“I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.” ― W.C. Fields
But the rest of us do drink water, and we learned more about it from the Lakewood Water District.
Notes from the June 29 meeting of
The Rotary Club of Clover Park
Recorded by Tom McClellan
President Becky Newton welcomed us all, including 8 Zoomers, and thank our meeting setup gang and greeters. Jeannie Hill got us in the right mood by sharing 3 inspirational quotes:
1. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. - - - Helen Keller
2. You don't need to be better than anyone else, you just need to be better than you used to be. - - - Wayne Dyer
3. People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, which is why we recommend it daily. - - - Zig Ziglar
Randy Black introduced his guest, Marshall Meyer, who is the engineering manager of the Lakewood Water District, and who came to give a program presentation.
There was no sunshine to report, neither good nor bad.
Future Programs
July 6 Peter Cook, HMS Titanic
July 13 Dr. James Polo, MD, Mental Health Post-Covid
July 20 Kathryn Weymiller, Principal, Custer Elementary
Golf Tournament
Registrations and sponsorships are trickling in. We need every Rotarian to help sign up any golfers you may know, and solicit sponsorships from companies who might like to get some good advertising at the event. Part of what we have done in 4 years of these tournaments is to raise over $40,000 for the American Lake Veterans Golf facility, and over $52,000 for our club’s own Charities Account.
Georgene Mellom shared a Rotary Foundation Minute:
WHAT IS THE ROTARY FOUNDATION?
The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary International. It is a non-profit that is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of The Rotary Foundation who share its vision of a better world. Its sole mission is to support the efforts of Rotarians through Rotary’s mission, and the achievement of world understanding and peace through local, national and international humanitarian and educational programs in your back yard and around the globe.
Thank you for supporting The Rotary Foundation and its work.
Announcements
Alan Billingsley is working on a purchase of Rotary aprons, for those members who may not already have them yet. We wear these when participating in a Spaghetti Feed or other service opportunity in the community. Cost will be $15-20, and a sign up list will be circulated next week. David Cotant said he might still have some aprons in the Rotary store, and will coordinate with Alan.
Treasurer Judi Maier mentioned that the member dues for next year will be $150, if paid by check, or $155 if paying by credit card (the extra to cover the card fees). Secretary Tom McClellan will be getting out invoices soon.
President’s Minute
Becky Newton noted that new RI President Jennifer Jones was inducted, and has shared her areas of focus. She will focus on building new relationships and establishing collaborations with organizations that share Rotary’s commitment to driving impact through humanitarian service and to developing leaders around the globe.
She has also made Rotary’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion a key part of her presidential platform.
Jones will also use her vocational strength as a professional communicator and storyteller to shine a light on the positive and lasting impact Rotary clubs are making to improve lives and strengthen communities across the globe. Rotary service projects will be center stage around the world.
Areas she hopes to highlight include:
- The vital role of women health workers in the efforts to end polio in Pakistan
- A day in the life of a community health worker helping to reduce malaria in Zambia
- The efforts of 600 Rotary clubs to improve education for underserved students in Guatemala
- A former refugee who is now a Rotary Peace Fellow at the Rotary Peace Center in Makerere University in Uganda
- Health workers reaching children with life-saving vaccines in remote islands in the South Pacific
- Rotary’s efforts to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to all of Haiti
Becky closed by thanking all club members who are veterans as we approach the Independence Day holiday.
Fun And Fines
Ed Trobaugh wanted to close out IOUs, but then realized that the only one he was carrying was from Sue Potter, who had recently paid off a $50 debt but then turned around and incurred another one. And she was attending via Zoom.
Ed gave a final reminder for anyone with a June birthday who still needs to get in their celebratory contributions. And he looked ahead to July birthdays, including Ellie Carr, Tom Faubion, and Bill Harrison.
Ed noted some recent ink for Randy Black, who was politicking with the state representatives from the 28th and 29th legislative districts, honoring the $5.5 million grant for a new treatment facility in the State’s budget. Randy figured that was worth $25.
Jack Kammer Zoomed in from the road, traveling from one end of Southern California to another, as part of a new job (for which Gretchen Allen ratted on him). He hopes to be back with us in person soon.
Fishing for business, Ed Trobaugh asked Hallie McCurdy how the fire business is. She noted that the recent hot weather had them responding to several swimming related calls, thankfully including saving one person from drowning.
Becky Newton noted that she had played hooky from work on Tuesday, to spend time with her husband and their 12 year old grandson. She was exhausted today, having forgotten the energy level difference among pre-teens.
This Week’s Program
Our own Randy Black is the General Manager of the Lakewood Water District. And he brought with him Marshall Meyer, P.E., who is the Engineering Manager for the LWD.
Randy started off by talking about some of the challenges that the LWD faces, most noteworthy is a category of chemicals known as PFAS, which stands for Perfluoro (or Polyfluoro) Alkyl Substances. PFAS in groundwater comes largely from firefighting foam used on military bases. It gets into groundwater and does not break down. Research shows it may lead to higher cholesterol levels, changes in liver enzymes, decreases in infant birth weights, decreased vaccine response in children, pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and increased risk of kidney or testicular cancer. See https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html.
WA State has action levels for PFAS. LWD avoids using wells/aquifers with high PFAS levels, and uses filtration systems on wells with low but still positive levels.
The District was formed in 1943. It serves 140,000 people in Lakewood, Steilacoom, Spanaway, and Summit areas. It has 30 wells, 13 tanks, 260 miles of water mains, and 2,000 hydrants. It draws from 4 different aquifers with wells 150’ to 1000’ deep. All sources are chlorinated, and there is filtration for iron, manganese, and PFAS. The pumps run as much as 24 million gallons a day in the summer time.
Marshall Meyer noted that the District works with the City of Lakewood to coordinate construction activities. So with the City does sidewalk work that shuts down a street, the LWD takes that opportunity to do its own work at the same time. The LWD has done a lot of work securing grant funding for projects, helping hold down rate increases.
Fire flow requirements are the main driving factor for improvements. They are also adding backup generators to pumping stations, and doing seismic retrofits on the tanks. One additional project is integrating with the State’s early warning system for earthquakes, shutting down valves when one is detected so that the stored water would not all leak out.
Raffle:
With $349 in the pot, 26 cards in the deck, and 1 ace, Jim Hairston had the winning ticket but drew a 5 of hearts, worth $5.
And Finally…
You know that the recession is getting bad when even Porsche drivers have to start moonlighting.
