Laserfiche WebLink
WE ARE AWARE THAT THE DOUMA DAIRY IS A FACT WHICH WE CANNOT <br /> HOPE WILL DISAPPEAR BUT WE WISH TO PROMOTE SOME SYSTEM FOR <br /> MINIMIZING THE TERRIBLE ODOR <br /> OUR QUESTIONS: <br /> 1 . If there is not something wrong with the Douma dairy sanitation and disposal <br /> system why do we not have the same intensity of odor 24 hours a day? <br /> 2. Why do the dairy managers not acknowledge this odor? (They surely must <br /> smell it.) <br /> 3. A group of our committee visited Verberg Dairy on Hart Road in Modesto and <br /> walked within 10 feet of their pond and the odor was entirely different. It in no <br /> way was as obnoxious as the odor from the pond on the Douma dairy <br /> property. We drove within 25 feet of the Douma pond when we returned from <br /> the Verberg Dairy on Saturday September 14, 1996 at midafternoon that same <br /> day. Why the difference? <br /> 4. Mr Verberg suggested the separator at the Douma pond might not be working <br /> properly. He also stated it could result from the feed given the cows. He said <br /> certain feed, such as tomato refuse and whey among others, could cause that <br /> odor not only form the feeding areas at the diary but also from cow refuse. <br /> Did the Environmental Health Department inspectors pursue these possibilities <br /> when our residents complained? <br /> 5. We asked Mr. Verberg about containing the methane gas (which Mr. Borges <br /> said was the source of the smell). He said that the State had attempted to do <br /> just that in an effort to sell it. He said it was not cost effective since the market <br /> for the gas was not competitive with the price of gasoline and other fuels. We <br /> would propose that it be burned as they did in Oakland at their sewage <br /> treatment plant. Have you investigated this solution? The burning appeared to <br /> eliminate the odor in Oakland. <br /> 6. Would the odor be less intense if Mr. Douma used all fresh water for the <br /> automatic cleansing? We would presume the recycled water comes from the <br /> refuse at the pond. <br /> 7. Would the odor be less intense if the pond were moved to the far North/West <br /> area of the property? <br /> 8. We have many dairies along Kasson Road to the West of Douma's dairy. <br /> None of them has this particular obnoxious odor. Dairy smell is not appealing <br /> but not nearly so sickening as the odor we are getting. How do you account <br /> for this? <br /> Imo IAxYl <br />