MAYOR'S MESSAGE

At this week’s City Council/URA Board Work Session, the Water Quality Division presented an overview of how they take care of the sanitary and storm sewer system. Nearly four years have passed since the City Council made the decision to separate from a private contractor and self-manage the operations and maintenance of the system that consists of 90 miles of sewer, 50 miles of storm, 25 pump stations, and 2 treatment plants.

Many people are not aware that the sewer system operates 365 days a year and does not stop for weekends and holidays. Staff must be onsite or on call 24/7 to operate and manage the ever-changing system. The City is fortunate with the depth of the Water Quality Team; with all of the operators having state licensures or planning to test this upcoming year, and the maintenance team is staffed with talented millwrights and an electrician. It is this team that keeps the system running day and night, through storms, mechanical failures, and whatever else the sewer system decides to challenge them with.

Since the City took back operations and maintenance, the permit/water quality standards have increased, the miles of sewer televising (which is how the team identifies deficiencies in the system that need repairs) has quadrupled, over 20 steel plates from the roads have been removed due to this in-house team repairing the sewer lines, the land application of biosolids have increased, the Empire Treatment Plant has met permit for nearly two years, and the maintenance team has reduced after hour call outs by 80% due to their routine and preventive maintenance on the equipment. While this is just a sample of the accomplishments, it shows the vested interest this team, and the City Council, has in maintaining and preserving the City’s largest asset - which in turn has long term cost savings and protects the Bay we all love, which is one of the reasons we all choose to call this wonderful place our home.

While I already had confidence that the people employed to operate the sanitary and storm sewer system did an exceptional job, it was a good reminder at the Work Session of how much they truly do which is often behind the scenes. As Council President DiNovo very eloquently stated, “they are the unsung heroes of the City.”

-Joe Benetti, Mayor of Coos Bay

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