Sewer fees go up 15%

Jenny Marder

Sewer fees will likely double by 2008. The Orange County Sanitation

District’s board of directors approved a 15% rate increase on July 2

and laid out a plan to hike fees 15% each year for the next five

years to pay for a $2.37 billion in capital improvement projects.

Improvement plans include 130 projects that the district will

undertake over the next 20 years. The list of work to be done

includes replacing sewer lines and filters, improving existing

facilities and upgrading to full treatment of the sewage.

The fee, included as a line item in the city’s property tax bill

that is sent to homes, will jump from $87.50 per single-family

household to $100 this year. If it is approved each year by a

two-thirds majority of the board, it will increase 15% each year,

potentially to $175 in five years.

“All fees need to be determined each year, with a super majority,”

said Shirley McCracken, chairman of the board. “This condition makes

us look harder at it.”

Councilwoman Debbie Cook, who serves as Surf City’s representative

on the sanitation district board, was one of 17 members on the

25-member board who voted to approve the increase.

Cook supported the rate hike, she said, because the capital

improvements were important for maintaining the sewer system, helping

prevent problems in the long run.

Higher fees will bring in an additional $11 million this year, for

a total of $89.8 million.

Higher rate will also pay for maintaining existing services and

accommodating the county’s growing population.

Under monumental pressure from the public last summer, the

sanitation district board narrowly approved a higher-level treatment

of its waste. Moving to what’s called “full secondary” treatment will

require the sanitation district to build a new treatment facility.

“Twenty percent [of new funds] is for secondary treatment that the

City Council supports,” Cook said. “The rest is for capital

improvement projects that seem to be needed. ... As far as

improvements, improvements to infrastructure saves money in the long

run.” Huntington Beach residents came out primarily in support of the

rate increase during public comments at the meeting, Cook said.

“They were mostly in support because of the interest in cleaning

up our water,” Cook said. “Coastal residents have an interest in

clean beaches and a clean environment.”

Money is also needed for the district’s partnership with the

Orange County Water District to build a groundwater replenishment

system that will provide another water source for the county. The

system will take treated sewage water from the sanitation district

and, using a micro-filtration system, reverse osmosis and an

ultraviolet light disinfection process, purify it to drinking water

standards or better. The water produced will accommodate 20% of

northern and central Orange County’s water needs.

“When you compare [the sewer fee] to the cost of gas, the cost of

a gallon of water, the cost of the electricity rate, it’s not so

bad,” said Carol Beekman, the district’s communication manager.

The sanitation district’s sewer fee is one of the lowest in

California and in the lowest fifth percentile in the country, Beekman

said, citing a study by the Assn. of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies.

The national average of sewer fees is $244, nearly 150% more than the

district’s fee with the increase.

“Each of us pays something for our infrastructure, and we want it

to be there down the line 20 years from now,” McCracken said. “It was

a hard choice. But we do what we can to maximize how we pay and to

minimize the cost.”