‘We have a problem’: Aging sewer pipe system needs major upgrade; agencies split over urgency; Delays could cost ratepayers $50 million

The project has split the board between it being a public safety issue versus dipping more into the public’s pocketbook to pay for it.

Most of the pipe sits in young Bay mud and the agency wants to bury it in a tunnel in solid rock at least 40 feet underground.

The agency spelled out its need in March 2014 to replace about 9 miles of sewer pipe called the force main in a report that stated: “We have a problem. We need to solve it.”

Two years later, the board was set to vote on the project at least twice but it was tabled to conduct a “schedule and cost risk analysis” of the project that determined delaying it would cost ratepayers an extra $50 million, bringing the total cost of the project to more than $528 million.

SVCW is owned, under a joint powers agreement, by the cities of Belmont, Redwood City, San Carlos and the West Bay Sanitary District, which serves Atherton, Woodside, Menlo Park and portions of East Palo Alto.

Staff at the wastewater treatment agency wanted to start the pre-design work, 12 tasks totaling $8.4 million, earlier this year and the three cities were on board ready to vote “yes.”

But the West Bay board wants to put off the preliminary work until next year and, because the way SVCW’s joint powers agreement is written, West Bay has a weighted vote — meaning it has veto power over any such project.

Under the JPA, Redwood City has a 42 percent weighted vote; West Bay has 28 percent; San Carlos has 19 percent; and Belmont has 11 percent, said Silicon Valley Clean Water Manager Dan Child.

The formula is based on population and property values.

It also gives Redwood City and West Bay far more sway over project approval than San Carlos and Belmont.

West Bay contends the work must and will be done, said board President Ned Moritz.

“It needs to be done, we just have an honest opinion on the speed,” Moritz said.

West Bay’s main concern is the project’s impact on its ratepayers. Rates have increased for their customers by 235 percent since 2005, Moritz said.

Climbing sewer rates

Sanitary sewer rates for single-family residences in West Bay’s district have climbed from $290 a year in 2005-06 to $973 in 2015-16 and are expected to climb beyond $1,000 next year, according to a letter West Bay sent to the SVCW board.

Moritz is suggesting a one-year delay will allow West Bay to set aside about $20 million toward the project that could reduce financing.

He doesn’t argue that delaying the vote on preliminary design work will make it more costly but said the overall cost of the project, estimated to take eight or nine years to complete, will increase regardless.

“All we have to think about is our ratepayers,” Moritz said.

Safety issue

But Redwood City Mayor John Seybert, chair of the SVCW Board of Commissioners, sees the problem more as a public safety issue that should be addressed now.

“This is a sleeping giant with the potential for catastrophe. We’ve kicked it down the road long enough,” Seybert said.

The agency has repaired leaks in the pipe by piecemeal since it replaced about 20 percent of the old concrete 54-inch force main. Each repair, however, can cost up to $600,000.

“If it fails anywhere, then sewage backs up everywhere,” said Child.

Child and SVCW’s Assistant Manager Teresa Herrera have been pushing to get the project started for years.

The current pipe is reinforced concrete with joints in it every 12 feet.

The joints are slipping in spots, however, and because the low-pressure pipe sits in young Bay mud just below the street surface, it is prone to crack.

The pipe starts from a pump station in Menlo Park and travels north along Highway 101 to SVCW’s wastewater treatment plant in Redwood Shores.

The pipe literally travels under the runway at the San Carlos Airport and splits a pricey neighborhood in two in Redwood Shores, Herrera said.

Young Bay mud has the consistency of Jell-O, Child said.

The pipe can easily sway or move when a truck passes over it and during wet weather, the pressure can increase beyond the pipe’s capacity, Child said.

A big leak can bring big fines and depending on where, big lawsuits from residents.

And then there’s the fear of an earthquake striking, which could be catastrophic, Seybert said.

So far, the agency has had 64 leaks across the entire force main and associated costs do not include potential regulatory, civil and even criminal penalties.

A major leak in the current force main could bring fines up to $2.6 million, according to the risk analysis report.

Existing pump stations are also aging.

Project details, cost

The overall conveyance project includes the boring of a tunnel, launched from a shaft near the San Carlos Airport, ending at the wastewater treatment plant in Redwood Shores. An 11-foot diameter pipe installed inside the tunnel will operate as a gravity flow pipeline.

A new pump station will be constructed at the Redwood City pump station and the Menlo Park pump station will be rehabilitated.

The project is estimated to be completed by April 12, 2024.

That date will likely be pushed back, however, depending on the commission’s vote Sept. 8.

The current force main is 45 years old and it was designed to have a useful life of 50 years.

It currently operates at more than double the pressure it was designed for, according to SVCW, formerly known as the South Bayside System Authority.

Cracked pipes have caused raw sewage to creep into Bair Island and there have been two failures of the pipe in two years in Redwood Shores.

Fixing a small leak can also be a big disruption to the community. Some repairs can take five weeks to fix while others can take several months.

SVCW has replaced aging infrastructure at its wastewater treatment plant and total infrastructure costs for its entire system is estimated to cost nearly $800 million.

Belmont has placed a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot to address, in part, its aging infrastructure and San Mateo is budgeting $900 million to fix its aging infrastructure it shares with other cities. San Francisco is budgeting $5.3 billion.

“My philosophy is to do the pre-planning now. It will only get more expensive,” said San Carlos Councilman Bob Grassilli, who is one of the SVCW’s four board members.

Even with West Bay’s weighted vote, the board has been able to compromise in the past, he said.

“It appears they don’t want to support it and they have veto power,” Grassilli said. “I understand they are trying to keep the rates down but we don’t know when the pipes are going to break.”

Push for now

Delaying the project could lead to a potential catastrophe, he said.

“Then we would not look very smart if we delayed it,” Grassilli said.

The 75 percent threshold to pass is also troublesome to Grassilli as it gives West Bay the authority to reject any project.

“The other 74 percent of us are sitting there thinking this is not a good idea,” Grassilli said.

Belmont’s preference is to also begin the preliminary design work now.

“We believe doing so will ultimately prove to be the least costliest option for Belmont’s residents,” Belmont Councilman Warren Lieberman wrote the Daily Journal in an email. Lieberman is the fourth member of the board.

West Bay Sanitary District provides wastewater collection and conveyance services to Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, areas of East Palo Alto, Woodside and unincorporated San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The district conveys raw wastewater, via the Menlo Park pump station and force main, to SVCW for treatment and discharge into the San Francisco Bay.

Additionally, SVCW also filters some of the wastewater, called recycled water, for use in landscaping through a series of new purple pipes installed in its coverage area.

West Bay’s Moritz said the work the agency has done in the past 10 years to improve its infrastructure has been stellar.

“The staff is tremendous. They’ve made enormous repairs,” Moritz said.

But ratepayers need a break, he said.

“This is the time to put up a slow sign,” Moritz said.

The Silicon Valley Clean Water Commission meets 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, 1400 Radio Road, Redwood City.

bill@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102