A proposed wastewater reclamation system in Los Olivos would cost more than $20 million to implement, according to an engineering report presented at the Dec. 8 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
In the report, Santa Maria-based AECOM Technical put the estimated total cost for the project at $20.9 million.
The report comes alongside petitions to either form a Los Olivos Community Services District or to have the town of roughly 1,100 annexed into the Santa Ynez Valley Community Services District (SYVCSD).
A town with a thriving tourist industry, Los Olivos is unincorporated and doesn’t have a community services district to manage wastewater. Instead, the town’s residents and businesses use septic tanks, which have been a persistent problem for decades.
Santa Barbara County declared Los Olivos a Special Problems Area in 1974 after it was discovered that overflowing septic tanks could contaminate the shallow groundwater table.
The county further put pressure on Los Olivos in 2012 when it adopted a mandate from the State Water Resources Control Board that the town deal with its onsite sewage system.
Leaving onsite systems in place, households would be required to upgrade their sewage system at a cost of $17,640 each, plus an annual cost of $895 for maintenance, according to a feasibility report prepared by Berkson Associates.
However, many houses may not have the required space to install the necessary equipment for upgrades, the report stated.
Forming a Los Olivos community services district would provide the best option in local control, the report also stated, but would be more expensive to operate if the town were to incorporate into the SYVCSD or be managed by a county-dependent special district.
Because the SYVCSD is not physically contiguous to Los Olivos, incorporation into the district—which also serves Solvang—would require a physical connection that would ultimately incur higher bills and a loss of local control among Los Olivos residents, the report found.
It’s not clear how much it would cost to connect the two areas because a study hasn’t been put forth, according to SYVCSD Manager Jeff Hodge.
Jay Richolson, a resident who originally supported annexation now supports a Los Olivos community services district. He was one of many who supported a local district and voiced reservations for annexation.
“For the first time, our community faces an issue so large and so complex, and has to do with significant short-term and long-term implications for the residents,” Richolson said at the Dec. 8 LAFCO meeting, “that we feel that we must have our own locally elected officials to decided on the solution that best satisfies our needs.”
Richolson added: “It’s only fair and reasonable that they should have 100 percent control.”
Hodge came before the LAFCO commission representing the 140 people who petitioned for annexation.
“In no way is the SYVCSD ever looking to expand our boundaries or our territory for empire building,” Hodge said.
