News and Notes from Tustin Councilwoman Deborah Gavello

 

Tustin Emergency Response to Tornado

Public Safety should be the number one priority in our city. I do believe the Police Department and OC Fire Authority do a marvelous job.

The recent Tornado Warning that covered the city highlights the need for even better emergency preparedness. I have called for a Citizens’ Emergency Response Team (CERT) to be formed to respond to emergencies. Many Orange County cities already have these teams in place.

Unfortunately during the tornado warning the reverse 911 system, the city is trying to implement, was not ready to go.  Hopefully by the next crisis, it will be.

Nonetheless, I believe it will be helpful in the future, so I ask you to sign up for the emergency warning system by clicking here. You can sign up all your numbers on the website.  www.alertoc.com

 

Around Town

I toured the Irvine Ranch Water District(IRWD) Cienga plant. This is the only facility of its kind in Southern California that is pulling Selenium out of the water shed. The system is located off of Jamboree one block east on Barranca. Most of the work is being done underground, but we could see the chemicals that are put into the system that attract the selenium, as well as the electronics that make up the system. I was given a very detailed explanation of the how the system operates. It was opened on Oct. 2008, and is an underground bio-filter operated by two pumps. IRWD was fortunate and received 20 million of the stimulus money- IRWD’s secret, they had a paid lobbyist. At full capacity the Cienega plant will be able to expand another 90%, as this is merely a test facility.

As I have written in prior newsletters, selenium occurs naturally in areas, but has been disturbed by urbanization and run off. Too much of it is toxic to bird egss and fish.

Meeting with Supervisor Moorlach- I met with the Supervisor and his Chief of Staff to discuss watershed issues. I worked with Supervisor Moorlach on the Newport Bay Watershed Executive Committee. We discussed the Selenium issue and he asked for feedback on my planned tour of the Cienega treatment plant. We brainstormed some ideas on the solving this regional issue.

Toured MOMS of Orange County- A non-profit facility in Santa Ana that served 163 Tustin families in 2009. The organization helps pregnant woman have healthy babies through free classes, on home visits by counselors that continue until the babies are six months old. For more information cal (714) 972-2610.

I went to the monthly meeting of the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County. I learned a great deal from the speaker Dr. Gene MacDonald from UCLA about long-term climate change and the impact on California Water. He was honest and said that both political parties send him evil messages. He said that climate change shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and only became one with Al Gore’s movie.

Citrus Grove Park opens on February 27th

If I can help please call me at 714 478-8351 or email me at deborahfortustin.com.

Deborah