5.8 FINDINGS

General Facilities and Services

* Facility and services standards relate directly to a community's values and goals. Standards are used to quantify the specific amount or type of a facility or service that is required to maintain a desired quality of life.

Public Water Supply

* Three of the four large Public Water Supply Systems reviewed have groundwater as their primary source.

* At the present time, adequate groundwater and surface water is available to meet future demand requirements.

* Existing water treatment and distribution systems are adequate for near-term demand requirements.

* Future development will likely require additional water treatment, distribution, and storage facilities.

* Long-term maintenance of groundwater resources requires that a significant portion of water for agricultural and urban uses be provided through surface water supplies.

* Sutter County has a long-term interest in protecting existing local water rights, promoting the development of new local water supplies and by discouraging transfer/export sales.

Groundwater and Wells

* Groundwater supplies appear to be adequate to meet current user demands.

* Portions of the County are affected by groundwater contamination problems. Some of the water quality problems are naturally occurring, while others have resulted from human activity; i.e., application of agriculture chemicals, improper or high density septic system installation, and wells that are not constructed or abandoned properly, or are poorly maintained.

* Additional groundwater studies will be necessary to accurately identify the limits of contamination.

* Developed areas with nitrate contamination problems will need a comprehensive remediation/protection strategy to maintain public health and to protect groundwater resources.

Public Wastewater Systems

* In general, existing community wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal systems in the County are capable of meeting the existing regulatory and service demands.

* Future development, even on septic systems which rely on Yuba City's treatment plant for the disposal of solids, will likely trigger a need for additional wastewater collection and treatment facilities.

On-site Wastewater Systems

* In general, the valley area that comprises most of Sutter County is not considered conducive to on-site sewage disposal. This is due to a number of factors including shallow soil and groundwater conditions and poor soil permeability. Additional urban or suburban growth in the unincorporated areas of the County should be supported by community wastewater treatment facilities.

* Water quality information for the communities of Sutter, Tierra Buena, and the Yuba City Urban Area indicates that moderate density use of septic systems can result in groundwater contamination. Community wastewater systems should be provided to these areas to protect public health and ensure continued use of developed properties.

* Areas outside the urban areas and rural communities will continue to rely on the use of on- site sewage disposal systems.

Drainage and Flood Control

* Certain previously performed drainage studies (Yuba City Urban Area) have provided good information for a specific area. The majority of the County does not have adequate drainage information available to support appropriate planning and design. Detailed information on flooding is lacking.

* Flood conditions are determined to exist in a number of areas. Of particular concern is the Yuba City Urban Area.

* Increases in total storm water runoff resulting from new development can create significant impacts on landowners in areas where storm water runoff accumulates.

Solid Waste Management

* At its present rate of fill, the YSDI facility has capacity to 1996 or 1997. A new landfill to serve the Bi-County area has been approved on Ostrom Road in Yuba County with a 45-50 year capacity.

* Implementation of mandatory waste stream quantity diversions to meet the State AB 939 (Public Resources Code 41780) requirements will involve source reduction and recycling efforts to reduce waste stream quantities by a minimum of 25 percent by 1995 and 50 percent in the year 2000.

* A County-wide Household Hazardous Waste processing facility was opened in 1991 in Yuba City in an effort to eliminate household hazardous wastes from the waste stream.

* Both short-term and medium-term programs have been outlined in the Integrated Waste Management Plan for implementation in the Bi-County region and Gridley.

5.9 GLOSSARY

AB - State Assembly Bill

CAA - Clean Air Act

CEQA - California Environmental Quality Act

CIWMB - California Integrated Waste Management Board

CoSWMP - County Solid Waste Management Plan

DHS - Department of Health Services

EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency

HHW - Household Hazardous Waste

IWMP - Integrated Waste Management Plan

LEA - Local Enforcement Agency

MRF - Materials Recovery Facility

M&R - Monitoring and Reporting

RWQCB - Regional Water Quality Control Board

SRRE - Source Reduction and Recycling Element

SWAT - Solid Waste Assessment Test

5.10 PERSONS CONSULTED

Community Water Systems

Barrett, Bob, Public Works Director. Sutter County

Coupe, Art, Operations Manager. Hillcrest Water Company

Musallam, George, Senior Civil Engineer. Sutter County

Peterson, Larry, Treatment Plant Superintendent. City of Yuba City

Groundwater and Wells

Baltimore, Barbara. Sutter County Environmental Health

Dudley, Toccay. Department of Water Resources, 322-7164

Swatsenberg, Betty. Department of Water Resources

Community Wastewater Systems

Babb, Annette, Secretary. Sutter Community Services District

Barrett, Bob, Public Works Director. Sutter County

Epperson, Dale. City of Live Oak

King, Rich. Planning Consultant to City of Live Oak

Musallam, George, Senior Civil Engineer. Sutter County

Peterson, Larry, Treatment Plant Superintendent. City of Yuba City

Solid Waste Systems

Fuji, Kurt, Site Engineer. Yuba Sutter Disposal, Inc.

Givens, Jim. Yuba Sutter Disposal, Inc.

Martin, Keith. Regional Waste Management Authority

Scocci, Remo, General Manager. Yuba Sutter Disposal, Inc.


5.11 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bi-County Integrated Waste Management Authority. Source Reduction and Recycling Element, June 1992.

County of Butte. Draft General Plan Background Report, June 1993.

California Department of Food and Agriculture. Letter from Madelaine Ames to Agricultural Commissioner. Monitoring for Bentazon in wells in Counties. March 27, 1989.

California Department of Health Services, Office of Drinking Water. Memo, Nitrate Study of the Tierra Buena Area in Sutter County. October 3, 1991.

California Department of Health Services. Letter from Lloyd R. Heinzel to Sutter-Yuba County Health Department regarding DBCP analysis results. May 30, 1980.

California Department of Water Resources. 1978, Evaluation of Groundwater Resources: Sacramento Valley, Bulletin 118-6.

California Department of Water Resources. Mineral Analysis of Groundwater - Sutter County, June 2, 1993.

California Department of Water Resources. Draft Central District Memorandum Report, Preliminary Evaluation of Groundwater Quality for Community Supply use in the Area of Robbins, Sutter County, July 1992.

California Department of Water Resources. Minor Element Analysis of Groundwater - Sutter County June 2, 1993.

Department of Water Resources. California Flood Plain Management: An Evaluation of Flood Damage Prevention Programs, Bulletin 199, September 1980.

Department of Water Resources. Dams Within Jurisdiction of the State of California, Bulletin 17-93, June 1993.

Department of Water Resources. Miscellaneous Well Monitoring Data.

California Division of Mines and Geology. Bulletin 190, Geology of Northern California, 1966.

City of Yuba City. Capital Improvement Program 1993-1998.

Nolte and Associates for Sutter County. Master Drainage Study for Sutter County, September 1979.

Sutter County Office of Emergency Services. Dam Failure Evacuation Plan, 1980.

County of Sutter. Hazardous Waste Management Plan, January 1990.

Sutter County. Sutter County General Plan, 1980.

Sutter County. South Sutter County General Plan Amendment Draft Environmental Impact Report, July 1991.

Sutter County Health Department, Environmental Health Division. Groundwater Protection in the Greater Yuba City Area. Report by Barbara Baltimore. March 23, 1993.

Sutter County Health Department, Environmental Health Division.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Draft Sacramento River Flood Control System Evaluation, Phase II - Marysville/Yuba City Area, Environmental Assessment/Initial Study, November 1992.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sacramento River Flood Control System Evaluation, Initial Appraisal Report - Marysville/Yuba City Area, January 1990.


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