OUR LAGUNA: Malodorous or odiferous, it still stinks

I’m raising a stink this week.

For more than 20 years, I have walked my dogs on Glenneyre Street. They have always wanted to linger at the corner of Glenneyre and Calliope streets where the Bluebird sewer lift station emits its telltale odor, but it has become a tug of war.

This spring the smell wafting from the station is even more fetid, and I have been holding my nose and breathing through my mouth as I rush past the corner. But then I began to worry about what I was inhaling.

City Water Quality Director Dave Schissler assured me this week the stink is “malodorous,” his word (and you wouldn’t believe how many synonyms there are for it), but not toxic.

“Heavy, heavy grease causes the majority of the odor,” Schissler said.

The primary source of grease is downtown, restaurants being the top producers, according to tests, Schissler said. The farther the waste water travels without treatment the more gaseous and odiferous it becomes.

That’s why the city has always tried to keep the Bluebird station tightly sealed — never a complete success, but better than now.

“I don’t open my windows on that side of my house and I’d really like to be able to do that when it gets hot,” said Annette Steven, the nearest neighbor on Glenneyre Street. “If I wanted to sell my house, I’d have to find an out-of-town buyer.”

So why is the stench worse?

The lift station was damaged during the response to the April 7 sewer spill that closed South Coast Highway.

In order to make repairs, city workers had to open up access points. Schissler thinks that’s probably why people are getting more than the usual whiff of eau d’ rancid from the 26-year-old facility, built by Aliso Water Management Agency, the forerunner of South Orange County Water Authority.

Preliminary repairs are underway.

“When summer ends we will begin a significant capital improvement project,” Schissler said.

Estimated cost: between $800,000 and $1.5 million, depending on the scope of the repairs.

“That is a very rough range,” Schissler said. “Hopefully we will be able to trim it down when we get into the project.”

Ideally, the construction will be completed by the end of the year, after which an odor controlling “super oxygen system” will be installed.

Hope this clears the air.

MY THANKS

The generous expressions of sympathy I have received since I wrote a story about my dog Piper says worlds about the compassion of the folks of Laguna.

Piper, of course, would have thought it was his just due.

Mayor Pro Tem Cheryl Kinsman and Laguna Concert Band founder Carol Reynolds said the story made them cry — they meant it as a compliment. Gina Kantzabedian, owner of the pet store where my dogs are washed and spoiled every Saturday, shed tears the first time I brought Scooter in by himself. Me too.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson, a dog lover, has been there.

“We have all been there,” said Pauline Walpin, who gave me a delightful little book called “A Dog’s Life,” that made me smile.

Friends, neighbors and acquaintances shared stories with me.

Theresa O’Hare told me about her neighbors’ loss when we bumped into one another at the drug store. The Rev. Colin Henderson stopped me in the supermarket to share his own story. Last summer, he had to say farewell to his 16-year-old dog, still painful.

Edward Bobinski, director of Signature Gallery, wrote that he too knew the meaning of such a loss.

“An artist once told me we would meet our pet at the end of a rainbow in heaven,” he said.

If that’s true, I am going to be herded through the pearly gates by a couple of collies, several mutts of undistinguished lineage, a sweetheart of a golden retriever, two Westies, a passel of cats and a pair of ducks — Graham and Soda.

I just wish I had known sooner there are veterinarians who make house calls for last services. Most people don’t. It has become my mission to spread the word. It makes all the difference if you have a pet like Piper, who hated to go to the vet. If your veterinarian won’t come to the house, contact Mobile Vet, Dr. Michael Wiekamp, who used to have offices in South Laguna. Animal Ambulance also offers the service. Martha Lydick called on them when her familiar, Daimon, who waged war with his regular vet, neared the end of his life.

It is a sad fact that, for the most part, we outlive our pets.

Kathryn Delp Dew wrote, “You will have a hole in your heart for a long time, but with time, the pain will ease.”

We honor our beloved pets by opening our hearts to a newcomer. Never a replacement.

“Our pets are gifts, each one so special,” wrote Kate and Tom Tschudin.

Rebecca and John Barber lost their precious Ruby in February. She hated going home with no one to greet her. John was there, but as Rebecca said, he didn’t wag his tail. They have just rescued a puppy named Cha Cha, who comforts them, but they still miss Ruby.

Andy and City Clerk Martha Anderson also were recently bereaved and they too have opened their home to a newcomer.

Hair stylist Nanci Nielsen gave a thought to Scooter, and my cat, named Periwinkle Blue by Jane Egly, but called Wink. So did holistic pet consultant Marlene Dantzer, whose persistence saved Wink’s life when just about everyone had given up.

It wasn’t just pet owners who sent their condolences. Ken Jillson and Al Roberts, who are not big dog lovers, but certainly have known the painful loss, sent their sympathies.

Terry Smith and Wayne Peterson don’t share their home with pets, but shared their kind thoughts with me.

Mindy LaTendresse summed it all up: “Piper will always hold a special place in your heart.”

So will all the kind people of Laguna, who will forever be linked in my thoughts with Piper.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.