Burning of Forests and the Wasting of Water
Does anyone care that forest fires have been costing an average of three lives annually, plus $50 million in property damage and firefighting costs? This does not include costs of restoration.
Must our public officials be constantly reminded that most of our Southern California area is classified as semiarid? Why are we pumping a billion gallons of valuable effluent into Santa Monica Bay every day of the week?
The state of Georgia is using its effluent to irrigate millions of acres of growing trees, producing lumber for housing and pulpwood industries. Many other states are turning their waste water into a profit instead of a pollutant. Coastal cities must be forced to stop dumping their sewage into the ocean, polluting our beaches and the marine habitat.
The 8,500-acre Ortega fire and the 4,000-acre fire near Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth would never have gotten a good start had there been a properly designed effluent-distribution system in place. Sewage pollution from the archaic plant in Laguna Niguel has closed the beaches off Aliso Canyon and Dana Point.
There must be at least 10 million voters in Southern California who agree with me.
OTTO KIESSIG
Laguna Hills
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