Sanitation Rate Hikes Under Consideration

The Energy and Environment committee of the Los Angeles City Council delayed a vote Tuesday on a proposal to nearly double sanitation rates for Los Angeles ratepayers, even while officials warn of outdated sewer lines in dire need of maintenance.

The Bureau of Sanitation, a part of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, is seeking to increase rates 40 percent over a five-year period.

A “catastrophe” could ensue if a current system fails, said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director for sanitation.

The department has not inspected the major sewer line running from Venice to the Hyperion Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey in more than 50 years. The line carries about 20 percent of the city's wastewater.

“If it fails, it could be a catastrophe to the environment, business and to communities in Venice and Marina del Rey,” Hagekhalil said.

An emergency sewer collapse could cost five to 10 times as much as the cost of routine maintenance, he said.

The Energy and Environment committee delayed a vote on the proposal because members wanted to clarify the projects the funds would go toward, said Lisa Mowery, chief financial officer of the Bureau of Sanitation.

Questions also revolved around job creation and the difference between a five-year and 10-year rate adjustment. The committee also wanted to see a compilation of letters of support, Mowery said.  

The average Los Angeles household pays about $29 a month in sewer rates, Hagekhalil said. Under the proposal, that amount would increase to about $42.

Still, the new rate would fall into the lower bracket of costs nationally. San Franciscans pay about $85 a month on average. Residents of Atlanta pay about $110 a month.

“There’s been the need for rate increases for the last three years,” Hagekhalil said.

The department has cut staff and restructured its debt to avoid going directly to ratepayers, but further investment can no longer be delayed, he said.

Among other projects around the city, the bureau wants to put the revenue from a rate increase toward a backup system for the line from the Venice Pumping Plant on Hurricane Street to the Hyperion Treatment Plant.

This project has recently faced legal challenges, however. A county judge last week that a new route from Venice to Playa del Rey would violate California's Public Utilities Code.

"We are working with county staff directly ... on the alignment," Hagekhalil said. 

Marina del Rey is a contract agency with the city and residents of the county would not necessarily see utility bill increases with the measure. The county’s sewer lines are up to date, said Ken Wong, planning chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

However, sewage from county residences does leave Marina del Rey and enter larger lines going to the Hyperion treatment plant, Mowery said.

“There is certainly an interest in making sure the infrastructure that’s serving the city of Los Angeles is in good shape,” Mowery added.

If the City Council committee moves to approve the increases, the bureau will send out notices to ratepayers and a hearing would take place in front of the full City Council.