San Lorenzo, CA (510) 276-4700 www.oroloma.org Fall 2010 Issue 53

Board of DirectorsHoward W. Kerr President Laython N. Landis Vice President Roland J. Dias Secretary Timothy P. Becker Director Frank V. Sidari

Director

General ManagerJason Warner

EditorAndreea Simion

Inside• Imagine...Recycling 2050

• Oro Loma Report Card

• Recycling Reminders for Students

• Arc Flash

• OLSD is On Its Way to 100% Sustainable Power

• In Memoriam: Herbert G. Crowle

• Free Bulky Pickups

• Pollution Prevention

Oro Loma Sanitary District 2655 Grant Avenue San Lorenzo, CA 94580 (510) 276-4700 www.oroloma.org

Questions: info@oroloma.org

Copyright © 2010 Oro Loma Sanitary District

No Sewer Service Rate Increase!In2008,theOroLomaBoardofDirectorsvotedtoreduce residential sewer service rates from$193to$178ayear.In2010,theBoarddecidedtokeepthe lower rates for a third year. That means thatfor fiscal year 2010-2011, Oro Loma residentialcustomerswillcontinuetopaylessthan50centsadayforsewerservicethathasconsistentlywonlocal, regional, and state excellence awards. Theaverage annual wastewater collection and treat-ment service charge for single-family residential

customers of 13 Alameda County providers was$458.OroLoma’srateof$178ayearis61%lowerthan the average in Alameda County, and 78%lowerthanthehighestrate!

Keeping residential sewer charges the lowestin Alameda County, while consistently providingthe highest level of service, is not an easy task.It would not be possible without the determinedeffortsofOroLoma’sBoardofDirectors,manage-mentandstaff.

Food Scrap Recycling Participation Up to 22%AlmostonequarterofOroLomahouseholdsnowparticipateinthefoodscraprecyclingprogram.

Participationiseasy—justaddkitchentrimmings(fruits,vegetables,meat,bones,seafood,eggshells,cheese,bread,beans,rice,pasta,teabags,coffeegroundsandfilters)alongwithfood-soiledpaperandcardboardcontainerstoyourgreenwastecart.Greenwastecartsarecollectedeveryweek.

Call Waste Management at (510) 613-8710 with questions, to request a small collection pail, or torequestalargergreenwastecart.

Pleaseencourageyourneighborstojoinyouinmakingthisprogramasuccess.Thanks!

2

Recycling Reminders for Students

1. Reuseassignmentfoldersandbindersfromlastyear.

2. Sortthrougholdschoolmaterials.Manyoflastyear’s

suppliescanbereused.

3. Buysmart!Purchasesuppliesmadefromrecycled

products.

4. Useareusablelunchboxandreusablecontainersinstead

offoodstoragebags.

5. Useathermosorwaterbottle,insteadofjuiceboxes.

6. Ifyoubuylunch,takeonlywhatyouneed:onenapkin,

oneketchuppacket,etc.

What do you think recycling will be like 40yearsfromnow?Whatthingsdoyouthinkweshouldrecyclethatwedon’tnow?Howwouldyoumakerecyclingeasier?Howimportantdoyouthinkrecyclingwillbein2050?Inthefu-ture,what thingsdoyou thinkmaybemadefromrecycledmaterials?

These are the kinds of questions we wantstudents to consider when preparing theirpostersfortheOroLoma/WasteManagement2011PosterContest.TheconteststartsJanu-ary18,2011andendsMarch18,2011.

Significant changes have been made to thecontest rules. Complete contest rules will bepostedonlineatwww.oroloma.orgonJanuary1,2011andwillbeprintedonthebackofpost-erpaper,whichwillbeavailableforfreeatDis-trictschools,atWasteManagement’sOaklandoffice, and at the Oro Loma District office onJanuary18,2011.Followingisasummaryof

changesto theOroLoma/Waste Management EarthDayPosterContest.

1. There will be sevengrade groups instead ofsix:K,1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8,9-10,11-12;

2. Awards:

a. Five “Recycling StarAwards”of$100eachwillbeawardedtoKindergartenstudents. Thewinning stu-dents’ schools will receivematchingprizes.

b. Prizes in the other six grade groups(1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12) willbeawardedas follows:$700 firstprize,$500secondprize,$300thirdprize,andtwo $150 honorable mentions for eachgroup. The winning students’ schoolswillreceivematchingprizes.

c. Ten $25 Certificates of Merit will beawarded in the 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10,11-12gradegroups.CheckswillbemailedtoschoolswiththeCertificatesofMerit.

d. Participation awards of $100 will be

giventoschoolsthatdonothaveafirst,second,third,orhonorablementioncashprizewinner.

3. A school representative must be presentat the awards ceremony to receive thematchingcashprizefortheschool.

Each year, posters are disqualified becausestudents fail to follow contest rules or fail tounderstand the theme. Please be sure to readandcarefullyfollowalltherules.AfterJanuary1,2011,youcangotowww.oroloma.orgtoseeavideoclipdemonstratinghowtoprepareyourentry. Ifyouhavequestions,call theDistrictat

Report Card to Our Customers—Fiscal Year 2009-2010Subject Accomplishment Grade

Sewer Service Rates Lowest in California! 61% less than the average for Alameda County A+

Garbage & Recycling Rates

Among lowest in Alameda County—25% less than the average A+

Fiscal responsibility Zero debt; all bonds paid A+

Regulatory Compliance

No effluent permit violations in 6 years A+

Safety record No lost time injuries in 2.5 years A+

Energy Efficiency & Sustainability

Purchased 0.5M kW from PG&E in 2009, 76% less than in 2007; initiated restaurant grease receiving facility to increase gas production and displace use of fossil fuels

A+

Sewer Overflows One per 100 miles, 83% less than industry average A+

Public Information Comprehensive, informative newsletters and website, www.oroloma.org A+

Public Outreach Schools program—annual Earth Day Poster Contest and recycling calendar

A+

Financial Reporting Winner of Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of USA and Canada Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting

A+

OVERALL GRADE Reported by Jason Warner, General Manager A+

SANITARY DISTRIC

T

ORO LOMA

RECYCLING 2050IMAGINE...

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Fornearlyayear,OroLomaSanitaryDistricthasbeenconductingapilotgreasereceivingstudy. The project involves the injection ofgrease,collectedfromlocalrestaurantgreaseinterceptors, into the District’s existing an-aerobicdigesters.Throughthedigestionpro-cess,solidsarebrokendownandmethaneisproduced.Thismethaneissenttoanengine-drivengeneratorset,whichproduceselectric-ityandheatneededforthetreatmentplant.

Historically, thedigesters provide2/3of thegas needed for the engines. With the intro-ductionofgrease,thatfractionhasincreasedto 7/8. In addition to the ongoing construc-tion of a 500 kW solar array, the pilot pro-gram is helping the District pursue its goalof self-producing all its electricity and gas

from renewable sources. TheDistrict is nowexperimenting with higher grease dosagerates,whichareexpectedtoincreasethegasproductionfurther.

Based upon the success of the pilot program,staffhasputplansandspecificationsouttobidfortheconstructionofalongtermfacility.

ThisprojectisagreatexampleofOroLoma’sentrepreneurial and action-oriented culture.After receiving several consultant proposalsto study a potential project on a theoreticalbasis, staff asked, “Why not just do it?” Werentedatankandpiping,boughtapump,andstartedtheprojectthesameweek.

The results were extraordinary. Gas produc-tion from the District’s digester system in-

creasedby30%,and tipping feeswereusedtopay for the rental costs.Staff’s hands-on,proactive approach saved about $30,000 inconsultingfees,andweobtainedsuperiorre-sults because the data collected representedactualconditions.

The one drawback of the program is thatgrease quality is highly variable; it includesdebris like spoons, forks and other plastics,and requires frequent attention from the op-erations and maintenance personnel. Gen-eralManagerWarnercomplimentedtheOLSDOperationsandMaintenanceTeambysaying,“Thereisnoonehereafraidofhardwork.Theobstacles and challenges presented by thesystemarewellwithinourteam’scapacitytoovercome.”

OLSD is On Its Way to 100% Sustainable Power

Arc FlashRecently,anewsetofguidelineswereadoptedbytheNationalFireProtectionAgencyregardingapo-tentialhazardcalled“arcflash.”Anarcflashinvolvesthereleaseofelectricalenergy(explosion)whenelectricityfindsapathtothegroundorbetweenelectricalphases.Theguidelinesrecommendthatorga-nizationsassessthepotentialhazardassociatedwitheachelectricalsystem,andlabelthepotentialhazardandtheprotectivegearrequiredtoprotectpersonnel.TheDistrictrecentlycompletedthisassessmentandlabelingeffort.Thestudyshowedthatthemajorityofbreakersintheplanthaveahazardratingof4,whichisthehighesthazardcategorythatcanbemitigated.

Toprotectstaffand reduce thearc flashpotential, theDistrictusedacombinationofmethods. Inmostareas,weinstalledmaintenanceswitchesthattemporarilytightenthetripsettingsandreducetheenergythatcanbereleasedfromasystem.TheDistrict also installed remoteswitches,whichput theoperatorsat asafedistance from thepotentialhazard.Finally, theDistrictpurchasedarcflash“moonsuits,”whichprovideadequateprotectionwhenoperatingequipmentwithhigharcflashpotential.

ThestudyandmitigationstepstakenhelpbuildupontheDistrict’sstrongsafetyculture.

Electrical contractor retrofits and tests the installation of the arc flash maintenance system on a breaker.

Senior plant operators Manuel Talledo-Garcia and Raul Saballos stand in front of the new grease-receiving tank.

IN MEMORIAM: HERBERT G. CROWLE

HerbertCrowle, anOroLomaSanitaryDistrictDirector fromJuly1994toAugust2007,diedJuly18,2010inSanDiego,wherehehadlivedsinceretiringfromOroLoma.Hewas94.

Mr.Crowledevotedhislifetocommunityservice,advisingonissuesoflanduse,planning,water,andtransportation.

EducatedasacivilengineeratUCBerkeley,wherehealsotaughtasaprofessor,Mr.CrowlewasappointedAlamedaCounty’sfirstDirectorofPublicWorksin1957.Therehesecured$100millioninfederalfunds(when,asMr.Crowlewasfamousforsaying,$100millionwasalotofmoney!)forbuildings,roads,floodcontrol,andotherprojects.HeislargelycreditedwithcontainingfloodwatersintheSanLorenzoandothersouthernAlamedaCountycreeks.

In1994,Mr.CrowleretiredfromtheengineeringfirmofBissell&Karnand,attheageof78,decidedthathisservicetothecommunitywasnotoveryet.Attheurgingofhisfriend,OroLomaDirectorHowardW.Kerr,Mr.CrowleranforandwaselectedtotheOroLomaSanitaryDistrictBoardofDirectors.

Despitealifetimeofengineeringaccomplishments,histenureatOroLomaprovidedMr.Crowlewithsomeofhismostenduring legacies.Heparticularlyenjoyedsee-ingstudentsreceivetheirprizesattheannualpostercontest,andwasproudofOroLoma’scommitmenttostudentsandschoolswithintheDistrict.

Hewillbemissedbyfamily,colleagues,andthecommunityheservedsowell.

Oro Loma Sanitary District

2655 Grant Avenue

San Lorenzo, CA 94580

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDOAKLAND CA

PERMIT NO. 591

NO Sewer Service Rate Increase!

The Bay Area Pollution Prevention Group(BAPPG)liststhefollowingpollutantsasma-jorthreatstotheenvironmentalhealthofSanFranciscoBay.

1. Mercury(mercurythermometersandswitches,fluorescentlighttubes)

2. Copper(corrodedcopperpipes,vehiclebrakes)

3. FOG(Fat,Oil,andGreasefromcooking)

4. Cyanide(metalplating)

5. Pharmaceuticals(Drugsshouldneverbeflusheddownthetoiletordrain.)

6. Dioxin(pesticides,plastics,solvents)

7. Pesticides(Allpesticidesaretoxic)

8. Trash(Yourtoiletisnotatrashcan.Onlyhumanwasteandtoiletpapershouldbeflusheddownthetoilet.)

9. PCBs(transformersandcapacitors)

Do your part to keep San Francisco Bayhealthy. Never use your toilet for flushinganything other than human waste and toiletpaper.Don’tpourgreasedownthedrain.Dis-poseofpesticides,pharmaceuticals,anduni-versalwasteatoneofAlamedaCounty’sthreehousehold hazardous waste collection sites.Mercury thermometers and switches may bedroppedoffattheDistrict’sGrantAvenueof-ficeduringregularbusinesshours.

Two Free Bulky Pickups per YearResidential customers in Oro Loma can take advantage of two FREE bulky pickups percalendaryear.BesuretocallWasteManagementat(510)613-8710atleasttwoweeksinadvancetoscheduleyourpickup.TherearenopickupsJanuary3-14,2011.

Insteadofthrowingoutusefulitems,donatethem,orholdagarage sale.Magazines,newspapers, corrugated card-board,andmanytypesofplasticandmetalcontainerscanbe recycled.For informationonbulkypickupsand for alistofwhatcanberecycled,visitwww.oroloma.org.