THOUSAND OAKS : City to Vote on Pact for Treatment Plant

Thousand Oaks City Council members tonight can move forward with plans to build an expanded, high-tech waste water treatment plant when they vote on a contract to design the proposed $65-million facility.

The city plans to drastically overhaul the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant within the next few years. The redesign would help Thousand Oaks meet new federal pollutant standards, and ensure the waste water treatment plant could keep pace with a growing population, Public Works Director Donald Nelson said.

The new plant would not need to use chlorine, a potentially toxic chemical, to disinfect waste. Instead, the facility would rely on ultraviolet rays to accomplish the same task--with no hazardous waste byproducts, Nelson said.

To eliminate odors, city officials plan to shut down the sludge storage pits and handle solid wastes off-site, he added.

The project would be paid for through bond issues or other debt financing, and through a likely increase in waste water service fees, Nelson said. The city has already saved up a small fund to start the project, but “it’s just a couple of million, just peanuts” compared to the total price tag, Nelson said.

The council will vote tonight on a $997,228 contract with CH2M Hill California Inc. to complete preliminary designs on the facility. If awarded, that contract will bring the company’s total consulting fees to $1.25 million.