ROBIN B. HAMERS -- Community Commentary

Residents in the city of Costa Mesa and portions of Newport Beach and

the county can be proud they are part of the Costa Mesa Sanitary

District.

The sanitary district provides two services: collecting and recycling

trash for 21,000 residences, and owning and operating a 325-mile sewer

system serving 110,000 people. By having only two duties, the elected

officials and staff can stay focused on their responsibility of

maintaining a very high level of service.

In the case of the sewer system, the officials do not have to weigh

funding for programs such as parks, police or fire instead of the sewer

system. The system gets top priority. The directors and staff consider

the sewer system a prized asset and treat it as such. In 1989, the

district began a four-year comprehensive videotaping program in which

cameras were sent down the entire sewer system, and the tapes were

cataloged and used as the basis for a maintenance program. Any problems

found in the system were immediately fixed and, consequently, the system

is in excellent condition with a long life expectancy. Small yearly

televising projects are completed to insure the system remains in top

condition.

Whereas some agencies are just now finding their system has

significant leaks or deteriorated pipelines and are considering a

televising program, the Costa Mesa Sanitary District is considering

whether to embark on its second districtwide televising program. Staying

one step ahead of the aging process is a key to successful asset

management. In 1995, the directors of the district showed additional

foresight and established a long-term replacement fund to prepare for

rehabilitating the system when it reaches its life expectancy. The

district has established a yearly contribution to the fund and maintains

an appropriate level of reserves. An adequate replacement fund is an

extremely important asset as construction costs and the cost of living

increase year after year.

The district also has two full-time cleaning crews that clean and

monitor the system day in and day out. The result of the district’s

commitment to its responsibilities has been a system where only a handful

of preventable sewer spills have occurred over the last 20 years.

Discharge of grease, mainly from restaurants, is the real culprit behind

sewer spills, and the district is testing state-of-the-art enzyme and

bacteria systems to counteract the problem.

The cost to residents in the district for all these sewer services is

only $23.02 a year for single family residences and $17.72 a year for multifamily residences, rates that have not increased in eight years.

It is interesting to note that the federal government is now

initiating regulations requiring cities, counties and special districts

to treat all their assets, such as sewer systems, in a manner that

requires more awareness, maintenance and planning. This will insure the

infrastructure systems across the United States do not fall into

disrepair. In the case of the residents of the Costa Mesa Sanitary

District, they can rest assured these steps have already been taken.

* ROBIN B. HAMERS is the manager and district engineer of the Costa

Mesa Sanitary District.