Waste Water Treatment Plant Will Be Upgraded : Sewage: The Ojai Valley Sanitary District cites budget and time constraints in rejecting construction of a new facility.

The Ojai Valley Sanitary District will improve its existing waste water treatment plant near the Ventura River rather than build a new facility on adjacent property farther away from the river and potential flood hazards.

In a 6-1 vote, with board member Ted Cartee dissenting, the district board agreed Tuesday that it would be faster and cheaper to upgrade the existing plant to comply with new Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board requirements rather than build a new facility.

Cartee said he was concerned that the current site, which sits on the riverbank, will flood during heavy rain.

Cartee said he did not think that the facility, even in its upgraded state, would have the capacity to process the increase in waste that is expected once the area grows.

In 1990, the district was ordered to replace outdated equipment by July, 1993, said district General Manager Eric Oltmann. If the district fails to make the necessary improvements, it will face daily fines of up to $25,000.

Oltmann said the district will apply for a time extension because the project, estimated to cost $22 million to $23 million, will take more than three years to complete.

“They gave us three years to comply with what is essentially a six-year project,” Oltmann said.

The alternative plan, which would have required a zoning change from the county, was to build a new plant on a site 300 yards away on Ventura Avenue.

“Zoning changes are not easy to get,” Oltmann said.

The cost of that project would have been $25 million to $30 million, he said.

The improvements will paid for by increased rates, which Oltmann said will probably rise over the next several years from the current monthly cost per average household of $18.40 to nearly $30.