San Diego Mired in Costly Sewer Mess : The City’s Save Now Policy Flops as Pay Later Time Arrives

Patients seeking help at the Beach Area Community Health Center in September had reason to feel even sicker.

As they waited for medical attention, acrid, raw sewage suddenly came gurgling up through a toilet, spilling out onto the waiting room floor. Sewage also started flowing down the adjacent alley. The Mission Beach clinic had to be shut down for the day, said office manager Frank Gormlie.

“Here’s a medical clinic with, basically, raw sewage pouring out under its windows and down the alley,” recalled Gormlie. “It is certainly nothing you would like to step through on your way to see a doctor.”

Mark up another victim for San Diego’s sewer system. This time, it only cost the city a modest $198 to reimburse the clinic for the services of a private plumber, who quickly determined the sewer calamity originated in one of the aging sewer mains in Mission Beach.

Problems Will Continue

But sewer spills and backups will continue to victimize homes and businesses throughout San Diego, just as they have for years. And San Diegans will continue to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to make amends for tainted private property and interrupted lives.

And that’s only a fraction of the costs created by a welter of sewage problems that city officials now admit have been the result of lethargy and neglect.

The costs are accelerating and the inevitable result is that San Diegans will have to pay more for flushing their toilets, taking showers, using their garbage disposals and washing their clothes.

“You’re going to run into a situation in America’s Finest City that we’re going to see kids who are playing in water and not know that it’s sewage flowing down the gutter,” said San Diego County Supervisor Brian Bilbray. “I mean, things that you see in Mexico and that you’re not supposed to see in San Diego.”

350% Cost Increase Possible

Eventually, San Diegans may see their sewage bills--which rank about average across the country--skyrocket by more than 350% because of the costs of meeting federal regulations and overdue maintenance.

That translates into an increase from the current $8 to $36.80 a month for each San Diego household, water officials say.

The first step is a 60% increase in residential rates that could take effect as early as next month. That increase would bring the $8 monthly charge to $12.80, city water officials say.

Had the city planned adequately, the increases could have been phased in over time and minimized, water officials concede. But years of municipal stalling now require stiff increases for emergency action.

“It’s lamentable,” said Armand Campillo, the Water Utilities Department director. “It’s terrible to get to a crisis point and react to this when you should have been doing it right all along.”

$1.5 Billion for Plant

One of the reasons for the anticipated jump in sewer rates is the city’s urgent need to come up with an estimated $1.5 billion to build a secondary treatment plant. The plant would serve the 1.5 million people who live in San Diego and the 15 other cities and agencies--such as El Cajon, Chula Vista, Del Mar, Santee--that currently send their sewage to Point Loma for primary treatment.

For years, San Diego fought the federal mandate, investing hours of staff time and $3.2 million in consultant work to try to avoid stricter federal and state sewage discharge requirements. During that effort, it failed to follow the lead of other cities that applied for federal grants just in case a waiver was denied.

Waiver Denied

Last fall, federal regulators informed the city that its waiver had been denied. The word came too late for the city to tap the dwindling supply of federal grants for constructing the facility.

So the burden of underwriting the city’s largest public works project will fall squarely on sewer users. Assuming San Diegans would have to front the cost, they can expect the construction project to add another $16 to $24 to their monthly sewer charges over the next decade, city officials said.

How those charges may be passed along to users in outlying cities, who currently account for about 30% of the sewage flow, has yet to be worked out, Campillo said.

Indeed, it is unclear whether those agencies will agree to share a part of the burden. Already, some are balking at the prospect of shouldering even a portion of the cost, noting that it was a unilateral decision by San Diego to pursue the waiver so doggedly. The San Diego city attorney is now investigating whether the agencies can be forced into paying a share of the bill.

The first consultant contract--worth $484,000--for planning the plant was awarded by the San Diego City Council last week to the firm of Dennis O’Leary, the consultant who first advised the city years ago to fight the secondary treatment requirements.

But the real wild card in sewage costs will be how much money it will take to reverse years of neglecting the city’s inventory of pipes and pump stations, some say.

Municipal Judge Dick Murphy, a San Diego City Councilman from 1980-85, said the condition of the aging sewage mains is “dire.”

“The problem is upon us and some extraordinary measures are needed not to just fix breaks, but to replace the entire deteriorating sewage infrastructure in anticipation of breaks,” he said.

Pipes Deteriorating

A crumbling inventory of pipes is not a problem unique to San Diego, experts say. Cities throughout the country are facing a monumental challenge to replace broken sewer mains, and the federal government has estimated the total bill nationwide to be more than $100 billion and climbing.

Cities in the West and Southwest have their own peculiar problems with concrete pipes, which are especially susceptible to the ravages of sewer gases. These gases chip away at the mains until they become cracked or collapse. Even before that happens, the rough interior encourages stoppages and sewage backups, said Tibor Varga, a San Diego city civil engineer.

In San Diego, the issue is 286 miles of concrete pipe that run under older, inner-city neighborhoods. The concrete mains account for 13% of the city’s inventory of sewer pipes, water department statistics show.

Slow to Act

The city has long known about the problems with the pipes and in the 1950s banned the use of unprotected concrete in sewer mains. Despite the ample lead time, San Diego officials have been slow to act to solve the problem, Supervisor Bilbray contends.

Bilbray, former mayor of Imperial Beach, said many cities in the region spent community development funds in the 1970s to replace concrete pipes. They bought special camera rigs to survey the sewer lines--a method of anticipating breaks before they occur.

The county, for example, purchased its first of two cameras about eight years ago and has undertaken an extensive survey of its sewer pipes. Videotapes of the pipes are kept in archives for reference regarding routine maintenance, say county public works employees.

Bought Camera Last Year

San Diego, however, purchased its first camera last year for $100,000; it will be put into operation in a few weeks.

To Bilbray, the example of how long it took San Diego to buy its own sewer camera underscores the city’s tendency to invest in projects that are more politically expedient.

“It’s tough for an elected official to get a lot of credit out of a neighborhood for rehabilitating their sewage system,” Bilbray said. “Dedicating parks and buildings, that’s high profile. That shows up on your campaign material.

“But when sewer pipes are dug up, sealed and are maintained, those are things that politically seem not to exist--until the time they start breaking down.”

One of those responsible for past decisions on sewer maintenance is City Manager John Lockwood, who served for years as deputy city manager in charge of the water department. Former City Manager Ray Blair, Lockwood’s old boss, did not return repeated telephone calls to his office.

In a recent interview, Lockwood defended himself and others against suggestions of mismanagement of the sewer system. He said administrators indeed recognized that the system would be in trouble, and they increased the pipe replacement budget in the 1970s.

“The breaks weren’t getting all that greater, but it was obvious the system was going to deteriorate,” Lockwood said. “In hindsight, should we have done more? Probably so.”

Despite Lockwood’s assertion, water department statistics show the city didn’t significantly increase its commitment to replacing pipes until quite recently, when it became apparent that there were massive problems with sewers and pump stations.

Funds for Replacement

Since 1974, the city set has aside $2 million or more a year for replacement. That was raised to $4 million in 1986 and $6 million for this year.

At $6 million a year, it would still take the city 30 years to replace all the concrete pipes. Campillo contends that such a sum, part of a significantly higher budget for sewer projects, is at least a first step in rectifying the problems.

Campillo said that when he took charge of the department in 1984, he was surprised to discover how the basic care of sewer pipes had been neglected.

Startling Example

The most startling example, he said, was Pump Station 64, a key link in transporting sewage from the burgeoning neighborhoods in San Diego’s northern regions to the treatment plant at Point Loma.

“You just can’t say that 64 is not symbolic of the failure to pay attention to infrastructure,” said Campillo.

Although the station had broken down more than 50 times since 1979, spilling millions of gallons of sewage into Los Penasquitos Lagoon, Campillo said it wasn’t until 1985 that he got wind of problems at the facility. That’s when state regulators threatened stiff fines and a sewer hookup ban if the city didn’t embark on an ambitious capital improvement program for the station.

Those improvements have amounted to more than $22 million, catching the water department flat-footed since it had budgeted for less than $1 million worth of work at Station 64.

Survey Revealed Problem

Meanwhile, a survey of pipes between 1983 and 1986 showed that the prophecy about troubles with concrete pipes was coming true. While other pipes averaged 1.4 stoppages per mile, the concrete pipes averaged 6.1. Experts in the industry say there is no nationwide average against which to compare the San Diego statistics.

With inadequate funds, the city has simply had to adopt a philosophy of triage in dealing with backups and breaks. Only those pipes with the most egregious stoppage rates--33 per mile in the Mission Hills-Hillcrest area; 46.9 per mile in downtown La Jolla--are currently on line for replacement.

The rest continue to be a source of trouble. Through mid-April this year, there were at least 216 sewage spills--most of them determined to be a public health threat.

Campillo and his staff say that in addition to corrosion, grease is a prime culprit in causing stoppages. The grease, released by restaurants or through home garbage disposals, hardens in the cold water and clogs.

Five water department emergency crews are ready around the clock to respond to sewer emergencies. Costs for the crews and equipment fluctuate each year, but can reach as much as $1.2 million annually.

Other Claims

The city also calls on outside contractors to mop up and disinfect homes and businesses where sewage has backed up.

In addition, the city pays for any inconvenience or damage to private property resulting from spills that originate in sewer lines under the streets. Backups originating from a lateral, the 4-inch line that runs from a home or business to the sewer main, are considered the property owner’s responsibility.

When at fault, the city will pay for anything from an inexpensive visit by a plumber and rooms at a local hotel, to replacing ruined business inventory or personal items.

Most of the claims are small, slightly more than the $198 paid to the Beach Area Community Health Center, 812 Santa Clara Place. Others are more expensive, like the $14,600 the city paid last year to clean the rooms and replace mattresses, tile and carpeting at the Airport Travelodge on Pacific Highway.

Cumulatively, these claims can be considerable.

So far this year, for instance, the city has paid $720,500 on behalf of the water department. About 80% of that figure is attributable to sewer backups and spills.

Now, Campillo and his staff are asking the City Council to approve a hefty rate increase for next month to bring in an additional $25 million a year to fix Station 64, as well as pay for new pipes around Mission Bay and move stockpiled sludge from Fiesta Island.

In addition to the 60% increase it would mean to residential users, the rate hike would ask 20% more from developers who hook up new homes to the sewer system. Those capacity charges would increase from $1,141 to $1,369.

Overall, Campillo’s proposed budget for next year includes $100 million for sewer construction projects--almost three times the amount allotted in 1985.

One water department official said the pending rate request is indicative of how city government works.

“We wouldn’t be blowing $20 million on Pump Station 64 if it weren’t spilling sewage in the lagoon,” the official said. “If everything is humming along, regardless of what the engineers think about upgrading it, we wouldn’t be doing anything unless there is a problem.

“We only grease squeaky wheels.”

SEWER RATES AROUND NATION

This list of 1986 sewer rates was compiled by the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies in Washington, D.C. The survey compared the rates of 110 cities and sewer agencies throughout the country.

The rates show the average yearly sewer bill for a single-family household in selected cities. The average cost was $101 a year.

San Diego residents currently pay $96 a year, but city officials say sewage rates could rise to $441.60 a year during the coming decade to pay for a new secondary treatment plant.

In North County, Encinitas’ sewer rates have been increaded to $72 a year. A proposed rate hike for Cardiff would bring the annual fee to $228. A proposed increase for Solana Beach could hike the yearly rate to $192.

AVERAGE ANNUAL CITY/AGENCY RESIDENTIAL CHARGE Atlanta $173 Baltimore $158 CARDIFF $96 Chicago $40 Cincinnati $116 Columbus $113 Dallas $102 Detroit $124 Denver $95 ENCINITAS $36 ENCINITAS SEWER DIST. $120 ESCONDIDO $128 FALLBROOK $204 Honolulu $160 Hartford $177 Indianapolis $96 Kansas City $58 Little Rock $87 Los Angeles $65 Los Angeles County $34 Memphis $57 Miami-Dade County $116 New Orleans $196 OCEANSIDE $158 Orange County, CA, Sanitation Dist. $46 Philadelphia $196 Phoenix $46 SAN DIEGO $96 Salt Lake City $86 San Francisco $102 San Jose $125 Seattle $129 SOLANA BEACH $96 St. Louis $55 Tampa $149 Tulsa $86 Washington, D.C. $142

SEWER RATE INCREASES

Following is a chronology of residential sewer rate increases. There are 220,000 sewer accounts in the City of San Diego, 80% of which are single-family residences. However, water department calculations show that single-family residences produce about 41% of the city’s sewage.

In August, 1956, the city established a sewer fund. Sewer bills were then calculated on the amount of water each household used--12 cents for every 748 gallons. In July, 1958, the city adopted a flat rate of $1.10 per month.

DATE RATE INCREASE April, 1960 $1.50 35% Jan., 1967 $2.15 43% June, 1977 $2.50 16% July, 1978 $3.00 20% Nov., 1979 $4.50 50% July, 1982 $5.50 22% July, 1983 $6.33 15% Jan., 1984 $6.49 2.5% July, 1984 $7.00 7% July, 1985 $8.00 14%

July 1987: Proposed increase would hike the flat-rate to $12.80, up 60%. An alternate proposal would go back to charging residences based on water consumption. City officials say sewage rates could rise to $36.80 per month during the coming decade to pay for a new secondary treatment plant.