HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 295_09TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: UTILITIES
DATE: JULY 6, 2009 CMR: 295:09
REPORT TYPE: INFORMATIONAL
SUBJECT: Update and Recommendation on City Response to Sewer System
Events
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
As Council is aware, sewer back-ups into homes and businesses are costly, for both the City and
property owners. The W ater-Gas-Wastewater Division of the Utilities Department has been
working with the City Attorney's Office to come up with potential approaches to minimize
liability and reduce sewer back-ups.
DISCUSSION
In October and December 2007, the City Attorney's Office and Utilities staff presented two
informational reports to Council in response to sewer back-ups, with recommendations, several
of which are already implemented.
First, a recommendation was made to amend the Plumbing Code in order to allow the expanded
use of backwater protection devices on certain types of laterals to prevent wastewater from
overflowing inside a building. Utilities staff assisted the City Attorney's Office in amending the
Plumbing Code, which Council adopted as part of the 2007 Building Code amendment process.
Second, Utilities staff is working with the City'S Risk Manager and the City Attorney's Office on
a contractual relationship with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) to provide
sewer back-up management services. ABAG's services will include the management of sewer
backup claims and oversight of the professional cleanup and restoration process. By retaining a
third party firm to manage the response to sewer spills, this will allow professionals to collect
valuable incident documentation in the event a claim is filed. Although, these services will have
CMR: 295:09 Page 1 of3
some initial cost, performing some clean-up immediately will mitigate more substantial cost later
on, when a claim is filed by a homeowner or business.
Third, the City has contracted with Roto Rooter Services Company to provide timely response to
sewer lateral back-ups 24-hours/day, 365 days/year. This service benefits customers by ensuring
a consistently fast response. Due to the refined benchmarks set as the result of the
implementation of the Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR), the City
refocused its mainline maintenance levels to reduce sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).
Staff is also considering several other changes to the City Utilities Rules & Regulations related
to the wastewater laterals. The changes being considered are described below:
• Requiring homeowners to obtain a video inspection of their sewer laterals when:
property is transferred, building permits are issued, a spill occurs, a backup
occurs, or a defect is identified by the City during maintenance.
• Increasing the use of backflow devices by requiring the installation on existing
homes that are vulnerable to backups when there is a main stoppage.
Lastly, staff will be recommending that Council consider enacting an ordinance to transfer
responsibility for the lower sewer lateral to private property owners. This ordinance may include
a pre-evaluation, repair if needed, and a limited warranty. This recommendation is being made
in an effort to encourage property-owner responsibility for their laterals and associated
maintenance work. Currently, the City is responsible for the portion of the sewer lateral between
the property line and the wastewater collection system main in the street. In neighboring
communities, including East Palo Alto, the Union Sanitary District (Fremont, Union City,
Newark), the East Bay Municipal Utility District (Contra Costa Counties), Los Altos Hills,
Belmont, Brisbane, Mountain View, San Mateo County, and Hillsborough, the homeowner is
responsible for maintaining the entire lateral.
Another important consideration is a relatively recent change to the State's waste discharge
requirements. On May 2, 2006, pursuant to its authority under California Water Code §13263,
the State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) adopted the WDR and issued Water Quality
Order No. 2006-0003 to regulate wastewater collection system management. On October 22,
2007, the Council reviewed and approved the schedule that contained due dates for developing
various elements of the Sanitary Sewer Management Plan (SSMP) as required by the SWRCB.
On July 27, 2009, staff will recommend that Council certify the SSMP, which will be used as a
guide to manage the City's sanitary sewer collection system. The intent of the WDR and the
SSMP is to provide a plan and schedule to help reduce and prevent SSOs. Under the WDR
Order, all SSOs must be reported, if they occur in the publicly owned portion of the sanitary
sewer system.
The SSOs Incident Map (Attachment A) from the SWRCB website shows Palo Alto with
significantly more overflow events than in the surrounding communities. During the period from
April 2007 to April 2009, there were 377 lower lateral overflows compared to 18 mainline
overflows. The majority of the reported incidents shown on the map are due to backups in the
lower lateral.
CMR: 295:09 Page 2 of3
In the fall, staff will bring a proposal to the Policy & Services Committee and to Council with
options for an equitable transfer of the lower lateral to the property owner.
RESOURCE IMPACT
This report is informational in nature and does not result in any resource impacts at this time.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This request does not represent a change in current policy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The provision of these services do not constitute a project pursuant to Section 21065 of the
Califomia Public Resources Code, thus no environmental review under CEQA is required.
ATTACHMENT
A: Sanitary Sewer Overflow Incident Map
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CMR: 295:09
~DWARDWU
/AltO Senior Project Engineer
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Project Engineer
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Assistant Director of Utilities Engineering
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Director of Utilities
Page 3 of3
Attachment A: Sanitary Sewer Overflow Incident Map
a State Water Resources Control Board -Windows Internet Explorer
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Resl:nl(CeS Contr~ Bwrd
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) Incident Map
Background Map
SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS: 0211612009· 0611612009
Spill type: + Category 1 0 Category 2
• Click on a map ioon for incident information.
Note.' Map does not inGlude
spills from sewage treatment
plants.
o Show all mcidents
@ Show only incidents with valid
GPS coordinates
Filter by volume {gallonS}:
0-1,000,000+ gal.
Set Volume
Filter by date:
02116120()() 06I1512fJ09