October, 2018

Rep.Mike Thompson announced that hemetwithDepartment of Interior and Bureau ofReclamation officials onMonday, September 10,to tour LakeBerryessa and discuss the progress ofnegotiations on theManaging Partner Agreement(MPA) to operate recreation areas at the lake withNapa County. Thompson released the followingstatement at the conclusion of that tour.

“I just finished touring Lake Berryessa with topofficials from the Department of Interior and theBureau of Reclamation and was heartened byproductive discussions with them aboutnegotiations regarding theMPA and related leaseagreements.

Finalizing this agreement is critical to therecreational and economic vitality of our regionand I was glad to see the positive response fromfederal officials as they toured the lake and saw itfirst-hand. I look forward to an outcome thatboosts our entire district, following upcomingmeetings between the Bureau and the county.”

Department of the Interior (DOI) officials wereTodd Willams, Deputy Secretary (DOI), andAustin Ewell, Deputy Assistant Secretary forWater & Science (DOI). Also touring the lakewith Congressman Thompson were DrewLessard, Area Manager, Bureau of Reclamation,Central California Area Office and MargaretBailey, Lake Berryessa Park Manager, Bureau ofReclamation.

Mr. Williams and Mr. Ewell had been asked byInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke to meet withCongressman Thompson on their trip out west toinspectWhiskeytownLakeafter theCARRFire inShasta County. The meeting was a response toCongressman Thompson’s August 7th letter toSecretary Zinke printed here.

According to Thompson’s staff, themeetingwentwell and Thompson was able to answer questionsthat Secretary Zinke and his team had about NapaCounty’s negotiations with the Bureau of

Reclamation. Molly Rattigan, Deputy CountyExecutive Officer, had briefed CongressmanThompson on the relevant County issues prior tothe tour.

Although Williams and Ewell are not in theBureau of Reclamation chain of command,hopefully they are high enough within theDepartment of the Interior structure to have someinfluence on Secretary Zinke to take action tosupport the Lake Berryessa Managing PartnerAgreement and the critical requirement to allowthe County to negotiate 50 year contracts withpotential new concessionaires.

*****Dear Secretary Zinke:

I tried to reach you on the personal cell numberyou gave me at the Migratory Bird ConservationCommission meeting, but was unable to leave amessage. I'm sending this letter hoping that you'llbe able to exercise leadership on this pressingissue.

For the past eighteen years, the Bureau ofReclamation has failed to operate Lake Berryessain a way that promotes both high qualityrecreation, and long-term sustainablemanagement. I have spent years trying to supportthe Bureau's efforts to bring the resorts backonline, and restore Lake Berryessa's economicviability. Unfortunately, your folks have beenunreliable partners in that endeavor.

Now, in the eleventh hour, they appear eitherunwilling or unable to bring concessions to theLake's shore under the management of NapaCounty. This failure by the Bureau is bad forrecreation, business and taxpayers. Their actionsand lack thereof are hurting my constituents,fellow Californians and our national treasury.Please take a moment to review this matter andcall me as soon as is convenient. This is no way torun things. Thank you for your consideration.

Mike Thompson

Congressman Thompson Tours Lake Berryessa with Interior Department Officials:Discusses Managing Partner Agreement With Napa County

The Lake Berryessa NewsWithout THE LAKE BERRYESSA NEWS there would be no Lake Berryessa news!

The October 2017 NorthernCalifornia wildfires, alsoknown as the NorthernCalifornia firestorm, were aseries of 250 wildfires thatstarted burning across the stateof California beginning in earlyOctober.

Seventeen separate wildfireswere reported at that time.These fires included the TubbsFire (which grew to become themost destructive wildfire in thehistory of California), the AtlasFire, Nuns Fire, and others.

Shortly after the fires ignited onOctober 8 and 9, they rapidlygrew to become extensive, full-scale incidents spanning from1,000 acres to well over 20,000acres, each within a single day.

By October 14, the fires hadburned more than 210,000acres while forcing 90,000people to evacuate from theirhomes.

The Northern California fireskilled at least 44 people andhospitalized at least 185,making the week of October 8,2017, the deadliest week ofwildfires in California history.

And then came 2018.

The 2018 California wildfireswere a series of wildfires thatburned across the state. A totalof 6,568 fires had burned anarea of 1,502,293 acres as ofSeptember 25. The fires causedmore than $3.336 billion indamages, including $1.78

billion in fire suppression costs.

Through the end of August2018, Cal Fire alone spent $432million on operations. TheMendocino Complex Fireburned more than 459,000acres, becoming the largestcomplex fire in the state'shistory, with the complex'sRanch Fire surpassing theThomas Fire to becomeCalifornia's single-largestmodern wildfire. On August 4,2018, a national disaster wasdeclared in NorthernCalifornia, due to the massivewildfires burning there.

Lake Berryessa residents werespared any local tragedies untilJuly.(Continued on Page 2.)

October 8, 2017: Atlas Fire 1-Year LaterOctober 8, 2018: The Fires Never Stop

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Halloween!

2 Onion HeadlinesAl Roker Strongly Considers Retiring

From Creating The WeatherNew Beatles Box Set Features 172Unreleased Songs About Wanting To

Hold HandsMan Who Skipped Airport’s MovingWalkway Immediately Realizes What

An Arrogant Fool He’s BeenWASHINGTON—In a shocking

development revealed just moments ago,sources confirmed that—oh, wait, sorry,

false alarm.God Excited He Only Two MortgagePayments Away From Owning HeavenZoologists Admit You Really Got ToHand It To Bats For Learning To FlyMore than 417,000 Hours Of PrivatePresidential Conversations DiscoveredAfter No One Remembered To Turn Off

Richard Nixon’s Tape RecorderPolite High School Football Team RunsAround Banner That Took Hours To

MakeSkittles Unveils New Liqui-Gels For

Fast-Acting Fruity Flavor‘New York Times’ Announces

Appointment Of Anonymous Source AsEditor-In-Chief

New Reality TV Show to Showcase aGroup of Bickering Morons

Trump Unwittingly Slaps Tariffs onOwn Made in China Trump TiesSupervisor At Reddit HeadquartersScolds Employees For Not SpendingEnough Time During Workday

Browsing Reddit.Unclear If Lack Of Interest In PreviousHobbies Sign Of Depression Or MaturityTV network scrambles to replace threewriters committed to inane asylumTrump Cancels Thanksgiving asTensions Escalate With Turkey

Archaeological Dig Unearths MuchOlder Archaeological Dig

County Fair’s “We’ll Deep FryAnything” Booth Declared An EPA

Superfund Site

7

The Lake Berryessa Newswww.LakeBerryessaNews.com

Peter Kilkus1515 Headlands DriveNapa, CA 94558

Without The Lake Berryessa Newsthere would be no Lake Berreyssa news.

pkilkus@gmail.comAll editions of The Lake Berryessa News since 2005 areavailable as downloadable, searchable PDF files at

www.lakeberryessanews.com/archives/

6 generations 1 passionOpen Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11 AM to 5 PMMonday to Thursday by appt: 707-963-07172950 Sage Canyon Road (HWay 128)

www.nicheliniwinery.com

Struggling Recycling Companies Urge Napa ConsumersTo Clean Up Their Acts

The recycling industry, both locally in Napa County and acrossCalifornia, is struggling mightily to process and sell recycledmaterials in the wake of changes in China’s import policies andtheU.S.-China tradewar that has resulted in tariffs being imposedon both countries.

You may know that China has plans to take over the world, butyou may not know that their own manufacturing technology andrecycling processes nowmean that theyno longer accept the dirtyrecyclables from the United States.

Chinawas growing so fast that theywere buyingU.S. recyclableswith high levels of contamination. China actuallywas a dumpingground for recyclablesnooneelsewould take.For a long time, theU.S. sold much of its recycled materials to China forreprocessing.

But starting last year, Chinese officials adopted a greener policyaimed at cleaning up their nation’s environment, and thatincluded reducing the amount of recycled paper, cardboard,plastics and metals from American sources.

Instead of taking bales with 10 percent contaminants China isnow accepting only those with .05 percent contamination. It’snearly impossible to meet that requirement.

Every time a Napa County resident dumps garbage or liquids orthe wrong material in a blue recycling bin, like styrofoam orplastic bags that can’t be recycled, it contaminates a bale ofrecycled material at a processing facility. See story on Page 6.

That contamination can bring down the value of bales, makingthem less profitable or impossible to sell to buyers who turn therecycled waste into something new.

Thebiggest issue is theplasticfilmandflexibleplastic packaging.Things like shrink wrap, plastic grocery bags, food packaging,and other soft plastics can easily get mixed into paper recyclingwhile going through machinery and conveyor belts. Recyclerscan’t use soft plastics for anything, and ultimately it ends up inlandfills.

Sometimes, the problem for recyclers is consumers dumpingitems into blue bins that should never be there in the first place,such as garbage when the trash bin is full. The more timerecycling companies take to pull out contaminants, the costliertheir operations become.

One day Napa Recycling andWaste Service technicians pulled a2,400-pound “hairball” consisting of electrical “cords, gardenhoses and stretchy plastic” from their equipment.

In 1995, Napa recycling operationwas diverting 27 percent of allwaste from going into a landfill. Nowadays, that rate is up to 69percent.

(Continued from Page 1.)Rather, we had all been suffering from analmost PTSD-type of foreboding as firesburnedaroundus, especially theapproachof the County Fire, which ultimatelyburned through 90,288 acres. The firestarted in Guinda due to an improperlyinstalled electric livestock fence unit andburned inexorably south to Hwy 128 atMonticello Dam.

The fire burned over the top of BerryessaPeak and for the first time in the history ofLakeBerryessa the fire burned all thewaydown to the east side shoreline. Smokefrom the fires filled the Lake Berryessafor weeks and added to the generalunease.Beautiful sunsets did notmake upfor the smell of smoke and the inability tosee from one end of the lake to the other.

There was much concern that the CountyFire could jump the Narrows and headtowards the Berryessa Highlands.Fortunately, this did not happen, and aweek of conscious and subconscious fearabated. But then came July 28, 2018 anda major disaster in the BerryessaHighlands!

The Steele Fire destroyed homes anddreams after flames broke out suddenlyaround 4:30 p.m., Saturday, July 28,2018. And despite many years of tree andbrush clearing by the BerryessaHighlands Fire Safe Council aimed atpreventinga fire like theCountyFire fromburning towards the Highlands, this firestarted right inside the community onArroyo Grande.

The fire sweptuphill indryconditionsandhadburned several houses at the top of theridge on Headlands Drive in less than anhour. Seven homes at the top of HeadlandsDrive burned, and one on WoodhavenCourt. Total acreage burned was 135.

Neighbors helping neighbors absolutelysaved homes on Arroyo Grande,Woodhaven, and beyond - and helped savelives by getting residents’ attention forevacuation. They held off the flames andsaved houses in the first minutes of the fire.

Additionally Capell Valley Volunteer

Firefighters no doubt saved a half dozenhouses on Woodhaven Ct. And the first onsceneCALFIREEngineoutofSpanishFlatwas right therewith them, as close to the fireas they could get, deflecting the fire awayfrom Woodhaven.

They, plus all the other resources on landand in the air, are the reasons somuch of theHighlands neighborhood is still here.

The first rainsof the2018-2019 seasonhavefallen - 0.75 inches on Tuesday, October 2.LakeBerryessaair is finally clear again.Butas with the fires of 2017, those of 2018 willnot soon be forgotten.

*****State Turdometrics RegulationsNegatively Impact Rural Napa

County Residentsby Peter Kilkus

In 2009 new rules regulating on-sitewastewater treatment systems - alsoknown as septic tanks - were beingproposed by the State Water ResourcesControl Board (SWRCB). If the stateapproved the new rules, some speculatedthe cost could run into the thousands ofdollars. This was a hugely incorrectunderestimate. Now in 2019 the cost of anew standard septic system will run atleast $20,000 - and an “engineered”system will run at least $45,000.

The issue of septic tanks’ impact on theenvironment popped up after certainconditions developed in Santa MonicaBay in Southern California causingconcern among wealthy landownersthere. This prompted the SWRCB todevelop new regulations to prevent thatkind of thing from happening again,despite the fact that the conditions inSantaMonicawerenothing like the rest ofCalifornia.

In 2009 Supervisor Diane Dillon calledtheproposed regulationsonerousbecausethey propose a one size fits all solution.Dillon said. “Theywant to apply the sameregulations to areas that don’t have a dirtywater problem. We do not have dirtywater problems.” The Napa CountyBoard of Supervisors in 2009 took aunanimous position opposing the

p r o p o s e dregulations for ahost of reasons. In aletter to theS W R C B ,s u p e r v i s o r sdeclared theregulations to be a“solution in searchof a problem.”

Fast-forward to2019. The ruleswere passed, everyone suffers, with nocompelling environmental benefits. Andthe difference between needing to installan engineered system rather than astandard system? A few inches of dirt inthe drip (leach) field!

The rules require that the leach field havenormal dirt down to three feet deep. If thesoil becomes rocky, i.e., rocksmixedwithdirt, an engineered system is required. Inthe rural areas ofNapaCounty, especiallyin the hills around Lake Berryessa, it isdifficult to find areas where the soil does

not become rocky before a three footdepth is reached.In a recent septic system installation onsixty acres of land three miles from LakeBerryessa, a standard septic system (noelectricity or special pumping systems

needed) that had beenoperating well formore than 25 years,had to be replacedwitha $45,000 engineeredsystem because theavailable leach fieldsites only had normaldirt down to less thanthree feet. The rulesdid not allow forinstalling a muchlarger leach field tocompensate for thelack of soil depth.

If the dirt had been a few inches deeper astandard systemcouldhavebeen installedfor $20,000. That’s a $25,000 costdifference for about6 inchesof soil depth!

Supervisor Dillon complained about the“one size fits all” approachin 2009, and now in 2019it’s a costly reality. And Ichallenge anyone to find aknowledgeable engineer,installation company, orcounty inspectorwhodoesnot consider the presentseptic system rules inmany rural cases anythingbut bureaucratic overkill -about $45,000 worth!

(Continued on Page 4.)

What do you call serious rocks?Grave stones.What is a vampires favorite holiday?Fangsgiving.What do skeletons say before they begin dining?Bone appetite!What is a ghoul's favourite drink?Slime juiceWhat do they teach at witches school?Spelling.When is it bad luck to meet a black cat?When you're a mouse.Where do baby ghosts go during the day?Dayscare centers.Where do mummies go for a swim?To the dead sea.

3October 2018 HoroscopesAquarius (1/20-2/18): Your shock will bemixed with a sense of indignation and

embarrassment when a gritty band of cattlerustlers steals your spouse.

Pisces (2/19-3/20): Your continuing hair lossleaves you with what some may call a baldspot. Only you will know that it is in truth a

solar panel.

Aries (3/21-4/19): A wonderful romanticexperience looms ahead for Cancer, which

makes it suck that you’re an Aries.

Taurus (4/20 – 5/20: You will be shaken toyour very core when you are strapped to afour-horsepower hardware-store paint shaker.

Gemini (5/21 – 6/21): A visit to a lightbulbplant leads to adventure. Stock up ontweezers, needle-nose pliers, and other

implements that may useful in removing glassshards from your skin.

Cancer (6/22-7/22): Annoyance is added toinsult this week when veteran actor GeneHackman wakes you out of a sound sleep totell you he disapproves of the way you’ve

been living lately.

Leo (7/23-8/22): An innocent prank at thelaboratory where you work will result in theworld’s population being cut by a third.

Virgo (8/23-9/22): You need just one morepathetic gesture to make your life the worstever lived by a sane human being. Buy anexpensive, hour-long recording of engine

sounds, listen to it over and over late at night.

Libra (9/23-10/22): You hardly even matterany more. Libra will be soon be cancelled

without further notice.

Scorpio (10/23-11/21): This week, everythingwill become just as clear as it is unclear.Because when a blind man holds the key tolife’s acorn tree, purple monkey dishwasher.

Sagittarius (11/22-12/21): Your sign is likethe antithesis of the millennial mindset. It isyour cosmic duty to fight a losing culturalbattle for at least the next twenty years.

Capricorn (12/22-1/19): The change inseasons represents a great time to calm downand rest assured that Trump’s new militaryspace force will keep aliens from abducting

you.

6 Things That Don't Belong In Your Napa County Recycling Bin

The recycling industry, both locally inNapaValleyandacrossCalifornia, is strugglingmightily to process and sell recycled materials in the wake of changes in China’simport policies and theU.S.-China tradewar that has resulted in tariffs being imposedon both countries.

Recycled materials are economic commodities, just like pork bellies and microchips,and their value rises and falls. When oil prices are low, it’s cheaper to make plasticsfrom virgin materials (i.e., petroleum products). Buyers for recycled materials aren’tevenly distributed across the country, and their demand changes with other marketforces. In part because of these pressures,WasteManagement— the country’s largestwaste hauler — shuttered 20 recycling facilities in 2014 and 2015.

Recycling officials for Napa, AmericanCanyon, andUpvalley communities gatheredat Napa Recycling and Waste Services in American Canyon to send a commonmessage to consumers: Clean up your recycling bins. On average each person in theU.S. throws away about 4.5 pounds of waste per day, a number that has remainedconstant since 1990. If you contaminate your recycling, it becomes waste again.

So as a reminder, here are things you should keep out of your recycling bin.

Hardcover Books: While paperback books can go into your blue recycling can,hardcoverbooksdon'tmake thecut.Thehardcover isnotmadeof recyclablematerials,butyoucandetach thepages fromthecoverand recycle thepaperpageswithyourothermixed papers and toss the cover in the trash. You can also consider donating books ingood condition to your local library.

Take-out containers: While they may be comprised of sturdy, reusable cardboard orplastic No. 1 (the same as soda bottles), Chinese food containers, pizza boxes, andother hot foodpackages cannot be recycledbecause of the food andgrease that remain,breeding bacteria and contaminating other recyclables.

Plastic toys: Many children’s playthings are primarily plastic, but also contain otherelements — such as metal or plastic resin—which makes them nearly impossible torecycle. Even those that are 100 percent plastic can have parts and shapes that mightjam machinery.

Mirrors: Mirrors are nearly impossible to recycle because they have a reflectivecoating painted on the back of the glass so you can see your reflection. Handwith careif you are superstitious.

Gift wrap, bows and ribbons: Bows aremade of a plastic-paper composite that cannotbe recycled. Keep and reuse them or give them up altogether. Wrapping paper can berecycled, but only if it does not have any glitter, flocking or other embellishments onit.

Glass plates, bakeware and cups:Heat-resistant glassware cannot be recycled becauseof the process used to create it. Since the glass has been heat-treated to make it oven-,microwave- anddishwasher-safe, itwill notmeltwith ordinary glass during recycling.

Single-use plastic bags: Plastic bags are hard to come by in Napa County, but it turnsout plastic bags can be recycled, but there is a catch: they require a different processfrom other plastic recyclables. So, rather than tossing plastic bags, wraps, films orbubblewrap intoyourhomerecyclingbin, finda localdrop-off location.Manygroceryand retail stores have boxes near the front of the store where you can stuff those bagsand keep them out of landfills.

Food Wrappers: Like takeout boxes, any wrappers, even paper and plastic, that havetouched food cannot be recycled even if they appear clean. However, you can recycle

plastic to-go boxes if they've been washed out.

Clothes: Clothing in good condition should be donated to a local charity, thrift shopor consignment store.

Light bulbs: The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommendsrecycling fluorescent bulbs and other bulbs that contain mercury, and all otherhousehold hazardouswastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash.However, that doesn't mean recycle light bulbs in your blue bin. You can take yourlight bulbs toHomeDepot or AceHardware for disposal. For a list of locations, http://naparecycling.com/fluorescent-lamp-recycling/

Photographs: Due to chemical coatings used in the photo developing process, mostolder photographs cannot be processed for recycling. Checkwith your local historicalsociety to see if any of your older photos might be worth preserving. Otherwise, sendthem to the trash.

Napkins: There are multiple reasons why you should not toss napkins, paper towels,tissues and similar items into your recycle bin. First, these paper products are typicallycreated from paper that has been through the recycling process several times and is nolonger usable. In addition, they often contain substances that could ruin otherrecyclables, such as grease and food.

Clothes hangers:Whether they’remade ofwire or plastic,many recycling centerswillnot accept clothes hangers because they can jam the machinery. If you have toomanyhangers, most dry cleaners will gladly accept the wire version. Check with yourfavorite thrift store to see if they will accept your plastic hangers.

Ceramics and pottery: While ceramics can be recycled to make drivewayunderlayment and gravel pathways, you shouldn't put them in your householdrecycling bin. The general recycling plants in your hometown aren't equiped tobreakdown this material, so you'll have to look for a specialized recycle center.Consider usingonline resources suchasRecycleNation to find a recycling agencynearyou at recyclenation.com.

Sandwich bags: Just like with single-use plastic grocery bags, your standard zipperedsandwich bag isn't recycled by general recycling facilities. The thin, film- like plasticcan jam recycling equipment. Consider switching to reusable hard plastic containersas an alternative.

Styrofoam: What are you supposed to do with all those packing peanuts? WhileStyrofoam doesn't go in your home recycling bin, there are agencies in Napa Countythat will take some Styrofoam products.

Free Flu VaccineNapa County Public Health will offer free seasonalflu vaccine shots to anyone over three years of age.

Monday, October 15, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.Lake Berryessa Senior Center & Community Hall

4380 Spanish Flat Loop Rd.“Although the spray version of the vaccine is notavailable this year, the flu shot is still the safest andmost effective way to avoid getting the flu,” said Dr.Karen Relucio, Napa County Public Health Officer.“In addition to protecting yourself from getting sick,the vaccine can prevent you from spreading the flu toyour loved ones and other people who aremore likelyto have severe illness.”The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) recommend everyone over six months of ageget a flu vaccine. Those at higher risk forcomplications of the flu, including seniors over 65years, pregnant women, children under five years andpeople with certain chronic medical conditions, areespeciallyencouraged togetvaccinated. Inaddition togetting vaccinated, simple steps to help stop thespread of the flu:

> Wash hands often with soap and warm water for atleast 30 seconds.

> Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.

> Stay home and contact health care providerswhen sick.Residents unable to attend the flu vaccine clinics orwith children less than three years of age can call thePublicHealth ImmunizationClinic at (707) 253-4270for a free appointment.

2018 has been a good year for the Lake Berryessa Senior Centerand Community Hall. Our membership has grown, our eventattendance numbers have grown, and our donations have grownsignificantly. Thanks to all those who helped support therevitalization of this great community resource .

Our next event will be a "Crockpot Potluck" (say that quickly 10times!) on Saturday, October 20 at 5:30 P.M. at our amazingfacility located at 4380 Spanish Flat Loop Rd. Free, as usual.Families with children welcome!

Bring your crockpot filled with your favorite crackpot croc-potrecipe to share. Good puns & jokes welcome (or a side dish toshare). Celebrate an early Halloween, the beginning of Fall, thefirst rains, and an end to the long fire season!

5Lake Level as of 10/3/18The lake level is now at 424.0 feet, 16 feet belowGlory Hole. The lake dropped 4 inches this week.

The first rain of the season came on October 2with .51 incheas at Monticello Dam and .75 inchesin the Berryessa Highlands.

This early rainfall will hopefully end the 2018 fireseason. Last year the first rain did not come until10/20/17 - too late to stop the tragic fires.

About Ten Years Ago (2019 is close enough) inthe Lake Berryessa News:

The Future of Lake Berryessa Begins

On September 30th, 2009 the Bureau ofReclamation received bids for all the resorts at LakeBerryessa. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman PeteLucero saidonOct. 6, that theyhad received“at least2 bids for each of the six resorts available for newcontracts.”

He also said that the names of the bidders would notbe released at this time. The timing of the release ofthat information would be up to the ProgramManager for the Berryessa project.

Lucero said the agency has received “an acceptablerangeofproposals” to runall the resorts, presumablyincluding Steele Park. The contract for Steele Parkincludes a requirement to pay money into theNBRID water treatment system.

The burden on Steele Park raised concerns in theBureau of Reclamation and elsewhere that no newoperator would bid to take over the popular lakesideresort. Lucero said the bureau hopes to award resortcontracts by March, 2010.

Let the speculation begin! The key issue is howquickly the resorts can be rebuilt and re-opened forat least boat launching.

(Fast forward to 2019 - ten years, many tempests invarious tea pots, but no progress.)

*****Q: Why did the monster knit herself three socks?A: Because she grew another foot!

Q: What is big, yellow and prickly, has three eyesand eats rocks?A: A big, yellow, prickly three eyed rock eater!

Q: What did the grandfather monster say to hisgrandson when they hadn’t seen each other forquite awhile?A: You gruesome!

(Contiued from Page 2)How a “Standard” Septic System Works

1. Wastewater, a polite term for sewage, from toilets,baths and sinks flows into a single septic tank. Gravityallows sewage to flow from house to tank.

2. A septic tank holds the wastewater allowing solids tosettle as sludge. Lighter liquids like oil float to the top asscum. Wastewater remains in the middle. Baffles at theinlet and outlet allow only the separated wastewater toflow out to a leach field (drain field). Buildup of scumand sludge are removed every 2-5 years.

3. A distribution box channels wastewater intoperforated pipes. A drain field takes the wastewater andallows it to leach into the ground where bacteriadecompose the remaining elements of the cleaner wastewater. Disease-causing organisms, organic matter andmost nutrients are removed. The clarified wastewater isdistributed into the earth.

Standard system control pictured below.

How an “Engineered” Septic System Works

1.Anengineered system includes a treatmentunit, oneortwo processing tanks, and a control panel with aprogrammable dosing timer..

2. The effluent percolates down through a textile media,where aerobic bacterial treatment occurs. A percentageof the treated effluent is re-circulated for dilution andadditional treatment, and the remaining treated effluentis discharged by pumps under pressure for dispersal to adrip field.

3. A drip field takes thewastewater and allows it to leachinto the ground for bacterial decomposition.

Engineered system control pictured below.

Monticello Dam: Tear it down and build it bigger!Another Episode in the Series:History That Almost Happened

By Peter KilkusThe rumor of raising Monticello Dam has been aroundfor decades. In my special report on Lake Berryessahistory, IsLakeBerryessaHeaded forAnotherTen-YearDrought or a Thousand-Year Flood?, I asked, “Wheredid this rumor start andwhydoes it popupeverynowandagain?” According to David Okita, general manager ofthe Solano County Water Agency at the time, CalFed, acollaboration among 25 state and federal agencies, did a“brainstorming” surveymanyyearsgoof everypotentialfuture water project in northern California.

Although raisingMonticello Dammade the original listof possible projects, after practical criteria such as cost,safety, flooding adjacent property, were applied toscreen the list down to real opportunities, raising thedamwas dropped from the list. It has never been discussedseriously since then. It is NOT in any plan, neverwill be.

But there is another potential source to this rumor, and itwas a much more ambitious project than just raising thedam.

According to“TheSolanoWaterStory”publishedby theSolano Irrigation District, banner headlines inCalifornia's newspapers in September, 1963 announcedGovernor Edmund G. Brown's startling new state waterplan in which Berryessa would have a major role.

The $3.7 billion plan included 35 dams, 70 miles oftunnels, 10 pumping plants, and 15 powerplants. Thetime-table called for start-up in 1976 and completionabout 2020.

According to the plan, the still-young, 304-foot highMonticelloDamwould he removed, rather than letting itremain as an underwater barrier. It would be replacedwith a 650-foot high earth and rockfill dam a miledownstream from the concrete arch dam. The newreservoir would be three times larger than LakeBerryessa, with 10 times its capacity or 16 million acre-feet (compared with Shasta's 4.5 million acre-feet).

The enlarged lakewould extend into PopeValley almostas far as Aetna Springs in Napa County and into CapellValley, taking nearly 18,000 acres of agricultural andgrazing land out of production.

Estimated cost of theGreater Berryessa Project, as itwascalled, was put at $360 million by the StateDepartmentof Water Resources (DWR). The timetablefor this part of the project indicated a start-up in about1990.

In essence, the idea was to integrate the GreaterBerryessa Project with the $280 million Clear LakeDiversion Project. The latter included three dams on theMiddle Fork of the Eel River, with tunnels to the MainEelRiver,RussianRiver, andClearLake toPutahCreek,then through two more dams and Lake Berryessa to theSacramento River.

From Clear Lake, the water would be diverted by a two-mile tunnel to Soda Creek in the Upper Putah Creekbasin, developing 400 feet of powerhead that would heharnessed with the construction of two dams on SodaCreek.

According to the DWR, discharges from the powerfacilities would be released into an enlarged LakeBerryessa capable of meeting the export demands of theSacramento-San Joaquin Delta and those of the SolanoProject.

Even the Bureau of Reclamation, which had never beenaccusedof thinking small,was impressedby the scopeofGovernorBrown's plan, describing the overall project as"staggeringbut physically possible and since theGreaterBerryessa Project would not be built for at least another30 years, the present Monticello Dam by that time willhave served its useful life."

Brown'smaster plan for the state's water problems nevercaught on with the public or the legislature. His grandplans are collecting dust at the DWR.

*****Q. What would you get if you crossed a vampire and ateacher? A. Lots of blood tests!Q. Why did Dracula's mother give him coughmedicine? A. Because he was having a coffin fit.

Q. Why wasn't there any food left after the monsterparty?' A Cos everyone was a goblin.Q Why did the vampire's lunch give him heartburn?A. It was a stake sandwich

4