Title
Overview of Private Sewer Lateral Ordinances for City Council Rules Committee
Staffreport
COUNCIL PRIORITY
• Infrastructure
SUMMARY
Staff will present information relating to sanitary sewer laterals, an overview of Private Sewer Lateral Ordinances (PSLO) and potential impacts to the City.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff is seeking direction from the City Council Rules Committee on whether to continue research and development of a PSLO. If the Committee chooses to proceed with exploring a PSLO, staff recommends waiting until the implementation of Oro Loma Sanitary District’s program to help develop the City’s Program.
BACKGROUND
City of San Leandro’s Water Pollution Control Division maintains 125 miles of sanitary sewer lines within the City’s service area. There are an estimated 14,000 connections to the City’s sewer main line. Private sewer laterals are the responsibility of property owners to maintain up to and including connections to the City’s sewer main. Parts of the City are also serviced by Oro Loma Sanitary District (Oro Loma). Oro Loma’s board has approved the implementation of a Private Sewer Lateral Ordinance and has an estimated program start date of July 1, 2026.
Analysis
Some agencies around the Bay Area have chosen to implement PSLOs to reduce the impacts of inflow and infiltration on the wastewater treatment facilities. The increase in volume from the addition of rain and ground water may inundate the system with an influx of water and cause overflows. Except for the 2023 winter storm, the City’s wastewater treatment plant has not exceeded capacity in the recent past. While this is not an immediate concern, it is prudent to be proactive rather than reactive to issues within the collection system.
Currently, sewer lateral permits are issued by the Building Division in Community Development and/or the Engineering Division in Public Works. The location of repair/replacement (within property line or in the public right of way) determines the type of permit required.
Implementation of a Private Sewer Lateral will have the following impacts:
Increase in number of permits and inspection
Several agencies in the Bay Area have implemented a PSLO. Within Alameda County, East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD), City of Berkeley, and Castro Valley Sanitary District have a Private Sewer Lateral Program in place. Many PSLOs include property sales as a trigger for sewer lateral inspections. If this were to be implemented, the number of inspections of laterals and permit applications will increase as indicated by the table of data from the last three years.
2022 2023 2024
Sewer Lateral Permits 94 100 97
Property Sales 628 493 489
Increase in administrative services and outreach
Increases in permits will necessitate an increase in administrative services to initiate, coordinate, and create documentation for the program. Time and resources will also need to be spent on an outreach campaign to the realtor community and all affected property owners to ensure they are aware of requirements and process.
Increase in cost for property owners and additional City staffing
On average a full replacement of private sewer laterals will cost anywhere between $9,000 - $12,000 (based on market rates) for property owners in addition to permit costs of up to $3,000.
The Oro Loma Sanitary District has estimated a setup cost of $1,010,000 and program operation cost of $890,000 in the first year. This includes addition of two full-time employees for program development and startup as well as dedicated time from current staff for inspection and managing permit revenue.
Should the City choose to create a PLSO like Oro Loma’s ordinance, staff estimates startup costs would be similar. It would include addition of dedicated staff, development of the ordinance, outreach, and other costs related to initiating a program. The operating cost may be slightly less due to the smaller service area as compared to Oro Loma but can be used as a benchmark to understand the costs associated with implementing a PSLO.
Financial Impacts
If the City Council decides to proceed with a PSLO and program implementation, further detailed analysis is necessary to accurately estimate program costs. This will inform an update to fees associated with sewer lateral permitting at the 100% cost recovery level.
ATTACHMENT
A: Introduction to Private Sewer Later Ordinance Presentation
PREPARED BY: Ramya Sankar, Management Analyst II, Water Pollution Control