TUD Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant

To the Editor:

As one of the five Tuolumne Utilities District Board of Directors, on Oct. 18, I was honored to be part of the TUD (Tuolumne Utilities District) all important “groundbreaking” event to make aware, inform and educate the TUD ratepayers, Tuolumne County residents and civic leaders about how big of a deal this complete redo of the TUD Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is going to be to our community/county. I didn't speak up at the groundbreaking ceremony, but I will now. We, as a community, owe a big thanks to the collaboration, goodwill and hard work performed between the staff members of TUD and the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)! The USDA made the funding possible for TUD to barely afford to make this incredibly necessary project happen.

The almost 50-year-old plant was falling out of compliance with current state regulations, which could have had very adverse consequences on Tuolumne County's business economy, visitor/tourist businesses, not to mention our residents' health and safety! All of Tuolumne County needs to say a huge “thank you” to the USDA for bending over backwards to help us, Tuolumne County, move forward in this difficult time with financial assistance just when we needed it! TUD'S ratepayers never could have afforded the huge, $32-million-plus cost of the project!

Overseeing this all-important project will be the very capable, knowledgeable and competent TUD Engineer (Jennifer Batts) and General Manager (Don Perkins). This is a huge success for Tuolumne County! Let's keep up the good work! Just thought maybe you'd want to read something positive for once… Now, onto purchasing and acquiring the PG&E infrastructure and senior water rights to really secure Tuolumne County's future! Ron W. Ringen

Tuolumne