Locals to vote on sewer

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A nine-year battle by some residents of Rincon Point and other nearby beach communities to connect to the Carpinteria Sanitary District’s sewer system got a boost on Tuesday when the State Water Resources Control Board issued a $2.1 million grant to help offset the costs of the possible conversion.
The switch from septic tanks to sewer has been on the tips of some resident’s tongues for years, but due to several law suits filed by other residents, a vote on the switch is just now underway.


“It’s been a roller coaster ride that sometimes I thought we’d never make it,” said Hillary Hauser, executive director of Heal the Ocean, a local non profit organization who’s goal is to eradicate all sources of ocean pollution and is an outspoken proponent of the switch. “It’s been a saga and so to get to a place where the homeowners can vote and just get the support from the state is just really gratifying and I hope the vote turns out well.”
The ballots have been distributed to the 139 residents of Rincon Point, Sandyland Cove, Sand Point Road and Padaro Lane communities and the results will be announced on Oct. 16.
Craig Murray, general manager of the Carpinteria Sanitary District, said if 51 percent of any of the communities vote in favor of the switch, it will occur there, but any community that doesn’t vote yes for the switch, will not be connected to the sewer.
Those advocating for the conversion say the septic tanks pollute the water and beaches near Rincon, and if nothing else, want the benefits of a reliable wastewater system in their homes.
“I hope it will pass and we move forward and make this change,” said Steve Halsted, who has owned a home at Rincon Point for 51 years. “The perception is certainly that we are [polluting]. We want to have a modern waste water disposal system that continues to operate during very wet weather and high water conditions.”
Halsted said when it rains, or several loads of clothes are washed, many of the aging septic systems on Rincon Point back up.
Objecting to the plan are residents who say the septic tanks are not the cause of water pollution and claim the campaign to switch over to sewer under the guise of preventing pollution is “Shameful.”
“It’s all about money,” said Billy Taylor, a founder of the Rincon Point Foundation, who has lived at Rincon Point for two years and is opposed to the switch. “The fact is there is absolutely no evidence, no studies have been done that connect the septic systems at Rincon to any detectible pollution at Rincon.”
Taylor said if any one thing could be identified as causing the pollution it is the 1.4 million gallons of treated waste water the Carpinteria Sanitary District discharges into the ocean each day.
Taylor also said he believes the push for the conversion has occurred as a result of money the sanitary district could receive if it connected its services to the new customers.
Murray insisted that Taylor’s claims were “ridiculous” and had no basis.
“That’s absolutely not true and they have no basis for that information,” Murray said. “That’s just factually, utterly false.”
Murray said the bacteria levels that exit the 24-inch pipe that discharges treated waste water 1,000 feet offshore into 27-feet of water are “nearly imperceptible.”
Murray said the residents have requested the change and they will vote on whether they want it to occur. Period.
“We don’t seek new customers and we don’t need new customers,” Murray said. “The super majority of their neighbors came to this district and asked for our service.”
So who’s right?
It’s a question that both sides are quick to indicate falls in their favor.
Contrary to Taylor’s take on the source of the pollution, Hauser said that fecal coliforn, a bacteria found in the feces of warm-blooded animals, has repeatedly been detected in the water off Rincon Point. She said the levels detected are not the result of the treated waste water deposited by the sanitary district.
“What we don’t understand is why these people, including the Taylor's, say there is not proof,” Hauser said. “You can’t just put your human waste in the ground and expect it to go away.”
Taylor said he and his wife Brook were initially in favor of the switch when they first moved into the area, but after researching the topic more thoroughly, decided the switch was unnecessary.
“The more we learned the more concerned we became and the more we felt the sewer proposal was based on misrepresentation of information by Heal the Ocean,” Billy Taylor said. “Sewering 70 homes at Rincon isn’t going to do anything. It’s unnecessary, expense and its a waste of money.”
Brook Taylor said she and her husband’s lack of support for the project should not be mistaken for a lack of wanting to clean up the water.
She insists the switch isn’t the correct way to go about it cleaning the water and maintains that if the homes are connected, it will do little to clean up the water.
“I will go to the grave saying that I’m an environmentalist,” Brook Taylor said. But “I think it’s pretty fair to say this effort is not going to clean up the water.”
Brook Taylor also said she is opposed Santa Barbara County attaching their restrooms near the beach to the sewer system free of charge once the residents have flipped the bill.
At Rincon Point 72 homes would be impacted by the switch, with 39 at Sandyland Cove, 22 at Sand Point Road and 10. Four of these units are empty lots.
Craig said the total cost to switch all four communities from septic to sewer would cost just under $10 million.
House-to-house, Craig said it will cost residents $74,000 if they pay the lump sum in cash, or $88,000 if they finance the amount over a 30 year period. He said the financing option would require two annual payments that would appear on residents’ property taxes and would total $6,400 per year.
But according to Hauser, these costs pale in comparison to what will happen if the residents vote no to the switch and the state decides to require the residents to switch.
“What these ignorant people are doing to their neighbors is they are subjecting this community to regulations where they’re going to have to get rid of their septic systems with no financial help from the state,” Hauser said.
Craig said if the switch is made after the October vote results are released, the $2.1 million will decrease the annual total owed by $1,000.
If the outcome of the vote isn’t favorable to the Taylor's, they said they do not plan to file a lawsuit. The Taylor’s insist they had nothing to do with the lawsuits filed to-date.
“If my neighbors say ‘I want to build a sewer,’ then I’m not going to fight that,” Brook Taylor said.
A meeting to brief residents of the four beach communities on the impacts of a possible switch to sewer will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the sanitary district.
“I think the idea that we can live along the ocean on small lots and operate on old septic systems is crazy,” Halsted said. “I hope it will pass and we move forward and make this change.”