Dan, how long have you been working for the water district here in Terrebonne?
I have worked for the Terrebonne Domestic Water District for 11 Years.
It is our understanding that you are not pleased with the attempt by TSD to place a pressurized sewer main near your District’s public water wells.
No, I am not happy about how the Terrebonne Sanitary District has handled this situation. TDWD had reached out for quite some time to TSD on our concerns of the proposed sewer line being inside the required setback of our wells with no response. Then they applied for a waiver to do so and presented themselves as applying on behalf of TDWD.
I then attended a TSD board meeting and asked the board to help remove the waiver and protect our community’s water sources. They laughed at me and said they could not do that. It was very disappointing to see that the Terrebonne Sanitary District does not seem to care about the community they claim to represent.
In your time in the industry have you ever heard about a sewer district wanting to put a sewer line this close to a public water well?
I have not. The Oregon administrative rules are clear and all the professionals I have worked with honor those rules. There are always alternatives to be considered.
Why do you believe the Terrebonne Sanitary District did not contact the water district before they sought the waiver?
The fact that they did not return our request on why they proposed a pressure sewer line so close to our wells is telling. They were trying to work behind our backs… they did finally respond a month after the waiver was granted thinking they would be in the clear.
This was a very unprofessional move on behalf of Parametric. I’m not fully convinced the TSD Board even knows what their engineer is doing.
Explain to us your understanding of the laws concerning sewer lines near public water wells?
The law is very clear. The setbacks from public wells for pressure sewer lines are 100 feet and 50 feet for gravity lines. A waiver can be applied for by the water system and the water system ONLY.
Have you contacted the Sanitary District’s governing Board to present your concerns?
As I talked about in your previous question I have spoken to them. After learning of the waiver I went to the next public meeting held by TSD. I shared that TDWD was not happy about them putting our community’s water source at risk when it could have been avoided very easily… to seemingly deaf ears.
So, I asked them if they could help me protect our community’s water source and request to have the waiver removed. At that point the board chairman laughed and said they could not do that. These board members do not care about the community.
Does the TDWD’s governing Board support your concerns and actions concerning this issue?
The TDWD Board has told me many times that this is an issue we cannot give up on. They have told me to fight this threat to the community’s water source any way possible and they will back me however I need to get it done. It is sad that the TSD does not share the same concerns for our community.
What message do you want to send to the citizens of Terrebonne concerning this matter.
Get involved! Go to the Terrebonne Sanitary District meetings. They seem to have them when most people cannot attend for some reason. But make the time to go and voice your concerns for our community’s water source.
As you can see, the Manager of the Terrebonne Domestic Water District is not happy about the way this waiver was obtained and presented. After Dan contacted the Oregon Health Authority with his concerns, the waiver was rescinded by OHA… but they left the matter open. There is another meeting planned to further discuss this matter in the near future.
Let your voices be heard. Contact the Terrebonne Sanitary District by phone, their website, or attend their meetings. Times and dates of all meetings are posted on their website.
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