Sewer fees at work

Bryce Alderton

Residents needn’t wait to see their money in action.

Two projects are already underway using the funds from the new city

sewer fee.

The city has contracted with the AES Construction Co. to demolish and

replace two sewer lift stations under the streets of Huntington Beach.

One project is at Pacific Coast Highway and Admiralty Drive, and the

other is on the southbound side of Brookhurst Street, just south of

Atlanta Avenue.

The two sewer lift stations being repaired are among 27 city lift

stations designed to keep sewage flowing smoothly throughout the city

before it enters county sanitation plants for treatment.

“Huntington Beach is a flat city and if we don’t have gravity taking

the sewage through the pipes, the sewage has nowhere to go, and it might

overflow through manhole covers,” said city engineer Dave Webb.

AES has begun removing the pavement on Brookhurst and will soon dig a

28-foot hole in the ground.

This will enable crews to remove and construct a new collection system

that consists of two wells separated by a concrete wall. One well

collects the sewage and the other well pumps the sewage through pipes

toward sanitation district facilities.

The wells will be elevated about four feet off the ground at the

bottom of the hole to allow gravity to carry the sewage through the

system.

The southbound side of Brookhurst Street has been relegated to one

lane since work first began in June, and is expected to remain at one

lane until completion, which is expected by April.

“Construction is never convenient,” said deputy city engineer Doug

Stack.

Capacity problems and an aging system are the biggest reasons for the

construction.

The sewer stations were originally built in the 1960s.

“We have to make sure we can handle [sewage flow] in the future so we

don’t get all this backup,” Webb said. “Some of these stations are 40

years old and have reached the end of their useful life. We’re finally

seeing the fruits of the sewer fee.”

The sewer fee is in its first month after City Council voted to adopt

the fee in August. The fee, paid by all residents and businesses of

Huntington Beach, funds the maintenance and repair of sewer systems.

The fee is expected to raise about $5.6 million annually. The two

sewer station projects cost about $2.1 million combined. For Webb, these

projects are hopefully just the beginning of a citywide attempt to

improve infrastructure.

“This is just a component of what needs to happen. We still have storm

drains, city buildings [and] roads that need to have a funding

mechanism,” Webb said. “We have to start repairing items before they

fail. I’m in favor of most things that bring a revenue source whether

that be a tax or whatever.”

* BRYCE ALDERTON is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at bryce.alderton@latimes.com