Environmental questions

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What is a settling pond? And what impact would there be to having a group of settling ponds in a park-like setting as an attractive nuisance to children, wild life, pets and transient water fowl? Further, what settles out of a settling pond? Does it stay there forever or must it be dredged frequently. And what happens when the pond dries up? Do the sediments blow in the air? Didn’t they tell you about the fences? What if Junior sets out to sail from the library to Coldwell Banker in a boat made from a cardboard carton? When the boat sinks and he has to swim or walk home, his parents will sue. So, now you have a fenced mud puddle in the center of Malibu, which the city must maintain for the benefit of better boutiques.

Pond water is the natural habitat of mosquitoes and other little annoying flies. In this day of West Nile virus, it is necessary to use some form of insecticide sprayed on by the Vector Control Agency. I don’t know what chemical is used today, but, historically, it has been a thin film of oil with a growth inhibitor bound to it. Isn’t this the type of pollution the proponents of cleaner water wish to avoid?

I don’t know all the answers but the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility management can answer all the technical questions about wastewater management and control. They have periodic tours and one coming up on Saturday, November 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A reservation is required. Call Deborah Peters at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (818) 251-2100. If you have committed a lot of money and psychic energy to the notion of preserving the Chili Cook-off site, find out what really is involved in treating drainage water before the money is spent.

It is no mystery, though, that the negotiators of the deal for the city were out-classed by the negotiators for the other side. The valuation of the site should be based on its potential earnings as it stands, with the zoning it has. No restrictions on its use can be part of any deal, except that the city will address its water and drainage policies in a unified and even-handed manner, fair to everyone. The bursars of the fund do not have to transfer the money, if the deal is not right.

V. Gerald Scordan