Robert Chacon
Several blocks of Ocean View Boulevard and surrounding streets will
be torn up as part of a proposed upgrade of the Crescenta Valley
Water District's sewer system so it can accommodate homes in La
Canada Flintridge.
The city is negotiating with the water district to connect about
600 lots to the water district's sewer system. Only homes in Sewer
District No. 3a will connect to the Crescenta Valley Water District
because that area slopes toward La Crescenta. The rest of the homes
in the city's yet-to-be completed system will connect to Los Angeles
County's sanitation district.
An eight-inch sewage collection pipe running from the intersection
of Ocean View and Foothill boulevards in La Canada Flintridge
downhill to the intersection of Montrose and Honolulu avenues needs
to be increased to a 12-inch pipe, officials said.
"That will take major construction," said Ron Mitchell, the water
district secretary and treasurer.
Costs have yet to be determined because the water district has not
added any sewers since it constructed its system during the 1980s.
The cost of installing eight-inch water pipes gives an indication
of how much installing a sewer line of the same size will be.
Installing water lines comes to slightly less than $118 a foot.
Because a sewer line runs deeper, it would be more expensive,
Mitchell said.
The water district will have to upgrade at least a mile of piping,
district Engineer David Gould said.
Water district and city officials will meet next week to discuss
costs of construction for the new line and other costs. One issue is
who would be responsible for maintaining the sewers for Sewer
District No. 3a, the county, which the city contracts to maintain the
rest of its sewers, or the water district.
"We're open depending on what is better cost-wise," said Steve
Castellanos, director of public works for La Canada Flintridge. "It
might make more sense, for the sake of continuity, to still contract
with the county."
Connection fees are another issue. Residents in Sewer District No.
1 and 2 are charged almost $1,100. The water district, however,
charges $2,100 for connection fees.
Sewer District No. 1 is complete, and Sewer District No. 2 is
scheduled to be finished by the end of the year. Construction on
Sewer District No. 3 is scheduled for September, but officials do not
have a projected finish date for the entire project.
