The City of Albany has received the draft of a new permit to discharge treated wastewater, but the proposal ignores the problems with Talking Water Gardens, the $13 million treatment system that the city was forced to shut down.
The City of Albany has received the draft of a new permit to discharge treated wastewater, but the proposal ignores the problems with Talking Water Gardens, the $13 million treatment system that the city was forced to shut down.
The continued shutdown of Albany’s Talking Water Gardens as a wastewater treatment system defies common sense. So I asked the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to explain.
Albany’s Talking Water Gardens is out of water, but construction is under way on a temporary and partial fix for the rest of the summer.
Albany’s Talking Water Gardens has been out of operation since last December, and this dry spring it really shows. The water level in the lower pond is way down, and the upper ponds are completely dry.
Dry, sunny and warm. What a combination! For months on end we had not had such a day as Monday. The bike and I made use of the conditions for a springtime tour of Albany’s Talking Water Gardens.
The City of Albany intends to maintain the constructed wetlands known as Talking Water Gardens as a place to enjoy nature even though the place no longer functions as part of the Albany and Millersburg wastewater treatment system.
Pollution permit: How much will it cost?
State regulators are inviting public comment on their proposed new Albany “water quality permit,” but they don’t tell us anything about the most important question: How much will this cost?
Tags: DEQ, NPEDS permit water pollution, sewage treatment plant, Willamette River