The attorney kept returning to his primary point and that is the guy had money and could afford to put in a toilet and faucets.

The topic then turned to domestic issues in general and how men and women treat each other in relationships. When I worked in Carrollton, I wrote about an angry woman who boiled up a pot of rice and pigs feet, woke up her boyfriend with whom shed been arguing and threw the contents on his upper body as he sat up in bed. He survived but was burned. She was arrested and charged.

I was in court some months later when her case came up before Judge Aubrey Duffey. If I hadnt seen it for myself, I wouldnt have believed that the man stood with her and begged the judge to not send her to jail.

I love her and were going to get married, the man said. It was all my fault.

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Pushing limits of relationships

Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeros radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona. Here are questions about home maintenance and improvement from the Tucson area.

Q: The Tucson Water Department wrote to me to say the city wants to replace my water meter but does not trust the durability of my plumbing. They wont replace the meter until after I replace the water supply line from the meter to the house. Its because that pipe could be too old. My house was built in 1972 and the line is probably made of copper. What do I do next?

ANSWER: Those letters are being sent out to homeowners all over Arizona because officials are afraid that the old lines may be disintegrating. That possibly may be your problem, too. But you ought to get a plumber out to your house to look at your pipeline before you do anything else. A plumber will have to dig down about two or three feet to inspect your pipe. But you might find that your line still has lots of life in it; then you can forgo the replacement. You can notify the city about that if the pipe seems OK. But if the city proceeds and your line breaks when they install that new meter, you will have to repair it.

Q: I want to transplant a 5-foot-tall saguaro cactus that has no arms from my friends yard to my own garden. Can I do that, and how do I do that?

A: You can transplant the saguaro, but there are several points to remember. First, carefully mark the cactus so that when you put it in the ground it is facing in the same direction as it is now. You can put a chalk mark or a tag, for example, on the side of the plant that is facing south. Then you can ensure that you have the cactus in the right position when you replant. If its facing the wrong way, it could eventually develop a scar or sunburn on one side of the saguaro.

Dig a hole large enough for the root system. Then set the cactus in place and put the native soil back around the cactus. Dont water it at this time or root damage may take place. Let nature provide the water for the plant with the next rain.

Although a 5-foot cactus is not very tall, working with it is not a one-man or one-woman job. Two or three people should work on moving it out of the ground. Get a large piece of carpeting to wrap around it several times, so that when you dig it out, it wont get cut or damaged in the process. If you have to take it on the road in a vehicle, you may need to get permission in advance from the state Department of Agriculture because a saguaro is a protected plant. You might also talk to a local nursery for more advice on how to get the plant out of the ground.

All of this might seem like a lot of trouble, but saguaros are quite expensive if you have to buy them. A 5-foot saguaro could cost you $500 to $600 from a nursery.

Q: I recently had my septic tank pumped out and cleaned. When it was empty, they found a big tree root in the bottom of the tank. How do I get rid of it and should I put some compound or chemical in the tank to keep it from happening again?

A: You really need to have a septic tank company come out and work on this problem. That root must be cut out and removed and then the area where the root entered the tank has to be repaired and resealed. If left alone, that root could keep growing and crack the tank. Most septic tank experts, however, advise against using any chemicals in your tank to keep plants out.

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Before replacing any pipeline, seek a plumbers opinion

A ceremony next week will begin work on a community wastewater system for the town of Wolf Creek.

The 11 a.m. event will be held May 22 at the fire hall, located at 310 Recreation Road, in Wolf Creek.

The public is invited to attend and share in the achievements of the seven-year effort to get the project developed and built. Refreshments will be served.

Wastewater disposal in the town is handled by individual septic systems. When one fails, there is often not be enough room to install a replacement drainfield. Another issue that has plagued residents of the community is maintaining the required distance between drainfields and wells that supply homes and businesses with drinking water.

The $3.4 million project comes after the community formed a water and sewer district in 2007 with the goal of providing a community wastewater system to residents of the unincorporated town.

Aside from initial project development costs of slightly more than $20,000 borrowed from the state Board of Investments INTERCAP program, the sewer district was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservations Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program, a news release stated. Also helping to fund the project is a $750,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerces Treasure State Endowment Program; three federal grants provided through the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriation Act (WRDA) in 2009, 2012 and 2014 that together amounted to $718,130, which are administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District. A grant and loan package totaling nearly $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program.

Town residents are moving ahead with plans to have the community receive the state designation of a resort area that will allow it to collect up to a 3 percent sales tax on luxury items. The sales tax has been discussed as a way to help residents reduce the new monthly costs they will face for a sewer system.

The tax rate and portion of the year that the tax would be in effect has yet to be formally decided although preliminary discussions have indicated a desire to have the tax in place when tourists are passing through the community. Also to be resolved is whether town residents will vote in support of the designation and the taxing power that comes with it.

The contract for construction was awarded to NW Construction Inc. of Bozeman and is to be substantially completed in 180 days.

The project, as designed, consists of the construction of the new wastewater collection system with approximately 5,955 feet of gravity sewer main and 29 manholes, along with the construction of a new lift station and wastewater treatment facility, and a new treatment plant, the news release noted.

Original post:
Wolf Creek to break ground on new wastewater system

After five years of controversy dealing with septic systems for the non-incorporated communities of Richmond and Rubio, it appears the issue is finally at rest. The last five homeowners, two in Richmond and three in Rubio, have signed agreements that will allow the county to install the septic systems. The county will recover the costs through special tax assessments. The supervisors approved the agreements Tuesday.

In 2001 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) had issued a notice of violation to the county for improper sewage discharge in the Richmond community. Since the community is unincorporated, it was the countys responsibility through the Board of Health to provide reliable sewage treatment for the residents. Garden & Associates, LTD was hired by the County in 2003 to begin preliminary work to provide information for an approved sewage treatment method for Richmond.

The work involved a survey of the residents, analysis of different treatment methods and operating costs and searching for funding sources. Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS) located in Fairfield have assisted the county in the search for funding sources and information on operating costs. RUSS at that time managed six sewer systems for small communities in Southeast Iowa.

A facilities plan for a two-cell lagoon has been submitted to the Iowa DNR for approval. The proposed lagoon was designed to serve the current 83 residences.

The Knutsons said they were concerned that Richmond residents who had spent $8,000 to $9,000 to install a new on-site septic system would be required to connect to the new system. In addition, the Holy Trinity Parish Life Center would have been required to connect to the new system and discontinue the use of their recently installed $23,000 sewage system. Another of the main concerns regarded the long term operating expense of the selected lagoon system. Knutson said she had received information from several sources reporting high operating expenses for small community lagoon sewage systems in western Iowa.

The opposition to the proposed Richmond lagoon continued to grow, resulting in the formation of a nonprofit group called Residents for a Better Richmond, which filed a lawsuit to halt the project. It also became a major election issue that resulted in three supervisor candidates opposed to the RUSS projects winning in the November 2012, election Stan Stoops, Jack Seward Jr. and Bob Yoder.

Seward said he would be meeting with a representative of the IDNR and expected the five agreements would satisfy the states June 1 deadline to bring Rubio and Richmond into compliance with state laws.

Seward has also been working with Habitat for Humanities to create a conduit for donations to aid the five low-income residents in paying for the septic systems. Margie Roth of Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity was at the Tuesday meeting and said her group covered four counties including Washington County. Being a funnel for the tax-deductible donations, she said, went along with the groups mission of obtaining and maintaining homes for financially challenged residents.

Seward noted that there were already two area groups expressing their willingness to donate funds a faith-based group near Rubio and Residents for a Better Richmond.

Donations can be made online at iowavalleyhabitat.org/ or by calling 319-337-8949.

Excerpt from:
Richmond septic problems nearing an end

Sunday, May 11, 2014 10:46 PM EDT

By BRIAN M. JOHNSON STAFF WRITER

The current system relies exclusively on water used during winter months to calculate bills that estimate customers full-year sewer use. Town Manager Garry Brumback said the council found that approach didnt accurately cover the towns revenue requirements and has triggered frequent, dramatic rate increases every couple of years.

The old rate structure was a manual rate structure based on a whole series of exceptions, he said.

Beginning in the new fiscal year, residents on public water and sewer service can expect to receive quarterly bills that more accurately reflect their actual sewer usage.

Residents using public water and sewers will receive a quarterly bill in two parts: a fixed rate and a variable rate. The fixed rate will be assessed in one of three categories: residential, commercial or industrial. The variable rate will be assessed based on actual water use. In order to close the current funding shortage, the average current rate will increase by 10 percent.

The average cost will be $480 per household, said Brumback.

The new residential annual fixed rate is $180 per household, billed at $45.00 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 to $3 per 100 cubic feet. The commercial annual fixed rate is $250 per establishment, billed at $62.50 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 per 100 cubic feet to $4.20. The industrial annual fixed rate is $250 per establishment, billed at $62.50 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 per 100 cubic feet to $3.30.

Customers using private wells and public sewer will be charged an annual flat rate based on the type of use (residential, commercial, or industrial). These customers will not be assessed a variable rate based on consumption.

The residential annual fixed well rate is $400 per household, billed at $100 per quarter. The commercial annual fixed well rate is $650 per establishment, billed at $162.50 per quarter. The industrial annual fixed well rate is $700 per establishment, billed at $175 per quarter.

The rest is here:
Southington sewer rate structure changes

Published: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 9:31 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 9:32 a.m.

And what snuffed out 135 manatees, 300 pelicans, 76 dolphins and a half-billion dollars worth of seagrass?

If William of Ockham were trying to answer that, he might have started with the extreme cold, dry weather of 2010 and 2011. His 14th century philosophical precept, Occams Razor, holds that the simplest among competing theories is usually the best starting point. First, flesh out theories requiring the fewest assumptions, before moving on to more complex, refined explanations.

That hasnt stopped an army of armchair ecologists. Theyre filling a void left by biologists confounded by the complex unraveling of the lagoon ecosystem, which began swirling in a death spiral in 2011. Few answers have surfaced as to what catalyzed so many casualties, including a combine

73 square miles of seagrass, the estuarys primary nursery for life.

So semi-baked theories abound.

They range from the mundane cold snaps to the strange Doppler radars slowly baking the biology with microwave radiation. That ones new. A theory blaming manatee overpopulation has been around for years.

Biologists working the problem agree on the 2011 superbloom as the seminal event. It nearly wiped out the lagoons seagrass.

Just two years earlier, seagrass was thriving at levels not seen since the 1940s. Restoration efforts finally seemed to be paying off and the recent drought meant less polluting runoff into the waterway.

Then in early spring of 2011, a green monster superbloom of phytoplankton cast a dark cloud over that success. It eventually stretched from southern Mosquito Lagoon to just north of Fort Pierce Inlet, blocking sunlight from seagrass and leaving death in its path.

Here is the original post:
Indian River Lagoon: What went wrong?

Updated: 05/09/2014 10:22 PM | Created: 05/09/2014 10:20 PM By: Kai Porter, KOB Eyewitness News 4

Neighbors in Espaola say theyre living next to a stinky, stagnant, fly-invested puddle of raw sewageoozing up from the ground.

Norma Mooredoesn't need tosee it to know it's there.

You drive past it with your windows open and you can smell the sewer, she said.

Moore lives behind the Juniper Hills mobile home park.

She says overflow from the parks septic tanks runs down the hill and pools up at the base of a frontage road, just a stones throw away from dozens of homes.

It's not just the smell. Neighbors say it's a health hazard because sometimes kids and pets play in the water.

The thing of it is, when you can smell it you know it's unhealthy, said Moore.

We tracked down the mobile home parks manager to get some answers. But she didnt seem to be as concerned.

It's not really a hazard, said manager Johanna Kolbe. The children don't play down there. They aren't allowed to.

Excerpt from:
Stinky sewage puddle worries neighbors in Espaola

The city of Lakota will hold a public information meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, at the Lakota Eagle Center regarding the wastewater treatment project, which has been bid. Construction will start later this summer.

The project engineer, city council members and the mayor will attend this meeting.

The first part of the meeting will be to show what improvements are planned and how they will affect property owners yards. This is an underground project that will disrupt daily activity in town while construction is taking place.

The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions, as the engineer will be there to answer them.

The main contractor on the project will not be allowed to enter houses so this electrical connection point for the new pump being installed must already be on the outside of the house.

It is the responsibility of the owner to provide for this electrical connection.

USDA-RD has a program that allows seniors and those that meet income requirements to take advantage of financing and grant opportunities to help pay for the electrical disconnect installation.

It is recommended that property owners contact an electrician to get an estimate for the work.

The electrician should be asked to perform the following:

Installation of exterior rated electrical disconnect box on the outside of the house near the existing septic system or where the sewer exits the building.

Read the original here:
Lakota to hold public meeting

Bristol Marine Preisdent Andy Tyska addresses the Bristol Zoning Board Monday night regarding the marinas proposed expansion, which the board approved.

Marina President Andy Tyska plans to add 200 feet, about doubling the length of his current dock, and add 18 boat slips, bringing the total number of slips to 39. The project would allow Bristol Marine to service larger boats in deeper water. Mr. Tyska said he also plans to build a new boat yard shed and install and 8-foot high fence around the Poppasquash Road property to add security and shield work going on in the boatyard from the road.

This will allow us to expand, grow and create jobs, Tyska told the Zoning Board. He estimated 20 people are currently employed year-round at the marina and related marine businesses on the property, a number that increases to about 26 during the peak spring season.

Before any expansion can begin, Bristol Marine must connect to the town sewer system. There are no access points in the Poppasquash area, forcing Mr. Tyska to run a line to Hope Street at a cost of more than $200,000. The most direct route for the sewer line runs through Colt State Park, requiring approval from the state Department of Environmental Management. After Zoning Board approval Monday required because Bristol Marine sits in a residential district, having existed before current town zoning laws the Town of Bristol will partner with Mr. Tyska in applying for DEM approval.

Getting the sewers is our top priority, Mr. Tyska said, adding he hopes to get state approval for that first phase of the project this summer. The marinas septic system has failed, causing runoff into the bay after every hard rain.

Once the sewer line is in place, Bristol Marine plans to begin construction on the new boatyard shed, followed by the dock expansion. The full project should take about two years to complete, he estimated.

Its been a long time coming to get to this point for Bristol Marina, which initially floated the expansion plans about five years ago. That much larger project which called for dock expansion north into state waters with as many as 75 boat slips faced opposition from town officials and neighbors, including the nearby Bristol Yacht Club, which opposed the original plan because it would disrupt the approach path for boats leaving and entering the club. Mr. Tyska said he has worked with those neighbors and scaled down the project to accommodate their concerns. No one spoke against the project Monday.

This plan truly represents consensus, Mr. Tyska said, noting only about 10-15 customers come and go on most days during peak season; none during the winter. The impact will be minimal on land and water.

That consensus came at a cost for Bristol Marine. To gain Bristol Yacht Clubs agreement, the company has agreed to extend the sewer line to the club, pay to add an additional string of docks to the club, which Bristol Marine will maintain for 10 years, build a keel boat launching pier, and offer a 10 percent discount on marine services to club members. Bristol Marine has also agreed to limit how far east its expansion runs, mitigating the impact on the approach path. Yacht Club members approved the agreement on April 27.

Bristol Marine, despite the expansion, will continue to operate just as it has for several decades, Mr. Tyska said, providing boat storage in the water and on land, as well as service and repairs. Other related businesses on the property include bicycle and kayak rentals, a yacht brokerage firm, marine equipment consignment sales and Legacy Seafood.

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Bristol Marine expansion wins Zoning, neighbor approval

HUNTSVILLE Huntsville City Council seems to have an issue with several aspects of plans for a new subdivision on the south side of town.

Representatives from the Texas Grand Ranch Subdivision, which will be located off of FM 1374, presented their plans for a 2,100-acre, 746-lot neighborhood.

Renee Howes, who represents the developers, said they are requesting six variances from the city development code for the nearly half of the lots that would fall under city jurisdiction, so they can build under the county requirements. They include street width, lot depth and width ratio, streetlights, water lines, and sewage lines.

If Huntsville Planning and Zoning Commission approves the variances on May 15, each potential property owner would have to install their own wells and septic systems. Council members had issues with the number of wells that would be required.

Councilmembers Don Johnson and Tish Humphrey both questioned the ability for that many customers to draw from the same well.

Im surprised the state of Texas still allows that many wells to draw from the same place, Humphrey said. Thats a lot of straws.

Howes said the company performed a groundwater study that showed that the Jasper Aquifer, where the subdivision would draw from, has very good quality water. That aquifer is not connected to the Huntsville water supply.

We talked to (city development director Aron Kulhavy) the city would like to provide us water, but unfortunately...the nearest water supply is more than 7 miles away, Howes said.

Jeff Brown, the engineer helping the company develop plans, said the nearest water plant is 11 miles away, and the nearest sewer treatment plant is 7 miles. That would provide a total cost of more than $10 million, according to the city, and more than $12 million, according to Brown.

Following the code that you have, we dont think thats economically feasible for anybody, Brown said. Yes, well have 750 customers one day. ... But they will build their house when they want to, when they need to.

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Council voices concerns of potential subdivision