North County : Board Ponders Land for Sewer Project

Directors of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District met in closed session at a special meeting Monday to discuss buying land for a controversial proposed sewer plant along the Ventura River.

District Manager Eric Oltmann said he asked for the board’s direction Monday to determine how to negotiate with three potential land sellers in the event a new plant is ordered. Shul Bonsall, owner of the 6,000-acre Canada Larga Ranch that includes Weldon Canyon, is among them, Oltmann said.

At a public workshop May 6, district directors said they intended to appoint 14 citizens to an advisory panel to assist in the sewer plant decision. Studies have shown that the existing plant is polluting the Ventura River and cannot be upgraded to meet permit regulations imposed by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Four former district directors argued at the workshop against building a new plant, which is estimated to cost up to $47 million. They urged the district to explore other alternatives.

Built in 1963 south of Casitas Springs, the plant was expanded 14 years ago and has sewage capacity for 2,900 more residences, officials said.

However, recent studies indicate that the plant cannot easily accommodate new treatment methods. The water quality control board ordered the district a year ago to upgrade the plant by mid-1993.

The plant each day dumps into the Ventura River 2 million gallons of waste water that carries viruses harmful to humans and ammonia and phosphorus toxic to fish.

Ojai Councilwoman Nina Shelley, who stepped down last year after five years on the sewer board, warned that financing a $47-million plant would be a heavy burden for the district’s 12,000 ratepayers.

Monthly bills could jump from $16 to $40, officials said.

Former director Frank McDevitt of Shaver Lake said it might be cheaper to pump the sewage off Ventura’s shore.

Former directors Tom Jamison and Bob Branch also urged the district to ask water quality officials for more time to study other options.