Hi Lisa- you can join us for a sewer puming station tour on Nov 5, 2011 at Sump 2. If you only want to see the Water Facility, we usually offer tours on the 3rd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. To schedule one of the Friday tours, you need an advance reservation. You can call me 808-1400. The tours this weekend and on Nov 5 require no reservation.

Mr. Middleton, as you know the City does not provide an enclosed drainage system in your neighborhood. It is a series of overland (surface) drainage and ditches that Utilities operates in conjunction with the Department of Transportation. Over the past year, we and the Department of Transportation and Steve Cohn's office have met with you and your neighbors several times and have offered you the chance to have a ditch installed along your street to help alleviate the drainage issues. I am not aware of a response to our proposal. If I am incorrect in my understanding of the situation, please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you.

Also remember to take the pledge and follow the blog at BeWaterSmart.info- there are great water saving tips there! Spare the Water Sacramento!

Just to be clear, StrangeWalker. We are just looking in the recycle bins. Just trying to encourage people to recycle right by offering them an incentive to do so. We currently have a 30% contamination rate for our recyclables, meaning 30% of what you put in your blue can for recycling is actually sent to the landfill instead of being recycled. We want to decrease that percentage and recognize those doing a good job!

Actually, the rate mentioned in the article (and the staff report) reflects the costs of collecting loose-in-the-street waste from the 12,000 customers. The rate being paid by those customers today was based on what it costs us when there was more than 50,000 loose-in-the-street customers.

Customers who utilize a container for yard waste collection, are in fact charged a lower rate for collection as it is less expensive to pick up the yard from the can than with the claw. Containerized customers pay $10.35 a month versus $13.71 a month that loose-in-the-street customers pay. By law the City cannot charge more than it costs to provide the service and also cannot use rates collected for another service to subsidize rates for another service (so we can't use rates collected for garbage, recycle, containerized yard waste, sewer, drainage or water to offset the costs of loose-in-the-street collection).

If you are interested, the Department of Utilites did a report back to the City Council on the Grand Jury Report. It can be found here: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities/CityofSacramentoDepartmentofUtilities-SolidWaste-Proposition218.cfm

We had a great time working this event and loved meeting many of our neighbors! The event also shared with neighbors many City resources, such as City waste reduction coordinators and water conservation specialists, and local tools for helping to create sustainable neighborhoods.

HMW: loose-in-the-street collection is a periodic service. We try our best to make it there weekly, but may not be there exactly once a week, especially during leaf season. If it has gone beyond 2 weeks, please call 3-1-1 to report it. Also, if you haven't called 3-1-1 to opt out of the voluntary program, we will still have you listed as containerized so your pile was skipped because according to our records, it should be in the can. Again, just call or email 311@cityofsacramento.org to opt out of the program. You will instantly be placed on the opt out list (even if it takes us awhile to actually get the can) and your pile will be collected the next time the claw is in the area.

The seminar on 3/13 is from 8 a.m.-10 a.m.

The City offers composting workshops throughout the summer. The most recent schedule is posted here! http://www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities/solid-waste-recycling/residential/residential_education_backyard_composting_seminar_schedule.cfm The City also sells Biostack compost bins for $69. Contact us at 311 for more information!

Last I checked Department of Fish and Game (that was in 2005) stocked the ponds in City Parks.

It is now a violation of City code to scavenge in ANY bin, not just the recycling bin. If you see this taking place, you should call the police department. Other ways to limit scavenging in your neighborhood include not placing bins out for collection until the morning of your collection day and placing containers behind locked gates in between collection dates.

Hi Dale, Our staff is committed to providing the best service possible, so often times, especially when the program is new to an area, they will just pick up the pile. However, after the neighborhood has been in the program for a while, the drivers do become very familiar with who has the bins and who doesn't. If a pile appears in front of a home that has a bin and it is not a week for loose in the street collect, the crew will call in for a supervisor to double check the site. If the resident is in fact in the program, the pile will be left and a note will be placed on the customer's door letting them know that they can place their waste in the bin, call for a special pick-up (costs approximately $90), or they will be cited for illegal dumping. Also, often times, we get calls from neighbors who complain that a pile has been on their street and has not been collected. This typically means that all of the street has opted into the program and therefore no claw driver has been on street. If it is not a week for loose in the street collection in the containerized areas, the Supervisor will go out and place the same note on the customer's door.

Hi Bruce- I have tried posting a response a few times so later if you come back and there are a few postings, you'll know why! In terms of the weight capacity, there is none specified in the code. However, the trucks have a 400lb capacity for lifting a bin and dumping it into the truck. A 96-gallon bin (the largest size we offer for gabage and recycling and the only size offered for yard waste currently) has a capacity of 330 lbs. PLEASE NOTE THIS ADDITION: I just spoke with a Superintendent who advised me that it is best if the container does not exceed 200 lbs. In terms of your current yard waste pile situation, I would call 311 and report it as a missed service. During leaf season and other months where you are provided a loose in the street service and the pile has remained for more than 2 collection days (i.e. in your case, 2 Mondays), we would ask that you please call 311 and report it as a missed service so a crew can be scheduled to come out and collect your waste.

Micah- if you still have your bin and you are interested in returning to loose in the street service, please call 311 and request that we pick up your bin. Your account will be reverted back to loose in the street collection and your bill for yard waste collection will revert to the loose in the street rate. In case you are not aware, the City does offer loose in the street colelction several times during the year (leaf season, pruning season and Christmas Tree collection) for customers who utilize the containers. This allows them to do their large scale work, place what they can in the bins and put the rest out for collection in the street. For the 2009 calendar of these dates, please visit, http://www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities/solid-waste-recycling/media-folder/pdf/YardWaste_Calendar2009_upd082609.pdf. The updated 2010 calendar will be up shortly. In terms of it being more environmentally sound, to provide loose in the street colelction, we require two vehicles (the claw and a rear loader truck that the claw places the waste into). For the containerized collection, we only need one vehicle (a side loader) to collect the yard waste. Having less vehicles on the road means less air pollution.

Steve- in response to how many customers have opted out of the program: Approximately 6,240 residents have opted out of the program.

Steve- In response to some of your questions The cost to provide yard waste service is reflected in the rates paid by customers. Under State law, we can only charge customers what it costs us to provide them the service they are receiving. Customers who have loose in the street collection pay a different rate because the cost to collect materials in the street is different than that with the bins. When we do loose in the street collection, we have to pay for 2 drivers, 2 vehicles, fuel for each vehicle, and the costs to get rid the yard waste (goes to a contractor who composts it). For a customer who has a bin, we only need 1 driver and 1 vehicle, fuel for the vehicle and the disposal costs. As more customers opt into the containerized program, the costs to collect materials loose in the street goes up because we may only need to collect a single pile or two on a street and then need to drive across town to pick up a few more piles, etc. We are currenly reviewing the accurate costs for both the loose in the street collection and containerized collection. Once that information is gathered and reviewed, rates may need to be adjusted to reflect the accurate costs of the programs. To answer your questions on the letter of the 1977 ordinance- no, it does not violate the ordinance. Customers still have the option to have loose in the street collection. Under state law, they must pay what it costs to provide them that service, so their rates are different than those who receive their collection in a bin.

The meter size is based on the size of the service (pipe) that bring water to the property. Most single family residential properties have a 1-inch service (which is the lowest monthly service fee). If a meter that is smaller than the size of the service is installed, then you will likely see some service issues on your side of the property (issues with pressure especially).

The City is currently meeting the diversion requirement. Besides recyclables, we also divert yard waste from landfills by composting it.