San Benito County will have to ante up nearly $84,000 for its
share of a water plan, which, once complete, will serve as the
blueprint for water and wastewater management for the region.
Hollister – San Benito County will have to ante up nearly $84,000 for its share of a water plan, which, once complete, will serve as the blueprint for water and wastewater management for the region.
County supervisors voted last week to pay $83,913, which is 13 percent of the cost of the $645,490 plan. The county agreed to pay the percentage in 2004 when it joined with the county water district and the City of Hollister to form the Governance Committee for the Hollister Urban Water and Wastewater Master Plan.
The majority of the plan will be paid for by Hollister and the water district. At 45 percent, the water district will pay $290,470. Hollister will pay 42 percent – $271,105.
The master plan, which is currently being drafted by HDR Consulting, will be complete in the fall. Among others, goals for the plan include improving water quality and increasing the reliability of water sources.
Hollister has been struggling with water issues for years as a result of too much growth and not enough infrastructure. In 2002, the state imposed a moratorium on sewer hook-ups in the city after 15 million gallons of treated sewage spilled into the San Benito River. The governance committee is also working toward getting a new sewage treatment plant constructed in Hollister so the state will lift the moratorium, which has brought development in the city to a near standstill. City officials anticipate having a new sewer built between mid-2008 and early-2009. The Hollister Urban Water and Wastewater Master Plan is a long-range component of the effort which will also guide long-term water and wastewater improvements as the region grows. Although officials estimate the city’s cost for a new sewer system could reach $148 million, the cost for the water and wastewater master plan is independent of that figure.
While the decision to allocate the funds was approved, Supervisor Anthony Botelho questioned whether the plan was really necessary during a board meeting last week.
“I’m just concerned that we’ve been studying this basin to death,” he said, adding that he would like to see some actual projects get moving. “So far I’m not 100 percent sure we’re moving in that direction quick enough.”
Supervisor Don Marcus, who represents the board on the Governance Committee, said that he saw the $84,000 the county would spend on the plan as an investment in the future that is worth the cost now. He assured Botelho that the Governance Committee is moving in the right direction.
After the meeting, Marcus said San Benito County needs to participate with Hollister’s water planning because how the city treats and disposes of wastewater will ultimately affect the entire county. Also, he said, the whole county will benefit economically once the sewer moratorium is lifted and new business and industry can locate in Hollister.
“It’s an investment toward the economic stability of the entire county,” he said during an interview after the meeting.
