$7.2-Million Renovation Planned for Aging Sewers : Ojai: Most of the 54,000 feet of pipe will be replaced by lighter, more solid plastic. Ratepayers in nearby cities will share the cost.

A major, $7.2-million sewer rehabilitation project is scheduled to begin next month in downtown Ojai, promising to tear up streets and snarl traffic while crews repair or replace nearly 54,000 feet of underground pipe.

The one-year project by the Ojai Valley Sanitary District will be limited to the city of Ojai, although ratepayers in Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte and Oak View will pay for half the project. Construction is scheduled to start around the first week of August.

The district’s seven-member board of directors plans to award the construction contract to Dorfman & Sons of Woodland Hills at its July 22 meeting, said Eric Oltmann, general manager of the district.

“This sewer system really has not had significant work done since 1927,” Oltmann said, referring to the year it was built. “That’s been the whole problem for us.”

Construction will most likely start around the Montgomery Street area near the Ojai Museum, where sewer pipes are 15 to 16 feet underground, Oltmann said. The construction area will be concentrated in downtown Ojai between Foothill and Gridley roads.

At least 35,000 of the 54,000 feet of pipeline will be totally replaced by lighter, more solid plastic pipes because they are easier to install. Some of the existing pipe will be fortified by being lined with plastic.

The construction project will not extend outside the city limits, because most pipelines elsewhere in the Ojai Valley were installed in the 1960s and are in good condition, Oltmann said.

Sanitary district officials had trouble moving ahead with the project when city officials and many Ojai Valley residents opposed the district’s plan of distributing the project’s costs to customers in the city and surrounding areas.

The dispute was resolved by arbitration, which ended in a judge’s decision to split the costs among all area customers. A portion of the renovation will be paid for by a 30% sewer-service rate hike passed on to all residents by a board vote last month.

Ojai Valley Sanitary District customers pay $288 a year in sewage fees, the highest in Ventura County.

Most of the renovation will be financed by issuing tax-free municipal bonds.

But sanitary officials are warning of even more rate hikes, due to the Water Quality Control Board’s requirement that the district spend $26 million to upgrade its treatment facilities by 1996.

They also have to coordinate with the California Department of Transportation because California 150 runs through most of the construction area, Oltmann said.

Oltmann said that residents should prepare for interruptions in service of up to a week at a time once construction starts. The district plans to send out warnings in the mail a week before the project starts.

When the city of Ojai was responsible for the sewage system back in the 1920s, it installed heavy clay pipelines. But the lines eventually deteriorated due to tree roots penetrating the pipes and cement mortar joints, allowing dirt and debris to migrate inside.

The renovation project was originally recommended in 1964. It was pursued after the city and other sanitary districts in the Ojai Valley combined to create one district in 1985.

“This project was overdue for a long time,” said board member William Lotts.