Water- Less Means More

WHERE DOES ALL THE GARBAGE GO?

2011-09-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

By Tom Watson

We tend to assume that when we take our garbage to the curb on Mondays that it will be handled properly. It is out of sight and out of mind. However our health, drinking water, recreational waters and the general beauty of our landscape all depend on its proper handling. I decided to see what happens to our garbage, so I drove out to the Coastal Environmental Partnership’s facility at Tuscarora. My host, Planner/Outreach Coordinator, Bobbi Waters, arranged for me to talk with the Operations Manager, David Warmack, and Finance Officer, Miriam Sumner, and then took me on a tour.

Aerial view of Coastal Environmental Partnership’s Tuscarora landfill facility

The Coastal Environmental Partnership handles landfill disposal of garbage from Carteret, Pamlico, and Craven Counties. They do not handle the recycle materials that you put out on Monday afternoons. I asked whether the Coastal Environmental Partnership was privately or governmentally operated. The answer was, it is a government entity that runs like a business. It is a public authority. The Authority will handle landfilling of garbage or trash for cities, companies, or even individuals for a fee, currently $38/ ton. The Coastal Environmental Partnership aims to do just a little better than breakeven. In most years receipts are slightly higher than expenditures, and the surplus goes into a reserve fund. Though the purpose of the reserve fund is to provide for future growth, if the Partnership should run a deficit in a given year, it would be made up from the reserve fund.

The landfill operation is highly technical, and much cleaner and more pleasant than I expected. Before any trash can be deposited, a site must be prepared with the following steps:

Grade a “bottom” topped with clay at least four feet above the water table.
Add a bentonite layer topped with high density polypropylene.
Then a two foot layer of #57 granite stone for drainage completes the preparation.

All of the above is to protect the ground water from contamination. In operation the runoff and leachate from the garbage averages 6,000 gallons per day. The solids are settled out and the water goes through two stages of aeration. It is then pumped into trucks and taken to the City of New Bern’s waste water treatment plant for final treatment. Samples from test wells around the perimeter are analyzed to ensure that the ground water is protected.

New Construction: A bulldozer installs the granite stone drainage layer over the high density polypropylene.

Roughly 700 tons of trash/garbage is taken to the landfill by trucks each day. On arrival it weighs 350 pounds per cubic yard. After several by passes a 120,000 pound spiked wheeled compactor, the trash weighs 1400 pounds per cubic yard. Trash and garbage are in layers separated with earth. As more and more layers are added, quite a mountain results. The altitude of the completed section of landfill is 145 feet, the highest elevation in Craven County!

Sixty ton compactor at work. Finished landfill in upper left background.

Once in the landfill the organic material begins to decompose. The gaseous products are Methane (CH4) and CO2. These along with some traces of other gasses are known as Landfill Gas (LFG). Currently 47 LFG wells collect 1,350,000 cubic feet of LFG per day. These gasses are sold to INGENCO, a power generating plant on property adjacent to the Coastal Environmental Partnership.

Operator Jose Delgado told me that INGENCO operates eight to ten Detroit Diesel engine driven generators 24 hours a day, 365 day a year. The fuel for the engines is about 95% LFG supplemented by 5% diesel. INGENCO generates from three to six megawatts of power and sells it to Progress Energy. The amount varies depending on the weather. Generally more LFG is collected in summer than in winter. The power generated is about the amount required to supply Taberna, Fairfield Harbour, and Greenbrier.

One of INGENCO’s diesel driven generators.

It is hard to believe that such a facility is operating just north of US 70, but the landfill serves us every day. It has been in operation for 16 years, and has 27 more years currently permitted. The Coastal Environmental Partnership has enough land to develop for 30 years after that.

Bobbi Waters would be happy to take anyone or a group through to see the operation. Her phone number is 252 633 1564.

The completed part of the Coastal Environmental Partnership’s landfill; the highest point in Craven County.

Website: www.coastalenvironmentalpartnership.com

Blog: www.coastalenviron.blogspot.com

Craven conserves water

2011-07-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is doing their part to conserve water during this dry summer spell. It's been noted that overwatering lawns is the biggest problem for Craven County. While it's natural to wish for a lush green lawn, we encourage conservative use of water especially when it's dry. Excessive irrigation of lawns is the number 1 overuse of water which can lead to shortages and other problems. Remember the less we use now, the more we have available for the future. Thanks to everyone for doing their part!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T02:07:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July New Bern! See you tonight at Union Point Park for the awesome Fireworks Show!

Dry Weather Concerns Craven County

2011-06-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Craven County implemented Stage 1 of its Water Shortage Response Plan Friday.

County management, including County Manager Harold Blizzard and Water Supervisor Rusty Hayes, met Thursday after observing several days of use by customers that exceeded the county system’s ability to pump fast enough to refill its water towers.

In an effort to curb the recent heavy demand for water, the Craven County Water Department announced today implementation of Stage 1 of its Water Shortage Response Plan.

Hayes said “The County’s water supply is adequate, but the unusually large water usage in recent weeks has placed a big strain on the water system’s ability to maintain normal tank levels. Customers may notice slightly lower than normal water pressures at their residences during this extended period of dry conditions.” For the rest of the story...

Reprinted from the New Bern Sun Journal: 6-11-11

Craven County officials urge water conservation

2011-06-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Craven County officials are urging water conservation from county water system users.

While neither Craven County Water System nor any of the nine public water systems in the county are among those in N.C. that are drought-threatened, dry skies are prompting high usage.

“In the past several weeks we’ve been slammed with water customers irrigating lawns,” said Harold Blizzard, Craven County manager.

“Although our water supply remains unaffected,” he said. “It’s not a capacity issue. Our problem has been our ability to transmit the large amounts of water required to meet the demand.”

“We’re just not able to pump it fast enough,” said Blizzard. “The demand is so great our elevated water storage tanks are unable to fully recover overnight from the previous day's usage.”

“I don’t want anybody to think the sky is falling but we are concerned about the demand,” he said Blizzard. “We believe the problem really lies with people watering their lawns.”

Craven County has a Water Shortage Plan that contains five levels of response to “water shortage” and Blizzard will meet with Craven County Water System Supervisor Rusty Hayes Thursday to decide whether or not to implement Stage 1 Voluntary Reductions. For the Rest of the story...

Reprinted from New Bern Sun Journal: 6-8-11

Earth Day, 2011

2011-05-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

The Craven County Less Means More Task Force presented a water conservation award to Tryon Palace during Earth Week, 2011.Pictured above are Tom Watson, Tim McLear, Philippe Lafargue, Belinda Coombs, Dana Outlaw, and Linda Staunch. Philippe Lafargue accepted the award on behalf of Tryon Palace.

Earth Week 2011

2011-04-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

Earth Week 2011 was a big success. 5 schools in 3 days. It's great to have 5th graders involved in conservation and the environment.

Soliciting Nominations for Water Conservation

2011-03-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Less Means More the Craven County sponsored Water Conservation Committee is soliciting nominations from individuals and groups to be recognized for their Water Conservation efforts. The award recipients will be announced as part of the annual Earth Week activities presented by the Less Means More Committee. This year, due to the Easter Holiday, the Earth Week activities are scheduled for the 11^th thru the 15^th of April.

Who should nominate? A company, small business, schools, non profits, public facilities or departments, individuals and families, who have made measurable strides towards reducing their use of one of our most precious resources - - water!

Why nominate? Data from the County Water Department confirms that there has been a reduction in water use per capita in the last few years, so, we know good techniques and habits are being applied. It is essential to recognize these positive actions and communicate them to everyone in the county.

Remember everyone can not do everything in regard to water conservation – but – everyone can do something!

How to nominate. Click for Nomination Form. Nominations must be submitted by April 8^th, 2011.

Earth Week events will include activities at Union Point Park in New Bern to educate 5^th graders from several Craven County schools on water systems and conservation.

Our Newly-Designed Website is Born!

2010-11-04T04:20:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to be able to announce the launch of our brand new website. The new design features a Blog format, so that we might be able to keep our visitors more informed with more up to date news. And it's news you can use, as we have added more tips, and more resources to add to the existing content. The new site is Social Media enabled too! Now we have our own Facebook Page, and we are on Twitter too!
A big thank you to Bruce Wise who designed and developed the site (and continues to help us as we learn how to manage it all!)