About a decade ago, Novato Sanitary District took up the challenge of rebuilding every part of the sanitary system to meet strict new quality standards. A great deal of progress has been made on the three-part upgrade program with the completion of the new treatment plant, massive improvements to the sewer pipeline collection system, and kick off of our first lateral pilot program.
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Major Upgrade Completed: THE TREATMENT PLANT
First priority was construction of the new, $90 million, advanced wastewater treatment plant. Completed this year, it is being phased into full operation now.
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Major Upgrade Underway: THE COLLECTION SYSTEM
Beginning around 2000, the District developed a sewer collection system master plan. This details all the upgrades, improvements and maintenance needed for the 220 miles of sewer pipelines, 40 pump stations and 6,000 manholes. Following the Master Plan, the District has invested up to $5 million each year in upgrades and maintenance to the collection system. The upgrade program is anticipated to be largely complete within the next four years, and will result in a state-of-the-art system that the Novato community can be proud of as a role model for wastewater systems in the Bay Area.
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Next Major Challenge: LATERALS
The third leg of the program is to repair and upgrade private sewer lines that run from homes and buildings to the public sewer main in the street. There are more than 200 miles of laterals in Novato; and many are deteriorating and are a major factor in sewer overflows and spills.
Recognizing that it could take years to resolve the lateral problem, the District has been upsizing both its treatment plant and collection system improvements to handle high inflows of stormwater into damaged laterals. The expanded public sewers and treatment plant should accommodate inflows from damaged laterals until about 2025. This buys the District and the community time to design solutions and raise funds needed to repair private sewer laterals.
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