Ironhouse Sanitary District's Newsletter - California Association of ...

T H E
I R O N H O U S E
INS I DE R
www.ironhousesanitarydistrict.com n Autumn 2011
With the grand opening celebration
and ribbon cutting
of the new Water Recycling
Facility set for Oct. 15, ISD
employees are hard at work
to make a smooth transition
to the new system.
ISD began building the facility in 2009 after
a long process of planning and developing a
cost-effective plant that would not only service
the Oakley and Bethel Island communities, but
also enhance the environmnet while meeting
strict California state standards.
The district worked for more than a
decade to build a dedicated capital fund to
pay for some of the project’s expenses. It was
also able to secure special state-guaranteed
funding to pay the remainder of the building
costs. That funding was made available as a
loan at 0 percent interest, which saves
ratepayers millions of dollars over the life of
the loan. The loan was possible because the
project was shovel-ready. Other revenue
sources, such as cattle and hay sales, provide
additional savings.
Continues on page 3
Above: Joe Mueller, left, trains ISD employee Trent Wentworth on equipment at the new plant.
GRAND OPENING AND
RIBBON-CUTTING EVENT
☛ You’re invited on Saturday,
Oct. 15, at 10:30 a.m., to help
ISD celebrate the grand opening
of your new Water
Recycling Facility.
■ Ribbon cutting ceremony
■ Free lunch provided
■ Entertainment
■ Games for the kids
■ Pumpkin painting
■ Tours of the new state-ofthe-art
facility
This will be a rare opportunity
to see this environmentally
friendly technology being used
to recycle our wastewater.
California Association of Sanitation Agencies honors ISD
The Ironhouse
Sanitary District
has won a prestigious
award from the
California Association
of Sanitation Agencies
for being on the forefront
of technology.
CASA presented ISD
with its Technological
Innovation and Achievement
Award for using
advanced technologies
like membranes for filtration
and ultraviolet
light for disinfection, and
for using them together
to help protect the sensitive
Delta environment.
The winner of the
annual statewide contest
was announced in August.
“It is such a great
honor to be recognized
with this award,” said
ISD General Manager
Tom Williams. “It’s
recognition from our
peers in the industry of
ISD’s thoughtful planning
that went into this
new facility.” n

2 — The Ironhouse Insider n Autumn 2011
RANCHING IS A CASH COW FOR ISD RATEPAYERS
Lawrence Ginocchio administers vaccinations to one of
ISD’s black baldy steers. Proper medical care of the cattle
is a high priority .
It’s not quite the Old West, but you’ll
still find a bit of cowboy in each of
the 10 ranch hands ISD employs to
tend the cattle and hay crops that
are a key source of revenue for the
district’s budget.
The program, based on Jersey Island,
benefits from hiring qualified ranchers
with years of experience, such as lifelong
ranch owner Dave Dal Porto, whose family
has raised cattle in the area for more than
a century.
“This is a unique arrangement,” said
Dal Porto, ISD’s ranch and levees manager.
“There are no other local sanitary districts
that take advantage of a profitable
farming activity to supplement the fees
customers pay.”
The district’s recycled water is pumped
to Jersey Island as the last stage in the
treatment process and applied through
land application. The reclaimed water is
high in nutrients that make it a natural
fertilizer, ideal to grow hay crops. The hay
is used to feed approximately 2,300 head
of beef cattle, and both are sold for profit.
“This operation will help save each
ratepayer $88 on their annual bill this year
alone,” Dal Porto said. “As the price of beef
has risen steadily in recent years, income
from cattle sales continues to grow.”
That savings has been especially valuable
as ISD has worked to complete its
new Water Recycling Facility scheduled to
open this fall. Previously announced fee
increases have been substantially discounted
because the district was able to
redirect these funds to pay for part of the
plant’s $52 million loan.
The cattle operation and Jersey Island
will continue to play vital roles once the
new plant goes on line in October. While
the district received permission for the
first time to send recycled water to the
San Joaquin River, land application will
Continues on page 3
How to trash grease
Cooking oil and grease poured
down drains can lead to backups
in the home and streets.
Overflows can pose health and
environmental hazards, polluting
Marsh Creek and the Delta, regardless
of whether you use hot water,
detergents or garbage disposals.
Throwing FOG (fats, oils and
grease) down the drain clogs sewer
pipes and costs ratepayers a great
deal of money in cleanup fees, as
well as threatens the environment.
Those who compost can remove
grease from pans with a paper
towel then discard it in a compost
bin. Adding citrus peels to the
paper towels will help keep the
grease odor out of the bin. n
A contest for kids:
Design our mascot
I
SD’s new water recycling plant
needs a mascot, and we’re looking
to creative kids to find one. The
contest is open to all K-12 students
from Oakley and Bethel Island.
The rules are simple: First, the
mascot should be in animal form
representing a pheasant, kestrel,
native Delta fish or steer. Second,
the design must be colorful and
creative! Classroom project participation
is encouraged. The winner
will receive an individual prize, plus
a pizza party for their classroom.
Entry deadline is Sept. 23, 2011.
All entries must be made in
good taste, with no elements that
are deemed offensive.
For details call 925-625-2279. n
Jersey Island cattle operations are part of a beneficial ecosystem. Treated
wastewater is used to irrigate hay fields, which are used to feed ISD’s cattle. The
cattle are sold for meat, and the revenue generated from those sales is returned to ISD
ratepayers to defray costs of sanitary district operations.

Autumn 2011 n The Ironhouse Insider — 3
STAFF PROFILE
Rather than contracting
with a consultant
to train employees
in how to operate its
new treatment plant,
ISD added a specialist
on staff to do the job.
Joe Mueller brings
20-plus years of experience
in overseeing the
startup and operation
of sanitary plants
throughout the Central
Valley and Sierra
foothills.
With a degree in
management, construction
experience, as well
as time in the Air Force
as an environmental
support specialist,
Mueller was an excellent
choice for the position
of Operations/Environmental
Compliance
Manager.
“Having Joe here as
part of our team gives
us the ability to build a
strong plant operator
ISLAND
Continued from page 2
remain the primary
method of reuse, meaning
there will be plenty
for crop production.
Aside from being a
convenient place to
grow hay and raise cattle,
Jersey Island is considered
one of the
Delta’s “Big Eight,” or
one of the eight most
important islands in
the region.
Until he recently
retired, Oakley’s Kirk
Kirkman spent 10 years
Joe Mueller is tasked with getting
ISD’s workers up to speed
on how to operate the new plant.
program while the new
plant is getting up and
running,” ISD General
Manager Tom Williams
said.
Mueller has worked
ISD Director 12/02-4/11,
Don unexpectedly passed
away in April. He was a
good representative and
proud member of the ISD
board. We will miss him.
as a supervisor on
Jersey Island, keeping
the levees in good
repair. All of the levee
work is paid for by Reclamation
District
830. By
keeping the
levees strong
for the district’s
own purposes,
ISD is also
contributing to
the safety of other
critical islands in
the area.
“The successful
cattle and hay sales are
as director of operations
for two firms that
build sanitary plants
throughout the state.
He has lab experience
and set up state certified
laboratory operations
in his former jobs,
complying with permit
and compliance issues
and state regulators.
“I’ve also written
numerous operation
and maintenance manuals
and standard guidelines,”
Mueller said.
Mueller will work to
create just such a manual
for ISD, while also
helping to train the
new plant’s staff. n
another way ISD is
working to keep costs
down during these hard
economic times,” Dal
Porto said. n
PLANT
Continued from page 1
Now that the plant is built the district will
begin paying down the $52 million debt using the
capital fund and reaping the benefits of the nointerest
loan. The special funding will save
ratepayers $900,000 over the term of the loan.
“The district has worked very hard to see that
this project remain under budget and is finished
on time,” ISD General Manager Tom Williams
said. “That in itself has been another savings for
ratepayers.”
Over this summer the staff and construction
crews have been gradually bringing the plant
online. This was an important training time for
the plant’s future operators, as ISD staff can
observe how the equipment runs and learn dayto-day
procedures needed to run the facility.
Operations at the new plant will be conducted
using sophisticated technology, and the state
requires that all plant workers be properly
licensed to perform their duties.
As with all sanitary district workers, ISD
operators are certified to operate sanitary
plants. Of the five operators ISD employs,
three of them hold the highest training certification
the state provides. Two are journey
level workers, training for advancement.
“We’ve made a great start for the new
plant,” Williams said. n
ISD ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Williams/General Manager
Jenny Skrel/District Engineer
David Dal Porto/Ranches & Levees
Sue Walde
District Secretary
Marc Haefke
Operations Superintendent
Dave Smith
Maintenance Superintendent
Visit us online at www.ironhousesanitarydistrict.com
ISD Board of Directors
Michael Painter/President
Doug Hardcastle/Vice Pres.
Chris Lauritzen/Director
David Huerta/Director
David Contreras/Director
450 Walnut Meadows Drive, Oakley
Phone: 925-625-2279 • Fax: 925-625-0169
e-mail: ironhousesd@isd.us.com
ISD board meetings
Public meetings are held the
first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oakley, CA
Permit No. 001
Ironhouse Sanitary District
450 Walnut Meadows Drive
Oakley, CA 94561
Emergency 24/7 contact
number: 925-625-2279
ECRWSS
PO Box Holder
Postal Customer
Oakley, CA 94561
Join us for the Oct. 15
open house celebrating
the completion of your
new water recycling plant
Help the environment by recycling this newsletter. Every ton of recycled paper saves 7,000 gallons of water.
Septic customers can
connect to ISD for less
Those wanting to connect to ISD,
including septic system owners,
can now do so for less. On July 1,
2011, the cost to connect was permanently
reduced by 22 percent.
Also, in September, the ISD
Board of Directors will consider
additional, temporary two-year
reductions that could lower the
overall fees by another 20 percent.
So, if you have been considering
getting off your septic system, or
just building a new home, now is
the time to connect.
The permanent reductions are
a result of infrastructure cost savings
and net flow reductions. The
proposed temporary reductions
boost the number of connections,
increasing the ratepayer base,
which in turn helps keep the annual
sewer service charge down for
all.
For more information about the
potential for your property to connect
to ISD’s sewer system, please
contact the district at 925-625-2279,
or email ironhousesd@isd.us.com. n
Jetters well-equipped to handle pressure
Leon Laucirca spots Jack Ossowski as he uses the truck’s
mechanical winch to lower the jetting hose into the sewer.
As part of the ISD’s
Sewer System
Management Plan (SSMP),
workers use this sewer
jetter truck to help clean
more than 15 miles of
underground gravity
pipes each year. The
program complies with
state rules that all of
ISD’s 152 miles of pipes
be cleaned every 10 years.
This safe computerized
procedure uses a high
pressure water spray to
clean inside sewer lines
and break up any debris
in the pipes. n
This nozzle
produces a
concentrated
blast of water
capable of
dislodging
even the most
stubborn
sewer clogs.

PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oakley, CA
Permit No. 001
Ironhouse Sanitary District
450 Walnut Meadows Drive
Oakley, CA 94561
Emergency 24/7 contact
number: 925-625-2279
ECRWSS
PO Box Holder
Postal Customer
Bethel Island, CA 94511
Join us for the Oct. 15
open house celebrating
the completion of your
new water recycling plant
Help the environment by recycling this newsletter. Every ton of recycled paper saves 7,000 gallons of water.
Septic customers can
connect to ISD for less
Those wanting to connect to ISD,
including septic system owners,
can now do so for less. On July 1,
2011, the cost to connect was permanently
reduced by 22 percent.
Also, in September, the ISD
Board of Directors will consider
additional, temporary two-year
reductions that could lower the
overall fees by another 20 percent.
So, if you have been considering
getting off your septic system, or
just building a new home, now is
the time to connect.
The permanent reductions are
a result of infrastructure cost savings
and net flow reductions. The
proposed temporary reductions
boost the number of connections,
increasing the ratepayer base,
which in turn helps keep the annual
sewer service charge down for
all.
For more information about the
potential for your property to connect
to ISD’s sewer system, please
contact the district at 925-625-2279,
or email ironhousesd@isd.us.com. n
Jetters well-equipped to handle pressure
Leon Laucirca spots Jack Ossowski as he uses the truck’s
mechanical winch to lower the jetting hose into the sewer.
As part of the ISD’s
Sewer System
Management Plan (SSMP),
workers use this sewer
jetter truck to help clean
more than 15 miles of
underground gravity
pipes each year. The
program complies with
state rules that all of
ISD’s 152 miles of pipes
be cleaned every 10 years.
This safe computerized
procedure uses a high
pressure water spray to
clean inside sewer lines
and break up any debris
in the pipes. n
This nozzle
produces a
concentrated
blast of water
capable of
dislodging
even the most
stubborn
sewer clogs.