SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Council to Review Sewage Plant Report

A planned sewage plant to serve San Juan Capistrano and Capistrano Beach may be prohibitively expensive, according to a new report by Public Works Director William D. Murphy.

City Council members Tuesday are scheduled to review the report, which suggests that the city drop out of a 2-year-old agency created to build the treatment plant.

“The costs for city participation in the joint facility now appear to be as high as the cost for the city to construct and operate its own plant,” the report says.

In 1987, one city resident, two council members and two members of the Capistrano Beach Sanitary District board of directors were named to the Capistrano Valley Wastewater Authority. Their job was to solicit design and cost proposals for a new sewage treatment plant which would meet growing demands in San Juan Capistrano and Capistrano Beach.

The team found that a new plant would cost $40 million, a prohibitive cost for San Juan Capistrano, which would have paid two thirds, Murphy’s report said.

The new plant would have doubled San Juan Capistrano’s current sewage treatment capacity to 4 million gallons per day. It also would have doubled Capistrano Beach Sanitary District’s current capacity to 2 million gallons per day.

An alternative, Murphy’s report suggests, is to negotiate to have some sewage treatment done at an existing Dana Point plant. Recent discussions have indicated that the plant eventually might be able to process 2 million gallons per day for San Juan Capistrano.