The Hollister City Council bulked up a planned sewer plant this
week by 20 percent, saying the $6 million increase in capacity will
keep pace with population growth seven years longer than the
smaller model approved last December.
The Hollister City Council bulked up a planned sewer plant this week by 20 percent, saying the $6 million increase in capacity will keep pace with population growth seven years longer than the smaller model approved last December.
Its capacity will increase from the previously approved 4 million gallons a day to 5 MGD of sewage. The current pond system, where a failed berm led to 15 million gallons of treated sewage gushing into the San Benito River bed in May 2002, takes in about 2.75 MGD, Quilter said.
Once construction is finished, the state plans to lift its ban on building permits in Hollister, which should lead to steady population growth and a need for more sewer capacity.
The change of scope approved Monday is expected to cost Hollister residents about $2 to $3 more a month on top of an expected doubling of sewer rates once a fee study is released in early June, according to interim City Manager Clint Quilter.
Officials broadened the project for a couple of reasons: They don’t want Hollister back in the same position a decade from now, and another local water district has expressed interest in being serviced by the new plant.
“I think for the little bit of extra cost (relative to overall expenses), I’d much rather create a solution that’s going to last much longer for the community,” Mayor Tony Bruscia said.
In December, the Council approved a smaller plant with an estimated $32.4 million price tag. The enlargement increases the estimated cost to $38.3 million and means Hollister must sell $30 million in sewer bonds – $5 million more than previously planned.
The latest dollar figures have climbed considerably since initial plans 18 months ago estimated a new plant would cost $18 million. Officials chose a more modern design – a mostly indoor plant as opposed to percolation ponds – than originally suggested.
Officials most recently changed plans, they say, because it will serve the city even longer. A larger plant should keep up with population growth until 2024 – seven more years than with the smaller plant, according to city officials.
Those growth projections came from a completed draft of the updated General Plan. It should get final approval before July.
It was necessary to wait for the new growth blueprint, Bruscia said, before increasing the plant’s size.
“We have to be able to justify what we’re building,” Bruscia said.
He also mentioned the Sunnyslope Water District’s interest in having its 1,200 customers served by the new plant as another reason for the larger size. Sunnyslope discharges about 380,000 MGD, according to Bryan Yamaoka, the district’s general manager.
The city and Sunnyslope officials have held preliminary talks about the possibility, Yamaoka said. He said the district plans to either join in with the city or upgrade its own system, but nothing is concrete.
Sunnyslope is facing pressures from the state Regional Water Quality Control Board to improve its treatment methods and water quality, Yamaoka confirmed. Its system has many of the same problems as Hollister’s, including high concentrations of salts caused by water softeners.
