Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Do you know where the sewage treatment facilities are in your community?
- Consider their locations - is this an environmental justice concern?
When I googled 'sewage treatment plant near me', two treatment plants came up. The first one was for a raw sewage plant out in the rural part of Fresno county, at Jensen and Cornelia in the southwest part of Fresno, mostly farmland but there are communities out in this area, with the majority of the residents are Blacks and Hispanics. The Jensen plant is a secondary treatment plant with effluent odors. The second wastewater treatment plant came up in my neighborhood in the northeast part of Fresno, but this plant is a tertiary wastewater treatment plant that is recycled water used for irrigation for facilities like parks and golf courses. This area has two affluent country clubs that most likely utilizes this water source. The northeast communities are predominately white and professionals.
The location of the two treatment plants could be considered as an environmental injustice. The one in the northeast part of Fresno has a lesser environmental impact on the surrounding communities since this plant is a tertiary recycled wastewater plant used for irrigation. On the other side of town 22 miles away from my neighborhood is a secondary wastewater treatment plant located in the rural part of Fresno impacting at a greater force to the residents around it.
The 'grey water' usage in your part of town is definitely a step in the right direction. We need to find more ways to return water to the ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteIt is confirmatory of the systemic racism in the US that the odious, effluent odor spewing treatment plant is located in an economically disadvantaged community.
Yes, I agree, returning the grey water back into our ecosystem is an efficient use of our precious resource in the valley. I also see them using this grey water being used to water the city's trees and landscape.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteIt is very disappointing to know how close these sewage treatment centers are to the low-income communities. Their lives and health do matter. Healthcare providers must not relent in educating them about the big voice they can have on the policy makers.