Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District officials are hosting Wednesday the first of several informational meetings about our sewage treatment ahead of a deadline for what officials are calling a much-needed fee increase for state-mandated chloride facilities.

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The SCV Sanitation District, which is responsible for the treatment of the local water supply, is holding a meeting 7 p.m. at Sulphur Springs Community School in Canyon Country.

“There will be a 25-minute presentation on the proposed rate increase to pay for the state-mandated chloride compliance program,” said Basil Hewitt, a senior engineer with the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District. Officials will be available for a question-and-answer session after the talk. 

At a Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District board meeting, district staffers pitched fee increases of approximately $17 per year over the next six years, said Dave Bruns, assistant head of financial management for the Sanitation Districts.

The Sanitation District plan was approved last October, as “the most pragmatic move forward” in light of what the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board was demanding, Hewitt said.  

Related article: Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District Discusses Rate-Hike Proposal

The informational meeting will be led by Bruns.

“(Bruns) put together a presentation that basically talks about the proposed rates, and why they needs to be adopted by July,” Hewitt said.

A public hearing will be held 6 p.m. June 30 at City Hall, where the fee hike will go before the governing board of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District. 

Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District officials introduced a rate-hike proposal to the district’s governing board in April to pay for chloride treatment the Santa Clarita Valley, which they’re hoping to have approved by the end of June, district officials said.

The urgency is called for because the Sanitation District is seeking concessions from the state, and an extension on its deadline, which the state will only consider with a fee increase in place, he said.

Related article: Chloride Plan Approved For Santa Clarita Valley Residents

The district, which provides wastewater and solid waste management throughout Los Angeles County, is being mandated by the state to lower amount of chloride, or salt, in water flowing downstream to Ventura County from local treatment plants.

The cost of the new infrastructure necessary to remove the salt is expected to cost approximately $130 million, which is the reason behind the rate increase being discussed, Bruns said.

Sanitation District ratepayers have already been fined more than $200,000 because the district did not meet the RWQCB deadline for chloride management. In order to avoid more fines, the district has to have a plan in place, including a funding mechanism for the plan, by May 2015.

It appears as though despite the negotiated settlement, the deadline will not be met. If the district has a plan in place by July , then the state’s RWQCB is more likely to grant concesssions for the district, which could lower the cost of treatment. 

If the deadline is not met, more fines are inevitable, according to Santitation District officials.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the meeting:

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