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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-15 e-packet@6:31 SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE 0 CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO �zr 0R P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 Meeting to be held at: MT TNICIPAL SERVICES BT TILDIN(s Council Chambers 33 ARROYO DRIVE S o l 1'.1,1.1 SAN FRANCISCO, CA WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014 6:31 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California, the City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, the 15th day of October, 2014, at 6:31 p.m., in the Municipal Services Building, Council Chambers, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting: I. Call to Order. 2. Roll Call. 3. Public Comments—comments are limited to items can the Special.meeting Agenda. 4. Agenda Review 5. Study Session: Overview of sewer lateral connection conditions and options for City assistance to address lateral connection defects. (Brian McMinn, Director of Public Works/City Engineer) 6. Adjournment. f ) Y, sta rt � � i lerk 0 Stae-iff Report DATE: October 15, 2014 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Brian McMinn, Director of Public Works/City Engineer SUBJECT- OVERVIEW OF SEWER LATERAL CONNECTION CONDITIONS AND OPTIONS FOR CITY ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS LATERAL CONNECTION DEFECTS RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council review and discuss the creation of a sewer lateral connection defect abatement program,including options for assistance,and provide staff direction. BACKGROUND/DISCUS SION Identifying Problems with Sewer Lateral Connections The Public Works Department conducts closed circuit television(CCTV)inspections on 20 percent of the sanitary sewer collection system main lines each year, resulting in a complete inspection of the City's sanitary sewer collection system over a five-year period. These inspections are part of the City's Sanitary Sewer Management Plan that must be implemented to remain compliant with state waste discharge requirements. Beyond state and federal mandates, inspections are a key component of identifying and eliminating potential causes of sanitary sewer overflows. CCTV inspections are used to determine low, medium, and high areas of concern within the collection system. The results guide increased cleaning efforts and development of capital improvement projects to correct the areas of concern. The City's CCTV inspection of sewer mains is revealing numerous sewer laterals which were installed incorrectly or have deteriorated connections. In some cases,the sewer lateral is visibly protruding into the sewer main. In others,the lateral is no longer fully connected at the main. Protrusions in the main have the potential to create blockages and the resulting sanitary sewer overflows. Deteriorated grout and disconnected laterals are a source of inflow during periods of wet weather and extreme cases can lead to sink holes in the street. Gaps in sewer lateral connections also allow the intrusion of tree roots which contribute to sewer overflows. Sewer lateral connections in the City are inspected during construction. Newer lateral connections are accomplished with a factory manufactured fitting which is greatly improved over older connection practices. Under permitted construction,an inspection is performed once the lateral is connected and prior to covering the pipes with soil. Older subdivisions in the City were constructed at a time when a factory- manufactured connection fitting was not available and the technology for internal inspection of pipes did Staff Report Subject: OVERVIEW OF SEWER LATERAL CONNECTION CONDITIONS AND OPTIONS FOR SEWER LATERAL ASSISTANCE TO ABATE LATERAL CONNECTION DEFECTS Page 2 of 4 not exist. A visual inspection of a lateral connection to a sewer main could have appeared to be properly inserted and grouted. Proper construction does not guarantee that a connection will remain sound in perpetuity. Sewer pipes and connections are subject to decay and disrepair. Grout can become brittle allowing for separation of connections.Differential settlement of soil at various locations under a pipe can also compromise connections. CCTV inspections are currently being performed to prepare for"lining"of older pipes. The insertion of a cure in place liner inside older pipes is a less expensive and easier way to extend the life of a sewer main. The alternative to lining is digging up and replacing the line. Lateral defects have to be addressed prior to pipe lining to allow for the liner insertion and to ensure the integrity of the rehabilitated sewer main. Ownership and obligation for proper maintenance of laterals is defined within Chapter 14 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code.The City is responsible for maintaining the lower sanitary sewer lateral fi-om a city-approved cleanout wye within the sidewalk to the sewer main.Where no sidewalk exists,the City will maintain the lower lateral from a city-approved cleanout wye located within 2.5 feet of the City sanitary sewer main. The property owner is responsible to maintain the upper sanitary sewer lateral to either the point of connection with the cleanout wye on the building sanitary sewer lateral or to the City sanitary sewer main whenever a city-approved cleanout wye is not installed. Proposed Ongoing Sewer Lateral Repair Program Staff estimates the total number of lateral connection defects could be as high as 600 private laterals and 1,200 public maintained lateral connections,based upon the current rate of discovery.The costs fortypical sewer lateral repairs range from $5,000 to$8,000 per lateral.This means that the aggregated cost of repairs could be in the range of$9,million to $1.4.4 million. Bringing all lateral connections within the City up to current standards cannot be accomplished with one large project. Successful elimination of lateral connection defects will require a sustainable, on-going program. One method of systematically addressing lateral connection defects is to make it a part of ongoing CIP projects to rehabilitate aging sewer mains. Repairing connections just prior to pipe lining ensures that a limited number of connections will need to be addressed in any given year. The amount of CIP funding that is programmed for pipe rehabilitation in the coming years would rehabilitate mains containing approximately 60 defective lateral connections or $300,000 to$4480,000 in lateral repairs. The cost of repair of City maintained lower laterals is included in the CIP project budget for sewer main rehabilitation. The Municipal Code requires property owners to repair a defective sewer lateral within 120 days of notice provided by the City. If action is not taken to make timely repairs,the City can make repairs for the owner and lien the property for the cost. The cost of sewer lateral repairs is a significant impact to a property owner. The City has provided limited financial assistance in the past. Most recently, assistance was provided while the City was under a consent decree with the Baykeeper organization.A limited annual fund provided homeowners the lesser of half of the cost of a repair, or $2,500. The Sewer Enterprise Fund provided $60,000 per year for sewer lateral assistance which was allocated to owners on a first come first serve basis. The use of Sewer Enterprise Funds at that time was acceptable because the City was obligated to provide the assistance to comply with the consent decree. Staff Report Subject: OVERVIEW OF SEWER LATERAL CONNECTION CONDITIONS AND OPTIONS FOR SEWER LATERAL ASSISTANCE TO ABATE LATERAL CONNECTION DEFECTS Page 3 of 4 The problems associated with sewer collection systeins are not unique to South San Francisco. Staff surveyed a number of local agencies and found the following cities had some form of assistance in their sewer lateral programs. City/Organization Program Details City will cover up to 75% of cost, Hillsborough. minimum loan of$3,000 to pay back within 3 years. City offers 20% rebate of total cost up to Millbrae $1,000. City will pay 50% up to $1,700 with a San Bruno camera fee up to $150. San Mateo City will pay 50% up to $5,000. West Valley District offers $3,500 loan which property Sanitation owner must pay back within 5 years. District offers insurance program via West Bay Sanitation HomeServe USA. West Bay doesn't maintain lower laterals. Staff is proposing an income qualified assistance program that provides more assistance to those with low to moderate income. Qualifications would be based upon criteria established for other programs such as the Community Development Block Grant(CD13G). Under a qualified assistance program, all residents would be eligible for the lesser of half of the cost of a repair or $2,500. Those who qualify based upon income would be eligible for the cost of the repair or arnaxinium of$5,000.Income qualification would be tied to the number of adults in the household. For example, a household of two adults earning less than $70,000 would qualify for the greater assistance. As repairs are made to private laterals, an approved cleanout is installed within the right-of-way and the City takes over maintenance of the lower lateral. This ensures that the property owner will no longer have to make any mainline connection repairs in the future. Given the large number of lateral connections that must be repaired,there is an opportunity for economy of scale. Bidding of a large number of repairs in one contract will encourage competitive bids.Reducing costs by even a few hundred dollars will add up to significant savings for the City.Residents could also benefit from volume pricing if they were given the opportunity to participate and could elect to pay a deposit to be placed in the pool for an annual repair contract. Once repairs are completed under the bulk purchase contract, the difference between the deposit and the final cost of repair would be refunded. Staff Report Subject: OVERVIEW OF SEWER LATERAL CONNECTION CONDITIONS AND OPTIONS FOR SEWER LATERAL ASSISTANCE TO ABATE LATERAL CONNECTION DEFECTS Page 4 of,4 FUNDING If the City is interested in developing a lateral connection abatement program,staff recommends utilizing General Funds as part of a pilot program. Staff recommends that$60,000 per year be set aside initially for lateral assistance under such a program.This is estimated to cover the cost of assistance for private laterals that would be encountered during an annual CIP sewer main rehabilitation project. Assistance program funding could be allocated in a mid-year budget adjustment. The cost for repair of City maintained lower laterals is included in the CIP project budgets. Use of Sewer Enterprise Funds for lateral assistance would have to be communicated to rate payers through a Proposition 218 process. If the pilot program proves successful,the City could include funding a permanent program as part of the Sewer Enterprise Fund during the next Proposition 218 rate setting process in 2017. The City recently went through the Proposition 218 mandate noticing of property owners to establish rates for fiscal years 2014115 through 2016/17. CONCLUSION Because of the numerous negative consequences associated with faulty sewer lateral connections, a sustainable lateral program is recommended. The City can compel repairs to defective lateral connections, but options for assistance are not currently available. Staff is recommending a pilot sewer lateral assistance program to include up to$60,000 in General Fund dollars per year for homeowner assistance. Elements of the program could include: * $500,000 in Sewer Enterprise Fund dollars for sewer main rehabilitation(already established through the recent Proposition 218 process) * $60,000 in General Fund dollars for owner assistance annually * Up to $2,500 in assistance for all homeowners * Up to $5,000 in assistance for low income households * An option for homeowners to participate in a competitively bid,multi-lateral repair contract * City abatement and lien of properties in the case of non-responsive homeowners per the South San Francisco Municipal Code By: Approved: Brian McMinn Mike Futrell Director of Public Works/City Engineer City Managvr 2341091. 1