To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency, Occidental County Sanitation District, Russian River County Sanitation District, Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District, South Park County Sanitation District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency, Occidental, Russian River, Sonoma Valley, and South Park County Sanitation Districts
Staff Name and Phone Number: Kevin Booker (521-1865); Nazareth Tesfai (521-1835)
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
title
Sewer System Management Plans Update
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Resolution of the Board Of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency, Occidental County Sanitation District, Russian River County Sanitation District, Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District, and South Park County Sanitation District approving the implementation of the Sewer System Management Plans for facilities managed by the Sonoma County Water Agency (Airport-Larkfield-Wikiup, Geyserville, Penngrove and Sea Ranch Sanitation Zones), and Occidental, Russian River, Sonoma Valley, and South Park County Sanitation Districts in accordance with State Water Resources Control Board Order No, WQO 2013-0058-Exec
B) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to periodically update the Sewer System Management Plans as necessary to reflect current regulatory requirements and best practices
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Executive Summary:
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) circulated a waste discharge requirement (WDR) permit on May 2, 2006 to regulate sanitary sewer systems. This permit is known as State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ, Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems (Order). On July 30, 2013, Attachment A to the Order was circulated and became effective on September 9, 2013 and is known as Attachment A, State Water Resources Control Board Order No. WQO 2013-0058-EXEC, amending the Monitoring and Reporting Program for Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems (together these documents constitute the WDR). The WDR requires Sewer System Management Plans (Plans) to be developed and implemented. Plans must include provisions to provide proper and cost effective management, operations, and maintenance of sanitary sewer systems, and must be approved by the governing boards for each sewer system every five years.
Discussion:
Sanitary sewer overflows are overflows from sanitary sewer systems that may be of domestic, industrial and/or commercial wastewater. Sanitary sewer overflows may cause a public nuisance, particularly when raw untreated wastewater is discharged to areas with high public exposure.
The WDR requires system-specific Plans to be developed and implemented. Plans must be self-audited at least every two (2) years and updated and approved every five (5) years by the governing board for each sanitary sewer system. The Plan must include provisions to provide proper and cost effective management, operations, and maintenance of sanitary sewer systems, while taking into consideration risk management and cost benefit analysis. Additionally, the Plans must contain a spill response plan that establishes standard procedures for immediate response to a sanitary sewer overflow in a manner designed to minimize water quality impacts and potential nuisance conditions.
These Plans are designed to create programs that reduces untreated wastewater discharges and ensure effective responses to any discharges that occur. The requirements for a Plan specify eleven (11) mandatory elements that must be addressed and that the Plan is made available to the public.
The goal of the Plan is to implement a program that works toward:
1) Preventing any sanitary sewer overflow that results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater to the waters of the United States; and
2) Preventing any sanitary sewer overflow that creates a nuisance (as defined by the California Water Code (Section 13050(m)). This will ensure that:
a) The sanitary sewer system will be properly managed, operated and maintained to minimize sanitary sewer overflows and their impacts on receiving waters and public health.
b) When sanitary sewer overflows occur, the corresponding response will be prompt and all feasible steps will be taken to mitigate impact from the overflow, and reporting, recordkeeping and, when appropriate, public notifications will be adequate.
The Sonoma County Water Agency and the Occidental, Russian River, Sonoma Valley, and South Park County Sanitation Districts’ Plans and the programs to implement the Plans must be approved by the Sonoma County Water Agency and Districts’ Boards of Directors to be in compliance with the requirements set forth in the WDR. The Plans must be presented to the Sonoma County Water Agency and Districts’ Boards of Directors for approval at a public meeting.
Implementation of the programs include routine operation and maintenance activities, including training and use of the Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program Condition Assessment Program to assess sewer lines, develop rehabilitation/replacement plans; develop a protocol for evaluating the impact of sanitary sewer overflows to receiving water, and outreach to residents on the impacts of disposing of fats, oil and grease down the drain.
The Plans have been prepared in compliance with requirements of the State Water Board promulgated waste discharge requirements on May 2, 2006, to regulate sanitary sewer systems. The Plans prepared by Sonoma Water are intended to meet the requirements of the WDR. The Plans document and formalize operations and maintenance procedures that were already in place, with the added benefit of establishing a regular auditing schedule in addition to requirements of regular communications with the public on the implementation of the Plans.
Sonoma Water developed an audit checklist that is based on the WDR. The checklist indicates whether each Plan element is compliant and current. Overall, the Sanitation Zones and Districts are in compliance with the WDR. Many of the Zones/Districts have had zero sewer overflows in the past five years, while others have had multiple sewer overflows. The majority of the sewer overflows occurred during extreme wet weather events, such as the 2017 and 2019 storms. The goal is to minimize the number of sewer overflows, and if possible eliminate them, with the implementation of capital projects, ongoing planning efforts, maintenance projects, and public outreach.
Since 2016, ongoing sanitation efforts include: implementing repair, rehabilitation, and replacement projects within the sewer collection systems; working with local authorities on identifying future development and how it relates to the capacity of the collection systems; and improving the Pollution Prevention and Source Control website to convey outreach and educational materials to the public <https://www.sonomawater.org/sewer-system-management-plans>. The website promotes topics geared to both residents and businesses operating within the various Sanitation Zones and Districts. Additionally, Sonoma Water continues to implement capital projects throughout the various Sanitation Zones and Districts.
Prior Board Actions:
06/14/2016: Adopted a Resolution approving the implementation of the Sewer System Management Plans.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
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Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
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