Terry’s Take on What Happens When the Information Superhighway Meets the River Way
Earlier:
- [Update] Unknown Substance Turns Redwood Creek White, Reaches South Fork Eel River
- Drilling Slurry Believed Source of White Plume in Redwood Creek; Agencies Investigating
- In a Push to Connect Rural California, Broadband Drilling Fouled Southern Humboldt’s Waterways
- Drilling Halted in Southern Humboldt Over Slurry Disposal; County Demands Plan Before Work Resumes
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Hopefully they are sending in crews to deal with it. It can be cleaned up.
I hope “they” understand this cartoon…
No, wait…
Don’t try to explain…
They got a “Data Center” way out there?
The bentonite sealing the bottom of the creek and the river cannot be cleaned up. It will take next winter’s big flows to wash it out. The bottom of the creek and river are where the insects reproduce to provide food for the aquatic life and where the fish lay eggs. Consider this year as murder. But hey- more information so more facebook, insta, video games and online porn, right? Friggin humans….
According to this articles crews were working on it.
https://hoodline.com/2026/06/redwood-creek-turns-ghost-white-as-broadband-drill-job-goes-sideways/
Vacuum Trucks: For heavy, concentrated deposits close to access roads, industrial vacuum trucks (“vactor trucks”) are used to literally suck the thick sludge out of the creek pools.
The “Sand Wand” System: In shallow, sensitive rocky creeks, cleanup crews use specialized equipment like a Sand Wand. This device uses controlled water pressure and suction to gently lift the fine bentonite particles out from between the river rocks without re-suspending the clay downstream or grinding up the natural gravel substrate. The vacuumed slurry is pumped out into tanker trucks for proper off-site disposal.
ai-
Thanks for this link and this info. I remain skeptical but I’ll believe it if it happens. And I hope this works. But I’m not betting that it does…
I didn’t know how to take the sealing, and the cleaning, and the insect reproducing, fish egg-laying and aquatic life, until the murder. Thank you for your solidarity. I have not failed to notice how most of your comments are unlike others’.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing! I was raised in New Jersey so I have a keen sense of cynicism. Unfortunately my pessimism often proves true. I wish it didn’t and I could be a carefree, positive vibe bro…but I am doomed lol
We still don’t know property owners .who allowed this on their land. seleted facts edited on blackbekt
As that might be interesting to know and how much were they paid to allow this drilling waste illegally dumped on their property. What I want to know, who from this drilling company was soliciting these local property owners in Southern Humboldt to dump this illegal waste. And by who’s authority did this drilling company have to pay private property owners to dump this illegal waste? This drilling company should have known, before even starting this project how much drilling waste they would be generating and never did anything about it, other than to dump it illegally without asking any questions…
What’s amazing, when Redwoods were or planned to be cut down (Richardson’s Grove SP, Lower Redway) environmental groups and attorneys got involved. Where are Salmonid Restoration Federation, Friends of the Eel River, Environmental Protection Information Center, Northcoast Environmental Center or Center for Biological Diversity in this matter and why are they not speaking up on any of this? And why isn’t this crime being reported by more larger news media statewide or even a National level!
We are on a news pause for a cage fight at the White House.
Pay attention Ed
This spill has been in the local news since June 2nd, with updates on what the cause was on June 5th. Sorry, but F@#$ this cage fight and whatever this “news pause” you are claiming there is. All this shows me, most people don’t care about the rivers and creeks in Southern Humboldt. Please convince me I’m wrong…
I think if people knew they would care. I think that’s why the news is kept tightened down. Conspiracy theories are sometimes true. This is a BIG money statewide project that Newsom will use as a success story in his presidential campaign. We are a rural area with basically no voice. Any backlash or reconsideration of this statewide project would be bad financially and politically. Everybody NEEDS broadband is the mantra. Some do sure. But everybody? Yes- because broadband will be the way that AI is delivered to you. AI data centers are being built without public discussion. Those will have massive environmental consequences so again- must not be discussed in public media…. Trump is the fascist so what do you call the people invested in these businesses? Info-industrialists in league with corporate media? Good luck getting out the story…Erin Brockovich comes to mind with the obstacles she faced…
So your saying this project is too big to fail and sacrifice the few for the many, is that right? Sometimes its that one thing that nobody saw coming that brings a project like this to its knees. I was glad to see Ford grew some balls and generated that “Stop Work Order”, but I’m sure the Supervisors will get phone calls from Sacramento to lift it ASAP…
You could lead by personal example, by raising your voice, Mister “The Voice”.
Its just “Ed Voice”, I did not pick my last name. The environmental organizations I named solicit money from the public to help save and protect the natural environment and species that cannot speak for themselves. But I have written all of them to ask why they are staying silent and being as complicit in this as the Water Board and CDFW.
It’s no big deal for those of us on the north coast if the project is delayed a couple more years. We’re used to being treated as 2nd rate citizens here in the triangle.
I don’t think they ever got used to being treated as 2nd rate citizens; the problem with “them” lies with not being privy to information, a specific kind of information, that is delivered between insiders in metaphorical ways.
Heck- I moved off-grid to get away from that crap. I love the rivers, creeks, trees, hills and critters…the sun and the moon and the stars and the ocean views from the mountains. Then we got KERG/KMUD. Now we have cell phones with satellite internet connect. How much do we need, people?!! Killing our river for more more more…it’s despicable. Move to the damn city if you need all that!
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