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Cerritos officials warn aging wells, pipes and pumps need millions; residents push back on proposed Prop 218 rate hike
Summary
Public works staff told the City Council that much of Cerritos' water and sewer infrastructure is 50'60 years old and needs immediate capital work—well treatment, pipe replacement and sewer relining—while residents at a lengthy public-comment period disputed the size and notice of a proposed Proposition 218 water/sewer rate adjustment.
Alvin Papa, the city's director of public works, told the Cerritos City Council in an informational presentation that the city's water and sewer systems show signs of widespread aging and stress, and that funding is inadequate to address the backlog.
"About 120 miles, or 70% of our pipes, are roughly 50 to 60 years old and are in dire need of replacement," Papa said in the council chamber as he outlined assets including four groundwater wells (three active, one inactive), three reservoirs and 172 miles of pipeline. He said staff and consultants recommend replacing about one mile of water pipe a year at an estimated cost of approximately $3,300,000 per year and said extensive treatment and repair will cost "tens of millions" more.
The presentation cited multiple immediate needs: treatment systems for…
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