Out of Sight & Out of Mind: Sanitary Sewers: Infrastructure Assessment & Plans for Improvements, Courtesy of Santa Cruz County Sanitation District and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

Out of Sight & Out of Mind

Sanitary Sewers: Infrastructure Assessment & Plans for Improvements

Courtesy of Santa Cruz County Sanitation District and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

Sanitary sewers are often out of sight and out of mind, and we rarely consider the vital infrastructure operating below the surface of our streets. But they are essential to the health and safety of the community.

The Santa Cruz County Sanitation District is responsible for constructing, maintaining, and repairing pipelines and pump stations that transport waste from the District — which includes the communities of Live Oak, the City of Capitola and portions of Aptos and Soquel — to the city-owned Wastewater Treatment Facility at Neary Lagoon.

The life cycle of an average sewer main is approximately 50 years. More than 60% of sewer mains within the District are operating beyond their life cycle. Deteriorating sanitary sewer infrastructure can create sinkholes, backups into homes and businesses, manhole overflows and surface water and groundwater contamination.

The District uses closed-circuit television cameras to video and assess the condition of the public sewer mains throughout the system.

Inspections completed prior to October 2021 found 238,700 linear feet of sewer mains (20% of the District’s mains) have significant deficiencies and need repair or replacement. An additional 20% of mains will likely need replacement in the near future. With the City of Santa Cruz’s treatment plant also in need of rehabilitation, plant improvements (i.e. major equipment replacement, infrastructure upgrades, and laboratory modernization) planned for next year will also lead to increased treatment costs, which will be passed on in the form of higher rates to the County’s Sanitation District. These higher rates are a significant reason why the District will be considering a sewer rate increase at an upcoming public meeting. Overall, the District currently requires an estimated $143 million to rehabilitate deteriorating sewer infrastructure and another $80 million to address capacity issues that put the sewer system at risk of overflowing in a large storm event, which is increasingly likely due to climate change.

To generate funds for these projects and cover the higher pass-through treatment costs from the City, the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz County Sanitation District will hold a public hearing May 5 at 4:45 PM in the D. A. Porath Sanitation Facility Meeting Room, at 2750 Lode Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95062. Residents may join virtually at https://tinyurl.com/SanitaryDistrict.

The Board will consider a 6.5% rate increase, which is less than $5 per month more for a single-family residence. Approximately 95% of the District’s proposed rate increase this year will cover the pass-through costs from the City’s increased treatment costs.

Subsequent increases will be needed in coming years to address the aging infrastructure and increased passthrough costs. However, with this increased revenue, nearly all of the known significant deficiencies in the system will be remedied in the next ten years. n •••

For more information on the sewer system, rates and the Public Hearing visit the District website at https://www.sccsd.us.

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