Hospital a raw deal

Tearing down the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo and building a $1-billion dollar medical facility for 1,500 state inmates alongside the ongoing construction of the California Conservation Corp. raises a few very important questions. Can the local water treatment and sewage plants handle the additional needs of the two new facilities? Currently, the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility's potable water is pumped in from the local municipal water treatment plant and the sewerage is pumped to a waste water distribution plant in Oxnard.

In a recent newspaper article, it was reported the current sewage line that services the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility is over 50 years old and inadequate. There is also some controversy as to who will maintain or replace the aging sewerage line.

The city of Oxnard is now responsible for the line but has said it would no longer be responsible for nor would it service that line. Will the sewage at the new facilities be piped into Oxnard or Camarillo?

Will Camarillo have to install a new pipeline to accommodate the prison? Will Camarillo's sewage facility be adequate to handle the large facility? Will home builders and buyers be able to afford the increased fees because of an overburdened sewage plant? Will this facility further reduce the ability to construct new housing?

These questions will for sure be part of the environmental reports, but they must be answered.

Looking into the future: If the current water treatment and waste water distribution plants can't handle the additional needs of the two new facilities, what happens when the medical facility needs to be expanded as it most surely will? It looks like California taxpayers will end up paying far more than the $7 billion officials believe the seven medical facilities will cost the state.
Brian Owens
Camarillo