VENTURA RIVER : Waste Filter System Ordered Installed

The Ojai Valley Sanitation District must install a $5-million filter system to clean up the waste water it discharges into the Ventura River, state water authorities said Monday.

The sanitation district has until July, 1993, to comply with the order, which will reduce the viral and bacterial count of the district’s treated waste water, the Regional Water Quality Control Board of Los Angeles decided in a meeting held in Ventura Monday.

To pay for the $5-million filtering system, the district is expected to raise fees to its 11,000 customers by 50% next year. Bills will go up from an average of $10.50 per month to about $16.50 per month.

In addition, the district must reduce the amount of ammonia and control the temperature of the waste water it dumps into the river. The state board also ordered the district to perform a yearlong study to determine whether the sanitary district is responsible for low oxygen levels in the river, a condition that is harmful to fish.

Sanitation district officials did not protest the ruling but asked the board instead for leniency in the compliance deadlines it imposed. Unforeseen problems in construction of the filters, for instance, could delay the project, a sanitary district spokesman said.

Without commenting on the sanitary district’s request, the regional board adopted two measures.

The board approved a five-year permit to allow the sanitation district to continue discharging waste water into the river, provided the district meets the new requirements. It also approved a cease and desist order, which requires the district to stop operations if the filters are not installed in three years.