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Issue 1561 November 25, 2012
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"No Flush Thursday" Could Be the Answer

Too Much Crap Has Always Been a Problem

January 25, 2018       1 Comments
By: O. J. Cunningham

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Someone needs to take a long, hard look at the partially-treated, raw sewage issue in Bay City and how it relates to the yearly budget issues for the City of Bay City.

So I got to thinking about the city's cash "flow" problem. (And everyone knows that I'm the kinda guy that's always looking to help out.)

So, I've been brain-"storming."

And then, today, while reading MLive . . . It hit me . . . like a pile of crap...

According to the MLive update, millions gallons of partially-treated, raw sewage was (again) discharged (flowed) into the Saginaw River because of the torrential rain storm late last week.

SIMPLE!! . . . There's obviously too much crap in Bay City.

Eureka . . . The answer is blatantly obvious. We have to do something to limit our crap. It's simple to me - Let's consider No Flush Thursday.

And the mere thought of limiting crap got me thinking about the City's budgetary problem again. (Imagine that?)

Here's what I came up with . . .

(Working the Numbers) -- Let's say ... The city collects about $50 per month from about 20,000 homes and businesses in Bay City. That's about $15 million.

If we all agree to not flush on Thursday, that will reduce our flush usage about 15% and save the city maybe $1.8 million in fees to the Bay County Water Treatment Plant.

In addition, this would lower the amount of sewage that the County Water Treatment Plant would need to process each week. In the long run, this would certainly affect the incidence of partially-treated raw sewage being inadvertently dumped into the Saginaw River.

(1) We don't pay any more. (2) The city gets to balance the budget. (3) The county gets less sewage to spill into the Saginaw River. A win-win for everyone. It's as easy as 1-2-3.

How tough would it be to not flush on Thursday? It's just one day a week.

I asked my wife if it was reasonable to be able to flush only six days a week . . .

Hmmmmmm ..... Well, maybe she's not the right one to ask anyway . . . (I'm sure she probably didn't understand the seriousness of my question.) She muttered something to me about being "full of it" and that I didn't have a boat anyway.

I'll go down to City Hall tomorrow and see if I can find someone that understands the seriousness of these budgetary matters and financial dealings.

CRAP is probably more of a man thing anyway.

Click Here - If your wondering just how much space millions of gallons of partially-treated, raw sewage can fill . . .



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ogarl Says:       On January 30, 2018 at 03:57 PM
Wow.. There is so much misinformation and conflated statements here it is hard to know where to start to help unwind and correct it all.

Realizing the article was written in jest, its the same old same old bad information meant to inflame the uninformed however it does such a disservice to our community. Of course there is no raw sewage dumped into the Saginaw River. That terrible 'Regulation' you hear so much about?..both the U.S. EPA and the state DEQ have significant regulations to prevent that from happening and to make discharges of raw sewage into the Saginaw River (or any water body) illegal.

The worst part of your jestful story is that it diminishes the work we've all done to improve and show off our community and the important (and expensive) equipment upgrades Bay City Wastewater Treatment system users and rate payers have been paying for these past 30 plus years.

The Saginaw River is cleaner today than it has been in probably the past 100 years, before the logs, industrial debris and raw sewage really did go straight into the river. To think nothing has changed is just simply laughable.

I'd suggest taking a tour of the Bay City Wastewater Treatment plant during their next Open House or call and ask for a private tour, I'm sure they'd be happy to show off their best-in-Michigan treatment operations.

And the Bay County Water Treatment Plant you mention, it takes in fresh water from the northern bay and polishes it up to provide exceptional quality drinking water. I am thankful for this every morning when I make coffee and my tap water doesn't stink anymore.

As Director of Bay County Environmental Affairs and Community Development it's important that I try and correct misinformation and remind people of the restoration work and investment that's been made by so many someone's who have worked so long and hard to improve our community.

Yes we need to figure out how we can reduce the costs of living in Bay City, but discharging bad information is not helpful. Be informed, that's helpful. Finally, if you want more information water quality sampling is done weekly in the Saginaw River and the bay during the summer. Results are reported here: http://www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/

Agree? or Disagree?


O. J. Cunningham

O. J. Cunningham is the Publisher of MyBayCity.com. Cunningham previously published Sports Page & Bay City Enterprise. He is the President/CEO of OJ Advertising, Inc.

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