DANA POINT : Water, Sewer District Merger Considered

A proposal to build a $3-million desalting plant has resulted in two special districts seriously considering consolidating.

The 63-year-old Capistrano Beach Sanitary District and the Capistrano Beach County Water District, formed in 1950, will hold a workshop to discuss the possible merger at 9 a.m. Saturday. The five-member boards of directors of both independent bodies will be in attendance, and the public is invited.

“The two districts are going to look at the pros and cons of a merger and a possible course of action,” said Dennis Erdman, general manager of the sanitary district, whose board has proposed the merger. “We’ll look at how any economies of scale can be affected. There is certainly a duplication of efforts at the moment.”

The desalting plant, which would employ a reverse osmosis method that would pump ground water through a filter to remove solids and make it potable, has been proposed by the water district. But because the plant would be built on 1.5 acres of leased sanitation district property, it has generated talks of a merger, Erdman said.

“That would undoubtedly be easier if it was done under one agency,” Erdman said. He added that the water district has already appropriated $150,000 for an engineering study of the desalting plant, so the proposal is “more than just a dream.”

A similar desalting plant has been proposed by the San Juan Basin Authority, a joint powers agency of several inland water districts, for San Juan Capistrano.

John P. Serences, general manager of the water district, said his board was noncommittal on the idea but is “willing to listen.”

“It’s all purely hypothetical at this time,” Serences said. “We would like to find out what each district would get out of the idea, and if it is economical.”

Erdman suggested that a merger would be economical because the shared use of equipment and the reduction of administrative and board expenses could save the public money.

The service territories of the two district are now similar, although the water district area is slightly larger, serving about two-thirds of the southern portion of Dana Point. The sanitary district now serves about one-third of the southern portion of Dana Point and about 1,000 customers in northern San Clemente.

The meeting will be at the Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District building, 34052 Del Obispo St. in Dana Point.