Richmond council adopts 45-day moratorium on new connections to Keller Beach sanitary sewer

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously to adopt an urgency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on issuance of building permits that would require new connections to the Keller Beach sanitary sewer.

The moratorium, approved after a public hearing and staff presentation, is intended to reduce the risk of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) into the San Francisco Bay while the city pursues interim and long-term engineering solutions. "The Keller Beach sanitary sewer is a critical but aging piece of infrastructure and without intervention it presents serious environmental risks," Robert Armijo, deputy public works director and city engineer, told the council.

Council members were briefed on the sewer's history and condition: the line was installed around 1959; Coastland Engineering's prior condition assessment rated portions of the pipeline as grade 5 (imminent failure); and Baykeeper entered settlement agreements with the city in February 2002 and again in February 2018 that require condition assessment and remedial work. Armijo said some sections are inaccessible for modern maintenance and that adding new connections…