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In Wake of Spills, Laguna Asks Sewer Redesign Plan

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Times Staff Writer

In response to a recent rash of raw sewage spills that have fouled the surf in Laguna Beach, the City Council has asked its staff to study the feasibility of launching a two-year redesign of the aging sewer system.

If the council gives final approval to the $700,000 upgrade of the sewer system, an early warning system and four new emergency generators could be in place by next year, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said.

“I have a lot of confidence in the telemetry system,” Councilman Dan Kenney said Tuesday night. “It’s important that we spend the money.”

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The project would involve installing a telemetry system that connects each of the city’s 23 pump stations to a warning panel at the police station. The panel would warn the 24-hour police dispatcher of any impending spill by monitoring sewage level and loss of power, Frank said.

Construction Accidents

Since July, 1987, there have been more than a dozen sewage spills that have contaminated beaches in the city. Some of the spills, including the largest which drained 900,000 gallons of raw sewage into Aliso Beach in June, have been the fault of construction workers who have accidentally dug up sewer pipes.

But a majority of smaller spills from the city-controlled system of pump stations have been the result of power outages. City officials said that nine of the last 10 spills from pump stations over the last three years have occurred when power was disrupted,.

Most of the pump stations are located along the beach and pump raw sewage from beachfront homes to the main sewer line under South Coast Highway. When an electrical outage occurs, the pumps cease, and the sewage flows out of open wells that are housed in cement sheds.

Some angry residents and beach-goers have protested the repeated sewer spills, saying that the city should purchase emergency generators at all the pump stations.

Frank had earlier predicted that the city could have a working telemetry system installed by next month.

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‘Don’t Have the Money’

But he said that it would take longer to install the device because much of the wiring routed from the pump stations to the nearest telephone switchboard would have to be buried underground and that the city does not have enough money to complete installation.

In a staff report to the council, Frank said the telemetry system would cost the city about $300,000. The city currently has only $213,000 in its sewer fund.

“We clearly don’t have the money” this fiscal year to complete the early warning system, Frank said before the council meeting.

Frank recommended that the warning system be installed over two years to enable staff to raise the necessary funds. The money would come from a $2.50 monthly sewer rate increase next year. If that rate increase is approved, residents’ sewer bills would be raised to $22 a month.

Frank, reaffirming that it would be impractical and too costly to install emergency generators at each of the pump stations, said, however, that there are four “critical stations,” where emergency generators could be installed.

Currently, there are emergency generators at only two pump stations, city officials said, and a portable generator that can be moved to pump stations that are experiencing power failure.

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Frank said the city could spend $400,000 to install pump stations at Irvine Cove and Anita, Cleo and Fairview streets.

Leslie Herzog contributed to this report.

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