Rob Motley at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

NEWS RELEASE

Mammoth Community Water District P.O. Box 597, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 (760) 934-2596 Fax: (760) 934-4080

For Immediate Release: March 21, 2013 Contact: Betty Hylton ext. 274

MCWD living with wildlife

The Mammoth Community Water District Wastewater Treatment Plant is located on the edge of Jeffery pine forest and sagebrush scrub. This wild land setting along with the alluring smells and steady supply of fats and grease in the wastewater tanks make it a popular spot for local animals, particularly bears and ravens. These conditions present a unique and consistent challenge for District employee Rob Motley, plant maintenance and instrumentation supervisor at the District. “Bears are basically 500 pound raccoons with powerful and dexterous hands bent on destruction driven by appetite,” explains Rob. One winter morning, staff arrived to discover a bear had removed a heavy metal grate and tossed it into another tank where it broke expensive machinery. District staff was forced to drain the tank to perform repairs. The bear’s quest for an easy meal had a toll of 36 hours of District staff time plus the expense of replacing the broken equipment. In addition to the bears, ravens have been an ongoing problem at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Motley observes, “I have seen over fifty at the plant at once.” The ravens land in the wastewater tanks to scrounge for food and then take off to roost nearby; making a mess anywhere they go afterwards. Mr. Motley and his staff have had a constant maintenance battle to keep the plant grounds sanitary.

After continuous innovation and testing, Motley has successfully implemented measures to keep bears and ravens from bathing and dining in the wastewater tanks. The District has installed an electric fence around the perimeter of the wastewater tanks. This new fence has proven to be an effective, non-harmful method of keeping the bears out; they can sense the electricity and won’t even touch the fence. Now that the bears are kept out, netting has been be placed over the wastewater tanks to keep the ravens from dining and dashing. The success of the netting and deterrence of bears has convinced the

District to invest in sturdy wire mesh covers for the open tanks. The results of District staff time and financial investments to maintain a critter-free wastewater plant has increased the plant’s efficiency and decreased employee time repairing damage and cleaning up after our wild neighbors.