Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 15, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
Morro Bay mulls sewer plant upgrades; City Council focuses on options for higher-level treatment and how much sewer bills might go up to cover the costs
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
Urged Monday to improve the level of treatment at
A majority of residents at a council meeting urged the city to consider tertiary treatment to reduce pollution and to avoid more costly maintenance in the future. Tertiary is the highest level of sewage treatment available.
The plant — jointly owned with the Cayucos Sanitary District —now does partial secondary treatment, allowed by state regulators only with a waiver of clean-water laws.
A tertiary upgrade would produce the cleanest treated wastewater but would cost millions more than lessadvanced technology.
The council was not expected Monday to decide what kind of upgrade to pursue.
At a May 24 joint meeting, the council and Cayucos district board are expected to discuss an upgrade but are not expected to make a final decision.
Many concerns from the public Monday focused on water pollution, the effects of higher sewer rates on low-income residents and the possible need to fulfill state-mandated wastewater requirements in the future. The city would fulfill state and federal requirements by upgrading to secondary treatment standards, which is the least costly option. However, many have championed the priciest upgrade.
“I’ll save money from other bills,” Carrie Filler of
Councilwoman Betty Winholtz asked city staff about lower rates for lowincome residents. If those ratepayers received discounts on their sewer bills, the city would have to make up that difference using money from
City officials told the council they had not considered that option while determining costs borne by any upgrade.
Engineering consultants for the city said that an average rate increase for upgrading to secondary treatment would be about 78 percent for homes and 110 percent for businesses. An average monthly bill of $19 would increase to $34 for a residence. #
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