Escondido: City launches $200M plan to upgrade sewer, water
Key Element Is Recycling Sewage Into Drinking Water
David Garrick
North County Times
03/05/2011
Facing increased scarcity of water and dwindling sewer capacity, Escondido officials have decided to launch a roughly $200 million, multipronged effort that would recycle sewage into drinking water and irrigate much of the city with reclaimed water.
Transforming much of the city's sewage into drinking water and irrigation water would eliminate the need to spend about $400 million widening the sewer pipes connecting Escondido to the ocean, Utilities Director Lori Vereker said last week.
And the changes would simultaneously ensure Escondido a reliable water supply that would be less susceptible to drought and increasing prices for imported water, she said. That reliable supply might also help preserve the city's large agricultural community, which has been facing extinction because of rapidly rising water rates.
The city's 26,000 sewer and water customers would face higher rates for many years in order to pay for the upgrades, which would take as many as 10 years to implement.
Anticipating the campaign, the City Council approved a plan last month that would hike water rates 12 percent in 2012, 8 percent in 2013, 7 percent in 2014 and 7 percent in 2015. In addition, the council agreed to increase sewer rates 6 percent per year in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The hikes would increase the monthly bill for what the city calls an "average residential customer" from $121 to $159.
But Vereker said failure to address the problems would probably cost even more.
Replacing the pipes that bring Escondido sewage to the ocean with wider versions would cost an estimated $400 million, partly because the new pipes would be laid in some environmentally sensitive areas that the city doesn't control.
And even if the pipes are widened, the city would be facing potential state fines for discharging more sewage into the ocean.
"It's like building a bigger trash can," said Vereker, noting that her plan would be much better for the environment.
If the city did nothing, the state would eventually prohibit any further residential or commercial development until the sewer capacity was increased, she said.
In addition, if old water and sewer infrastructure in downtown Escondido isn't upgraded for roughly $10 million, the city will not be able to achieve its dreams of high-rise condominiums and office buildings in that part of town. (See related story.)
Last month, the City Council endorsed Vereker's plan.
"I've wanted a plan like this for a long time," Councilwoman Marie Waldron said.
