One of the costs of growth in southern San Mateo County is about to hit builders and developers, as the regional sewage plant has to expand to serve new homes and businesses.
The West Bay Sanitary District is considering substantially increasing its connection fees for new homes and businesses to accommodate an almost five-fold increase in the cost of processing its sewage at the regional plant in Redwood Shores.
The cost of connecting a single residence — home, apartment or condo — to district sewers is proposed to increase from $3,132 to $5,229, said District Manager Tim Clayton. This reflects an increase in connection costs from the regional plant; these have jumped from $583 per unit to $2,750.
Connection costs for non-residential uses will also almost double; they depend on the amount of flow.
The West Bay district serves approximately 55,000 people in parts of Menlo Park, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, and unincorporated San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
The board of the sanitary district will hold a meeting to explain the new fees to the public at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, at the district office at 500 Laurel St. in Menlo Park. The board will adopt new fees at a future meeting.
“Our board is committed to pay-as-you go,” Mr. Clayton said. “The expansion should be paid for by the new people coming in. They created the need.”
The increase stems from the South Bay System Authority (SBSA), which operates the sewage plant that serves some 280,000 people in the South County communities from Belmont to East Palo Alto.
SBSA is increasing the capacity of its plant by two million gallons per day, from 27 to 29 mgd, to accommodate new growth, said SBSA Manager Dan Child. The cost of the expansion is raising the per-gallon cost of treating sewage almost five times — from $2.65 per gallon to $12.40 per gallon.
“It’s incredible,” Mr. Childs said. He attributed the huge increase to a variety of factors: inflation, stricter environmental standards, environmental costs, and construction costs. “Construction costs have skyrocketed,” he said. “To add two million gallons per day costs $24.8 million.”
There may be more increases ahead, Mr. Child warned. The 25-year-old sewage plant is wearing out and will need major repairs and upgrades
Fair Oaks district
Residents of the Fair Oaks Sewer Maintenance District, which includes areas of North Fair Oaks, unincorporated Redwood City and Woodside, are paying for the plant expansion through increased sewer service charges.“We’re not looking to increase connection fees,” said San Mateo County Public Works Director James Porter. “We’re looking at fees for service.”
New fees were adopted during the summer after public outreach and community meetings, Mr. Porter said.
Sewer service charges were raised from $267 per residence in fiscal year 2006-07, to $400 per year for the next three years, and $420 per year for the next two years, according to the Public Works Web site.
The West Bay district’s sewer service charge is basically rising at $20 per year, from $360 for 2006-07, according to Mr. Clayton. It should be $420 in 2009-10.
For information on the West Bay Sanitary District, call 321-0384; or go to westbaysanitary.org.
For information on the Fair Oaks Sewer Maintence District, go to co.sanmateo.ca.us, and click on Public Works, and then Flood Control, Lighting, Sewer and Water, and then Sewer.
