Wastewater annual report: Santa Barbara identifies major rehab needs, reduces cleaning frequency with smart‑cover data
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Summary
Wastewater staff reported that CCTV inspections found condition 4–5 defects on roughly half the system, prompting expanded rehabilitation planning; smart-cover monitoring and revised cleaning priorities reduced high‑frequency cleaning events by ~43% while staff pursue lining, repairs and private lateral replacements.
Thomas Welch, the city’s wastewater system manager, told the Water Commission that a three‑year CCTV inspection found condition 5 defects on about 6% of public mains and that combined condition 4 and 5 pipe approaches roughly half the system, indicating significant rehabilitation needs.
System overview: Welch said the city operates about 257 miles of public sewer mains, seven lift stations and roughly 27,000 private connections that serve city customers; Mission Canyon piping is county-owned but flows to the city treatment plant. He highlighted the use of a GIS 'story map' for public-facing reports and regulator briefings.
Cleaning and root control: staff described accelerated root control and targeted chemical foaming trials; by combining CCTV data, smart‑cover level sensors and cleaning records, the department reduced high‑frequency mains from 907 to 567 and cut annual cleaning activities by about 43%, freeing crews to address other priorities.
SSOs and private laterals: Welch reported eight sanitary sewer overflows in the past year; root intrusion caused 18 of the last 50 SSOs and nearly half of those root-related spills originated through private laterals. The slip (sewer lateral improvement program) team helped replace roughly 500 private laterals in FY2025, Welch said, and the department is drafting a slip business case for 2026.
Rehabilitation approach: staff showed cured‑in‑place pipe lining, manhole rehab and targeted point repairs as cost‑effective alternatives to full main replacement. Welch noted lining reduces interior diameter and that capacity tradeoffs will inform decisions to repair, rehabilitate or replace.
Treatment plant and operations: Adam Munce, treatment superintendent for El Estero, summarized operations, noted recent maintenance and capital work (aeration-diffuser replacement, SCADA and electrical renewal efforts) and reviewed regulatory compliance items; several 'deficient monitoring' notices were linked to sample handling and a recent desalination start‑up caused a short-term exceedance.
Costs and next steps: Welch said the department is spending $3–3.5 million annually on capital rehabilitation; with the new inspection data staff will re-evaluate replacement rate goals (currently 1% per year for collection mains) and prepare a capacity-management plan tied to the housing-element flow projections.
The commission commended staff’s in‑house work and the story‑map approach and requested follow-up on replacement-rate scenarios and the slip program business case.
