Sending stinky odors up a pole

Noaki Schwartz

BALBOA ISLAND -- It may look like an ordinary flagpole.

But the real reason for the new, 50-foot metal tube on Park Lane and

East Bay Street is to discretely reroute stinky fumes from a nearby

sewage pump station far from discriminating noses.

The pump station, which was completed early last summer, sparked

controversy in the community, said Steve Bromberg, president of the

Little Balboa Island Property Owners Assn. Residents protested the

station because they thought it was too big, too close to their homes and

that it was unnecessary, he added.

The station takes all of the waste water from Balboa, leads it through

another pump station on Pacific Coast Highway and eventually pipes it

into a location in Huntington Beach.

Soon after it was built, residents complained of the not-so-pleasant

odors emanating from the site.

“We’ve been working with the station on trying to minimize the odors

since we started it up,” said Don Webb, the city’s Public Works director.

“It takes a little bit of tuning.”

The city created a temporary venting system by running a pipe up a

palm tree and releasing the gas to alleviate some of the fumes until the

flagpole could be built as a permanent solution to the problem, Webb

said.

By allowing the fumes to float up through the pipe inside the pole, it

is hoped the lingering problem will dissipate, Bromberg said.

Residents have also decided to use this opportunity to instill a

little community spirit by sponsoring a flag-designing contest. The pole

will accommodate four flags: an American flag, a California flag, a Big

Island flag and, after the contest, a Little Island flag.

Flag contest participants should submit their designs along with their

name and phone number to Bromberg.

The winning flag will eventually be flown from the top of the pole

after a small christening ceremony.

WHAT: Little Balboa Island flag contest

INFO: For more information, send your name and phone number to Steve

Bromberg at the Little Balboa Island Property Owners Assn., P.O. Box 74,

Balboa Island 92662.