Coombsville/MST area residents should be wary of wastewater
By Evelyn Irene Trott, Commentary, Napa Valley Register, 11/4/13
I am shocked but not surprised by the Coombsville/MST “recycled” water boondoggle. A commentary from the Oct. 31 edition of the Napa Register, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” shows the amount of deceit that has been associated with the project since 2001.
The 5-mile pipeline is supposed to be a kinder, gentler version of the initial $50 million, 17-mile project; but all along it was a snow job to get their foot in the door. Now that the Community Facilities District has been formed (Mello-Roos act), the Coombsville residents are stuck with a potentially open-ended raising of property taxes whether they sign up for the water or not.
This saddles property owners into perpetuity with this $50 million (or more) debt. A selling point for properties all over California is “No Mello-Roos.”
This is the result of an unholy alliance between Napa Sanitation, Public Works, Napa Valley Country Club, and their henchmen/intermediaries, GULP (Groundwater Under Local Protection). Napa Valley Country Club is desperate, going dry and doesn’t want to foot the bill. The plan from 2001 has been to mystify the Coombsville country bumpkins and winos and have them pay for it.
What is worse than this debt is the potential contamination. This treated wastewater is no longer allowed to be dumped into rivers due to the effect on fish, which have appeared on both male and female organs.
The treated sewer water cannot be allowed to pond while being used for irrigation (to protect wildlife). It must be kept at least 50 feet from wells, and it kills certain trees. There is no telling what the long-term effect will be.
I have been sickened myself with gastric distress by consuming artichokes watered with “recycled” water.
Evelynn Irene Trott / Napa