Belmont council adopts 2025 Sewer System Management Plan to meet state requirements

Belmont City Council on July 8 adopted an updated 2025 Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) intended to meet new requirements from the State Water Resources Control Board and guide the city's sewer operations and capital investments.

The plan, presented by Amisha Patel, Belmont's public works director, outlines the city's approach to preventing and responding to sewer spills, maintaining system capacity and prioritizing capital improvements. "The purpose of today's presentation is to review the SSMP update and compliance with state regulations," Patel said. The presentation referenced State Water Resources Control Board order number 2022-013-DWQ.

The nut of the update is aligning local operations with state order 2022-013-DWQ and continuing routine maintenance and condition assessment. Patel told the council the city's sanitary system includes about 85 miles of sewer mains, 10 pump stations and roughly 8,000 service laterals serving about 27,500 people. She said the system contains segments dating as far back as the 1920s, and that staff perform proactive cleaning of high-maintenance mains (about 66% of the system annually) and CCTV inspections of roughly one-third of the system each year.

Patel summarized the SSMP's 11 elements, including goals, organization, legal authority, operations and maintenance, spill response, blockage control, system evaluation and capital improvement planning, audits, and communication. She also noted the city adopted a Sewer Master Plan update earlier in 2025 that informed the SSMP's capital improvement priorities, such as hydraulic-deficiency repairs and lift station upgrades.

Council members described the update as essential. "Of all the things we do in city government, this may be the least glamorous, but one of the most essential," one council member said during deliberations. Another council member noted Belmont has one of the lower inflow and infiltration rates in the region and praised staff work.

Council voted 4-0 (one member absent) to adopt the resolution approving the 2025 SSMP update. The resolution was moved and seconded on the council floor; the roll call recorded Council member McCune (aye), Vladimir Mello (yes), Vice Mayor Peng Manganeras (aye) and Mayor Mates (aye). The staff recommendation and council action adopt the SSMP as the city's regulatory- compliance plan under the referenced state order.

The plan will be subject to program audits every three years and a required six-year update cycle; staff said the city will continue monitoring performance, target capital work to high-risk segments and pursue grant funding to support resilience and compliance.

The council took no separate public comment on the item; staff reported no written comments for the record.