Tag archives: MSD
Starting next Monday, September 26, and for the following three weeks, drivers in Montecito will experience significant delay at the Olive Mill/Coast Village/N. Jameson intersection, as Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) works to relocate 90 feet of sewer main in preparation of the upcoming roundabout at the area. The project also includes manhole installations, manhole modifications, […]
Last week we outlined Montecito Water District’s (MWD) Strategic Plan, which includes collaboration with Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) to bring recycled water to Montecito, as well as a possible merger between the two special districts. MWD and MSD Planning Committees met jointly last month for updates on two collaborative projects that are being co-funded by […]
I look forward to reading the studies that the Montecito Water and Montecito Sanitary districts have jointly commissioned, one by Carollo Engineers to evaluate recycling options and the other by Raftelis to explore the pros and cons of a business case for district consolidation. The need for recycled water supplies is rather self-evident. The self-evident case […]
Bob Hazard’s recent piece, “Should the Montecito Water and Sanitary Districts Consolidate?” needs a host of corrections, out of respect for the intelligence (and ratepayer costs) of the citizens of Montecito, particularly Water District customers. As part of the “Montecito Water Security Team,” Hazard praises a number of studies – MORE STUDIES – on studies […]
The last five months have been busy for new Montecito Sanitary District General Manager Bradley Rahrer, who took the reins at the District in June of this year. Rahrer, who was hired after multiple interim managers came and went following the retirement of Diane Gabriel last year, hails from the city of Santa Barbara’s Public […]
The Community Voices article in the April 15 edition of the Montecito Journal by Charles C. Read and Eileen White Read attempted to identify the motive for suggesting that the Montecito Water District (MWD) and Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) should merge. However, it reminded me of what someone told me several years ago. That person […]
Regarding the letter by Eileen Read. I have never met her nor Bob Hazard. I don’t care if he’s a motel franchiser from Phoenix, or a right-wing political gadfly. I and my surf-rider friends, fishermen, ocean swimmers, and beachgoers ONLY care about the quality of effluent that enters the surf and that is only treated […]
There’ve been two letters in the past two weeks concerning the possibly inappropriate influence that Bob Hazard might be trying to exercise over water policy in our village, specifically his amateur hydrological agenda that includes a risible proposal to merge the boards of the Montecito Water Authority (MWA) and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD). For […]
Right Side of History As I read the LA Times coverage of the independent SB Grand Jury’s scathing report on the unethical way our cannabis policy came to be, I had one silver lining thought: “Thank goodness the Montecito Journal had the wisdom – and guts – to be on the right side of history […]
Just how many Montecito residents have the dreaded coronavirus, aka COVID-19? Or to put it another way: Just how much COVID-19 is in Montecito’s collective supply of excreta? Thanks to an ongoing COVID-19 tracing project by Dr. Patricia Holden, a professor of environmental microbiology at UC Santa Barbara, and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD), we […]
Earlier this year, before the COVID-19 emergency, I took a tour of the Montecito Sanitary District’s waste treatment facility, where the town’s collective fecal matter is slowly bio-engineered into top-notch soil fertilizer that ends up on the shelves of our local gardening emporiums (see “Montecito’s Most Unusual Harvest,” Montecito Journal, February 12). Part of my […]
Eagle-eyed readers of this esteemed journal may have noticed the Montecito Sanitary District’s public service ads that have run in the paper the last two weeks urging residents not to flush wet wipes down the drain. “SAVE YOUR PIPES, DON’T FLUSH WIPES!” the announcement reads, informing customers that supposedly flushable disinfectant wipes can clog both […]
Not many people pay much attention to the Montecito Sanitary District. Neither did I. When solicited by the Water Security Team, I learned how change in the MSD direction was needed for several vital reasons. So, I became a candidate. Woody Barrett and I were voted by you, our community, in as directors, thank you! […]
The Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) was formed in 1947 with the sole purpose of collecting, treating and disposing of the community’s wastewater, but it didn’t actually come online as a completed sewage system and treatment facility until the early 1960s. Today, the MSD serves approximately 3,100 customers in Montecito, with only a scattered number of […]
Collectively, every California household is on the hook to pay for the public pension promises and retiree healthcare commitments made by elected leaders to not only the 2.6 million public employees who currently are employed in California, but also the 2.4 million retired public workers, who are now living longer and enjoying lifetime employment benefits […]
The question before the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Board and its Montecito community of ratepayers is whether or not it is a good idea to spend nearly $6 million in ratepayer funds to build an office building for three employees and a receptionist. On the surface, spending $6 million on an office building for four […]
On June 7, 2019 the Montecito Sanitary District Board voted 3 to 2 and approved the expenditure of $4,621,486 for the construction of a new office building. Two ratepayers were present, and both asked the board to vote against the new building. Your elected directors, Dana Newquist and I, voted against the new building. The […]
In this community, business-as-usual is no longer an option. Separate silos for water and sanitary decisions are as dated as hula hoops. Why? Water in all forms is one of our most fundamental resources. Increasingly, communities are realizing a need for districts to work together on water solutions that deliver more efficient use, integrated management […]
Last week our cover story shared the soft opening of the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel & Resort, which opened its doors nearly 20 years after the closure of the original Miramar closed in 2000. As part of the new Miramar project, developer Rick Caruso was required to fund and construct a new sewer lift station […]
A few years ago, Jean Paul Cousteau spoke at a CASA Conference (California Association of Sanitation Agencies). He said that he was one person who could claim that he was raised on the Seven Seas. He was home-schooled by his mother on the Calypso. He said that it was always a thrill to come into […]
