The 2023-2026 proposed increase in sewer service charges allowed the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District to continue its long-term capital improvement plan to modernize and upgrade its aging infrastructure and facilities, safeguard public health, protect the environment, and comply with increasing State and Federal regulatory requirements.

For the past decade, the District’s Board of Directors has focused much of its attention on renovating and upgrading the District’s aging collection and treatment infrastructure.

The District recently completed its Secondary Treatment Plant Upgrade and Recycled Water Expansion Project, increasing treatment and water recycling capacity to meet permit requirements. It was the largest project at the District since the original treatment plant was built in the 1950s. The next phase of upgrades identified at the treatment plant require additional infrastructure investment. Primary clarification and UV disinfection projects at the plant will allow the District to meet increasingly stringent water quality regulations. Flow Equalization and Treatment Plant Headworks projects will help the District weather large storm events during periods of heavy rain and prolonged ground saturation by allowing the extra wastewater that enters the sewer collection system, a process known as Infiltration & Inflow (I&I), to be held for treatment until the wastewater flow to the treatment plant subsides. Replacement of the digester and improving the solids process will round out the major improvements currently identified.

Plans are being considered for replacement of the original Administrative and Operations Building, which was built in the 1950s, as well as the laboratory, which is currently housed in a portable building, and need to be brought up to current standards. The District is in the process of planning for new operations and laboratory buildings, which will include an education center and board room, to be located at the treatment plant, pending design, regulatory, and environmental approvals. The project will be financed with the debt service expected to be between 20 and 30 years.

The District operates a sanitary sewer collection system comprised of approximately 105 miles of gravity sewer lines, 6.7 miles of force mains, and 28 pump stations. There are 2,985 manholes and approximately 52.5 miles of privately owned laterals. The District is one of two full-service sanitary districts in Marin. The State Water Resources Control Board has ordered that the District implement a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) which requires funding for and rehabilitation of the sewer collection system to maintain its usefulness.

Along with a program of sewer main rehabilitation and replacement, the District is funding a sewer I&I reduction program as part of its SSMP. Key projects in the collection system also include electrical system and communication upgrades for 7 pump stations, Lower Marinwood Trunk Sewer and Upper Terra Linda Truck Sewer and Siphon improvements, and Hwy 101 undercrossing projects.

A Notice providing important information about our rates and June 30, 2023 Public Hearing was mailed on May 9, 2023 to residents and property owners.

The proposed increase will help fund the continuation of the Capital Improvement Program