OJAI VALLEY : Panel Approves Sewer Rate Hike
Sewer fees have risen dramatically for residents of the Ojai Valley.
As of July 1, monthly sewer fees will jump about $6, from an average of $20.87 to $26.43. And the rates will continue to rise incrementally within two years to an average of more than $30 a month.
The board of the sanitary district approved the rate hike Monday at its twice-monthly meeting.
The rate hike is necessary to pay for construction of the district’s $27.5-million sewage-treatment plant, said Eric J. Oltmann, general manager of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District.
“We adopted these rates with great reluctance, but we had no choice,” Oltmann said. “The new plant is expensive and must be paid for. There was no alternative.”
The plant, which is being built to satisfy requirements imposed by the state in 1990, will upgrade the treatment of sewage before it is discharged into the Ventura River as waste water.
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