To:       George

From:   Cal

June 17, 2010

The lagoons had no sludge in 1987.  The TSS and BOD were similar in 1987, compared to the TSS and BOD in 2010. EPA data shows this.  More scatter was in the data in 1987, compared to 2010.  A plot that shows this is on page 6 of the management plan, which I gave to the council. The plan and excel file that show this are at:  http://votingpeoplehelpingpeople.com/WorkshopMar22/Tools.html.   Sludge cannot be Salmon’s lagoon problem.   At the meeting last month, John Miller said the sludge removal is on-hold for now.  What changed?

Assume the lagoons hold 44 million gallons and that the flow is 1 million gallons per day (mgd).  The detention time is 44 days.  Now assume that the flow rate is 2 mgd.  Now the detention time is 22 days.  Now double the TSS and BOD rate of removal.  Double the reaction rate that consumes BOD and TSS is the same as no sludge at all.  At double the rate, 22 days is plenty of time to remove the TSS and BOD, as we are now.    Aerobic bacteria remove BOD and TSS at 20-30 times the rate of anaerobic bacteria.  Now how much detention time is needed?  Sludge cannot be the problem.  The data I presented to the council last night is in the left column of http://votingpeoplehelpingpeople.com/WorkshopMar22/Tools.html That data shows anaerobic conditions at the bottom of both lagoons. Anaerobic processes are the problem at Salmon lagoons.  Aerobic processes will remove most of the organic sludge, which may be 70% of Salmon lagoon sludge.  The same bacteria that remove sludge in the activated sludge plants will remove most of the sludge in the lagoons, as they do in the activated sludge process: http://www.college.ucla.edu/webproject/micro7/studentprojects7/Rader/asludge2.htm

What change in BOD and TSS in the lagoons has the company, who wants to dredge Salmon lagoons, presented to you for the lagoons they have already dredged?  I want to see their data. What percent of sand (SiO₂) did that company find in the sludge in Salmon?  Where in the lagoons did they sample, how did they take their sample, and how many samples did they take? Where and how did they test these samples in which they found sand?  I want to see their data. Last night you told me that the infiltration put sand into the lagoons.  The dredge company needs to have data that shows this sand and how much sand and organic matter they found.

The cost of dredging the sludge is unnecessary and is a wrongful use of tax payers’ money.  Want to talk about this with me?