Engineers Issue Warning on Aging Sewer System
Though their solution remains the same, engineers studying South Gate’s crumbling sewer system warn that recent sinkholes and sewage backups could make repairs far more urgent than they expected just a year ago.
During five meetings with residents over the next month, city staff members hope to build support for a $10-million municipal bond to pay for repairs to about a third of the 90-mile system.
A decision last year to nearly double residents’ sewer rates has failed to produce enough money to mend deteriorating pipes and repair seven sewer collapses in the past nine months, public works Director Jim Biery said.
Plans are still underway to line the city’s 60-year-old concrete sewers with a plastic coating rather than dig up the streets and replace the pipes.
If residents and the City Council support the bond, it could mean doubling the average sewer bill to about $7 per month over the next five years.
Public meetings to discuss the issue are scheduled to begin today at 11 a.m. at Stanford Elementary School, 2833 Illinois Ave. The next forum will be held April 27 at South Gate High School, 3351 Firestone Blvd.
A Spanish translator has been assigned to attend each of the meetings through the conclusion May 18 at South Gate Middle School.
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