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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-03-09; Planning Commission; Minutesrc CITY OF CARLSBAD PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES March 9, 1979 Page One (1) 7 1 NOT L ZICIAL UNTIL APPROVED AT SUBSEQUENT MEETING OF CARLSBAD PLANNING COMMISSION I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned meeting was convened at the City of Carlsbad parking lot at 1:30 P.M. on Friday, March 9, 1979. 11. - ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Larson, Marcus, Jose, Iiombotis Staff Present: Ron Beckman, David Hauser, Charles Grimm, Bud Plender. 111. BUSINESS The fidld trip was initiated by the Planning Commission and hosted by Roy Ward of Lake Calavera Hills Development. Three treatment plants were visited, including Ramona, Valley Center and Country Estates, to provide background information for reviewing precise development plan applications for treatment plants within the City of Carlsbad. /- IV. 'ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 5:30 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, I ..* 1 / I Recoxding Secretary ATTEEIT: JAW$ C. HAGAMAN Secrqtary CARL~BAD PLANNING COMMISSION _- 3/12/79 FOR : SATELLITE SEWER TREATMENT PLANT FILE FROM : Bud Plender RE : FIELD TRIP, SEWER TREATMENT PLANTS, MARCH 9, 1979 The subject field trip was initiated by the Planning Commission and hosted by Roy Ward of Lake Calavera Hills Development and attended by Councilman Anear, Planning Commissioners Larson, Marcos, Jose, Rombotis, City Staff, Beckman, Houser, Grimm, Plender, and one citizen. Three treatment plants were visited. I was particularly interested in the facilities' impacts on surrounding area i.e.,: odor, noise, aesthetics, etc. This information is to be a background for reviewing precise develop- ment plan applications for treatment plants in Carlsbad. Ramona Faci'lity: The plant's capacity is 0.5 mgd and is presently operating at 0.25 mgd. The site is over 300 acres; the operations facility covers between 4 to 5 acres. It's considered a secondary treatment plant. Solids are removed and the water is clarified, but not chlorinated. The treatment water is stored in a pond with a 60 day production capacity. This water is used to irrigate 40 acres of agriculture land. Since the treated water has not been chlorinated irrigation waste can't be drained from the site and down stream ground water wells are tested regularly for contamination. No contamination has been noted to date. No odor was noted at the treatment tanks, but a musty odor was detectable at the sludge drying beds. There was some noise caused by the pumps and other machinery. However, the facilities were buffered by about 50 yards of landscaping from the property line and odor and noise was not detectable off site. The site was attractive with large landcaped buffer areas. The administration building was small and in scale with surrounding residences. The treatment tanks and facilities were non-obstrusive being partically buried. The grounds and machinery were well maintained and had a park-like appearance. The plant is five years old and had one power failure when the emergency generator did not automatically start. The only other mechanical problem was the failure of a pump. Both of these malfunctions were quickly remedied and no problems occurred. See attached for more detailed explanation of operation. Country Es'ta'tes: The plant capacity is 0.35 mgd and is presently operating at 0.19 rngd. The site is over th.irty acres, with the operating facilities on about 3 acres and about 25 acres for irrigation. The treatment is tertiary. Solids are removed, water clarified, chlorine added and salts removed, by reverse osmosis. The effluent is drinkable (qnd rather tasty). This water is stored in 'ponds totaling about 5 acres in area and then spread by sprinklers on the hillsides. There is no problem with this water draining off site or entering the ground water system= I There was no odor emitting from the operation, but there was a distinct odor from sludge that had recently been removed f'rom the drying beds and awaiting removal. Evidently the drying beds are two small and sludge was removed prior to being completely dry. There was noise from above ground pumps and aerators. Although there was a landscaped buffer of about 25 yards it wasn't sufficient to totally buffer the noise off the site. Valley Center: We could not enter the plant because of the late hour. However, we were told that this plant was similar to Country Estates except sludge was compacted to remove waste water instread of drying beds. There was no odor or noise detectable from outside the plant. The site was attractively landscaped. GENERAL COMMENT: All three of these sites used the aerobic digesting system where the raw sewage is aerated in open tanks. There is no discernible odor emitted even from these tanks. Evidently the odors associated with treatment plants come from the closed anaerobic systems such as Encina, where digesting emits odiferous gas. The only example of this odor came from the sludge drying where evidently some anaerobic digesting does take place. However, this is minor if the drying process is efficient. The facj.lities can be noisy with the various generators, pumps and aerators. However this machinery can be buffered by being A enclosed or placed underground. The sites we visited were attractive and non-obtrusive. The key to this appears to be the relatively large landscaped buffers surrounding the operational facilities. A landcaped buffer of about 50 yards gives sufficient distance to diffuse most noise and odor, and provides proper development scale to the nearby residences. Treated water storage ponds of at least 60 days capacity appears necessary if the water is to be used for irrigation since the water can't be used as readily during wet weather. Based on acreage of these sites it appears that the treatment plants require about 100 acres of land to spread 1 mgd of treated water. The Ramona and Country Estates sites contained their own water spreading grounds. Valley Center put their tertiary water into a tributary of the San Luis Rey River. BP: jd 3/12/79