Dana Point : Sewage Plant’s Cleanup, Repair May Raise a Stink

A major cleanup and repair job at the South East Regional Reclamation Authority (SERRA) sewage treatment plant in Dana Point may result in the release of some “harmless nuisance odors” at various times during the next few months, a spokesman said.

The most critical time probably will be a 20-day period beginning in mid-March, said C.J. Di Pietro, operations manager.

In that time, large pieces of machinery known as digesters will be dismantled and cleaned, while faulty seals around the dome that covers them are repaired, Di Pietro said. The dome is designed to hold in a mixture of innocuous gases, including methane, that are generated during waste treatment.

The work is budgeted at $395,000, but Di Pietro said it will benefit not only residents and travelers on Del Obispo Street, but taxpayers as well.

“There will no longer be odors emitted from the digesters,” he said, “and the methane gas, which SERRA has been forced to burn off because of faulty equipment, will become a source of plant energy and will be used to heat the water in the digesters, thus saving $3,500 a month.” The authority had been buying fuel in the past.

The plant treats about 9 million gallons of wastewater per day from San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point and portions of Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel. Plans call for construction of a $6-million odor control building and laboratory, funded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state, said Bill Sukenik, SERRA general manager.

“We are asking that the . . . community bear with us during the next few months,” he said. “The equipment repair will be of ultimate benefit to the community, although odors may be temporarily generated during the process.”

Di Pietro said measures will be taken to lessen the nuisance, including a lime slurry treatment, use of odor-masking agents, and carbon dioxide purging of gases.