Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 6, 2007
4. Water Quality
SEWAGE HIKE:
Proposal would hike sewer fees for many Escondido businesses - North County Times
LOS OSOS SEWER ISSUES:
Deadline looms in Los Osos sewer lawsuit; Adversaries must refile an action to stop water board orders that would bar the use of septic tanks after 2011 - San Luis Obispo Tribune
FLUORIDATION:
Panel approves $5.7 million allotment to fluoridate city of
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Solano supervisors face issue of rural wastewater - Fairfield Daily Republic
SEWAGE HIKE:
Proposal would hike sewer fees for many
By David Garrick, staff writer
Moving to variable sewer rates is the only fair and equitable way for the city to avoid long-term sewer budget shortfalls, city officials said Monday. Mary Ann Mann, the city's utilities manager, said more revenue is needed to cover the steadily rising costs of sewage treatment chemicals and employee benefits.
The city is hoping to lessen the financial impact on residential customers, who will see a 9 percent increase under the plan, she said. Businesses that would see the largest increases under the proposal, which could go into effect Jan. 1, would include commercial laundries, gas stations, restaurants and groceries stores that carve their own meat.
Critics acknowledge that more revenue is needed, but they contend that the variable rate proposal would place an unfair burden on some businesses too quickly.
The most extreme example is Stone Brewing, where the monthly bill would jump from $860 to $10,904. Some other businesses would see increases ranging from 34 percent to 360 percent.
Some have suggested that the city should cap the rate increases to avoid such large bumps, or that the increases should be implemented incrementally.
"You can't say one day that someone has to pay $100 per month, and then on the next day they have to pay $1,000 per month," said Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, who supports an incremental approach. "As we have become more sophisticated about determining who produces the most waste, we have to allow businesses to figure out how much they should raise prices to cover the extra costs."
But some other critics have expressed concern that passing the costs on to consumers could mean big problems for many
Despite such concerns, Councilman Sam Abed said Monday that the time has come for the city to start "fully recovering" the $22 million per year required to operate its sewer treatment plant on
"The more we delay the increases, the more we will fall behind financially," said Abed. "It's always unpopular to raise fees, but this is the right thing to do. Some customers have been subsidizing the rest, but now we will be collecting more from the businesses who use the system the most."
City officials estimate that monthly rates would jump from $71 to $136 for auto repair shops and gas stations, a 91 percent hike, and climb from $203 to $738 for grocery stores with meat departments, a 363 percent hike.
Monthly rates for restaurants would go from $168 to $226, a 34 percent jump, and rates for commercial laundries would go from $392 to $965, a 145 percent increase.
The new rates vary based on the volume of wastewater generated by the business, but also on the complexity and potency of the waste.
Monthly bills for residential customers would increase from $34.50 to $37.65. Residents were also tagged with a 9 percent hike this year.
Many businesses balked at the increases when they were recommended by an outside consultant in 2006. Those objections prompted a delay so that the city could talk to local businesses about individual solutions.
Greg Koch, co-owner of Stone Brewing, said he is grateful to the city for the extra time.
"We've been working with the city to come up with a solution," said Koch, explaining that his company hopes to install special water treatment devices next year at a cost of roughly $1 million. "If there wasn't a practical solution on the horizon, the volume of our protests would definitely be heard."
The council hearing on the fee increases was postponed from Sept. 19 because more than 7,000 city residents were not notified of that meeting due to a software glitch in the city's mailing system. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/06/news/inland/3_03_2711_5_07.txt
LOS OSOS SEWER ISSUES:
Deadline looms in Los Osos sewer lawsuit; Adversaries must refile an action to stop water board orders that would bar the use of septic tanks after 2011
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
A Los Osos citizens group has two weeks left to revise its lawsuit against the state in a move that could continue a high-stakes legal battle over a sewer.
A lawsuit filed in May by the Prohibition Zone Legal Defense Fund demands that the Regional Water Quality Control Board rescind stop orders that bar nearly 50 randomly selected residents from using their septic tanks after 2011 or face steep fines.
The group has to revise the suit because in August, Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera dismissed half the points it raised in the suit.
Though he narrowed the group’s case, he allowed the lawsuit to continue. If the group does not refile in time, the case could be dismissed.
To support its lawsuit—which is one of many legal battles over the long-debated sewer issue — the citizens group requested key documents that the Regional Water Quality Control Board used as a basis of enforcement.
Those include transcripts from water board hearings, documents outlining the formation of the so-called prohibition zone and written testimony from property owners.
In 1988, the water board created that zone, in which growth was halted and little new building has taken place. That ban is supposed to be lifted when a sewer is complete.
Last week, LaBarbera ordered that the group — headed by sewer-issue activist Gail McPherson — must pay the nearly $5,000 the water board said it needs to prepare that record.
McPherson said her group mailed the agency a check Monday.
Still, McPherson contends, her group won’t have those documents before the Nov. 20 deadline that LaBarbera set in August.
“In any event, we won’t have the record,” McPherson said. “That’s one of the manipulative things (the water board) does and part of their ammo to squelch any form of justice.”
Harvey Packard, the water board’s enforcement chief, said he has repeatedly told the citizens group that all of the evidence gathered by the water board and used against the selected property owners has been available online.
“The major work that needs to be done is indexing, compiling and getting everything numbered,” Packard said. “It’s mostly staff time.”
The legal defense fund is supported primarily by property owners who have been issued orders from the water board to stop using their septic tanks if a sewer isn’t built soon.
The Los Osos Community Services District also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The defense fund and the district are splitting the costs of retaining attorney Shaunna Sullivan.
The town of about 14,000 disposes of its waste into individual septic tank systems, which the water board blames for polluting the groundwater and
There have been several failed attempts to build a sewer, including one that broke ground in August 2005 but was soon halted after a recall election replaced a majority of the town’s services district board.
A plan brokered by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, and approved by state lawmakers, transferred responsibility for the sewer project to the county.
In late October, the town’s property owners overwhelmingly approved a $127 million assessment to pay for a sewer.
McPherson said the group likely will appeal if it loses in Superior Court.
“If the judge thinks this is about a treatment plant, then he’s not going to get it,” she said. “This is really a civil rights case.”
The next court hearing for the citizens group has not yet been scheduled. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/185448.html
FLUORIDATION:
Panel approves $5.7 million allotment to fluoridate city of
By Craig Gustafson, staff writer
Efforts to fluoridate water in the county received a significant boost yesterday when a commission headed by Supervisor Ron Roberts allocated nearly $5.7 million for the cause.
The First 5 Commission of San Diego voted unanimously to use the money to pay for costs associated with fluoridation for seven water districts, beginning with the city of
The money will go to areas that won't be getting fluoridated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California when it is scheduled to begin fluoridation next month.
“In some sense, we all feel it should have happened a long time ago, but that's all the more reason to do it now,” Roberts said.
Fluoridation has been contentious in many parts of the country since
Supporters say fluoride is instrumental in preventing tooth decay, especially for underprivileged children who don't receive proper dental care.
Opponents blame fluoride for causing cancer, Alzheimer's disease and kidney damage.
The money set aside yesterday comes from a 50 cent-per-pack tax on tobacco products in the state. Voters approved the tax in 1998 to invest in early childhood health and development programs. The First 5 Commission of San Diego was created to allocate the county's portion of the $700 million collected annually.
State law requires public water systems with 10,000 or more connections to fluoridate their drinking water if the money becomes available to pay for the equipment and ongoing operating costs.
The five-member commission plans to pay for the city of
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071106-9999-1m6fluoride.html
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Solano supervisors face issue of rural wastewater
By Barry Eberling, staff writer
But that could change. Critics say that underground septic tanks are not the best way to handle sewage and could hurt the environment and public health.
They would like to give future rural developments the opportunity to have small, community wastewater treatment systems.
The issue lands before the
They are to begin the session at 2 p.m. at the
In July, the board-appointed General Plan Update Citizens Advisory Committee recommended making the changes to the septic tank-only policy. The Planning Commission concurred. Now the board will tell its committees if they are on the right track.
More land could potentially be developed in rural areas using community wastewater treatment systems than by having underground septic tanks at each house. Septic tanks need a certain amount of room to work properly, assuring that most rural homes will sit on lots of at least 1 acre to 5 acres.
Some orderly growth supporters view the septic tank policy as reinforcing long-standing county policies of funneling most small-lot subdivisions into cities. They see wastewater treatment plants as a city service.
The growth issue was raised during the advisory committee meetings. Consultant Jeff Goldman of San Francisco-based EDAW talked about controlling growth with land use policies, rather than septic tanks. Services such as water and wastewater treatment plants are to support those land-use policies, he said.
Still, six members of the 16-member citizens advisory committee had concerns about allowing community wastewater treatment plants. Among those listed in their minority report is that the county could end up responsible for community wastewater systems that fail.
The advisory committee also tackled the issue of dumps.
Any new dumps should be designed to reduce offsite smells, insect pests and other possible effects on neighboring properties, it recommended. But it picked no specific sites.
Although supervisors are to begin the General Plan session at 2 p.m., they will also meet at 9 a.m. to discuss other matters.
Among them are:
- How to deal with keeping hazardous waste out of dumps. A 2006 state laws bans disposing of such items as batteries at dumps such as the local Potrero Hills Landfill.
- Whether to renovate the
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/story.php?id=101.39
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