POSTURED AS A "BOLD" PLAN - IN REALITY A "BRASH" MOVE

Presented as a “bold” endeavor in reality it is a “brash” plan with potentially negative health effects for generations …

I find a bit of serendipity in these two seemingly divergent above notations. The article captioned … A BOLD PLAN … appears on the editorial page of the 9 Oct 08 issue of the Arizona Republic … while the invitation to the Growth & Water Supply conference I found in my PO Box today. The editorial lauds Tucson’s water conservation efforts which taken solely at face value is indeed noteworthy. The water conference is designed primarily as they indicate for … professionals in the legal, development, engineering, planning, supply or environmental community … I suspect I was extended an invitation by virtue of being in the environmental – water & wastewater - field for the past 33 years.

Here’s where serendipity comes into play. One of the featured and lauded presenters of this conference is none other than … Karen L Smith, PhD., currently Deputy Director of Arizona Dept of Environmental Quality. The same Karen L. Smith, who was Director of the Water Quality Control Division of ADEQ in 2005, who summarily and arbitrarily shut off and denied “open” full disclosure discussion on the revision to the rules and regulations affecting GREYWATER systems, among a host of other topics, all to get her rule approved by GRRC at their November 2005 meeting. Her efforts were successful and Arizona is today blessed with convoluted and bastardized rules and regulations governing the design, installation, O&M of all greywater systems which do not address public health short term or long term. But, hey, as the write-up in the “flyer” depicts …Karen L. Smith has experience serving as the Water Quality Director of ADEQ and working in water resources management for SRP, but today “serves & protects” you as Deputy Director of ADEQ. For me this is just one more example of that revolving door between governmental regulators and those they regulate.
Greywater properly implemented incorporating processes to honestly provide a – safe – greywater can be in extremely beneficial for all of Arizona. The rules and regulations implemented under the care, custody and control of Karen L. Smith do not honestly address either the short term or the long term pubic health consequences. For the record, Ms. Smith, I am most willing to discuss this with you at any open public forum. As you are aware, Ms. Smith, Dr. Charles Gerba on the faculty in the Department of Soil, Water at the UA has conducted studies which raise significant questions about the greywater program you chose to allow to be implemented on your watch.
Though I too would like to stand and laud the effort Tucson is making respecting – greywater – I do not see their plan as bold, but rather as “brash” and pre-emptive lacking honest public “buy-in” and without a full airing of all the facts and health implications if the Tucson program is undertaken utilizing the current ADEQ greywater rules and regulations promulgated under Ms. Smith’s watch.

As I have noted in previous discussion papers, if this is such a BOLD and innovative concept why not extend it – state-wide – holding and conducting instruction in every corner of our State showing folks how to design, install and maintain, oops, forgot, under Ms. Smith’s plan there is no long term O&M required, a greywater system.

Any why limit it to greywater, let’s honestly endorse and support all - “water harvesting” – processes…?

I do want to stand and honestly salute our neighbors in Tucson for having the “guts” to at least put the topic of – water harvesting – in its many forms, colors, shapes and sizes on the table for John Q Public to begin to comprehend its longer term implications.

"By means of water, we give life to everything.“ … Koran, 21:30 … I trust our collective action leads to solutions where man will have sufficient and safe water to enable us to give life to everything…

A bold plan
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2008/10/09/20081009thur2-09.html

Water-harvesting law would benefit Tucson
Arizona Daily Star... George Larsen
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/261485