Cerritos staff outline aging water and sewer needs; C4 well repair and imported water drive near-term costs
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Summary
City staff told the Economic Development Commission the C4 well was taken out of service in October 2025 after sand and gravel entered the casing; the council approved an emergency repair (~$643,000) and the city has bought roughly 176 acre‑feet of imported water (~$196,000) while the well is offline. Long‑term capital needs include about $23M for water and $3.9M for sewer.
CERRITOS, Calif. — City public‑works staff told the Economic Development Commission on Jan. 13 that much of Cerritos’ water and sewer infrastructure is more than 50 years old and faces growing failure risk, and that an emergency repair to one groundwater well has already increased short‑term costs.
Alvin Papa, the city’s director of public works, said the C4 well was taken out of service in October 2025 “due to staff finding out that there was sand and gravel entering the well,” a condition that risks further damage to pumps and equipment. He said the City Council approved an emergency repair in December totaling approximately $643,000 and that, while the well remains offline, the city has purchased roughly 176 acre‑feet of imported water, adding about $196,000 in extra expense so far.
The presentation, which was informational and required no action by the commission, said staff have identified roughly $23,000,000 in critical water projects (about $25,300,000 adjusted for inflation) covering well rehabilitation, treatment and water‑main replacement, and about $3,900,000 in sewer projects (about $4,300,000 adjusted) for pump station rehabilitation, main replacement and a citywide CCTV inspection program.
Commissioners pressed staff on the likely remaining service lives and the cost tradeoffs of imported water. Papa said well components differ in longevity; for C4 the casing is now estimated to have about eight years of life remaining while the pump has “a little over a decade” remaining. He gave the commission current price comparisons: an approximate replenishment assessment of $454 per acre‑foot to pump local groundwater versus about $1,698 per acre‑foot to import water as of Jan. 1, 2026 — nearly three times more expensive.
Commissioner Tagley raised the question of best practices for replacing infrastructure before frequent failures occur; Papa said staff will continue to evaluate the wells and pursue reinvestment where feasible. Vice Chair Hu asked how contractors were selected for the emergency repair; staff said General Pump Company is the city’s on‑call emergency contractor and that pricing was in line with existing contract rates.
Financing the repair and the additional import purchases required moving money from other city priorities. Papa said the water enterprise fund lacks sufficient reserves, so staff deferred a planned pool‑boiler replacement at Cerritos Park East — a $1,200,000 project — and transferred general‑fund dollars to cover the well repair and near‑term imported water costs. Staff also reported the water enterprise collects about $10,000,000 in revenue while operating costs are approximately $15,000,000, leaving a structural shortfall that has required general‑fund subsidies.
Commissioners and the chair noted wider implications if additional wells fail while C4 is offline: running C1 and C2 harder to reduce imported water purchases increases wear and the risk of further outages, and commissioners warned prolonged outages could push imported‑water spending into the hundreds of thousands or more annually.
The presentation also traced part of the utility shortfall to the elimination of redevelopment‑agency revenues in 2011, which officials said had previously helped support infrastructure and keep user fees lower.
No action was requested of the commission; staff said they will continue coordinating with contractors on the timing of repairs and will report back as the schedule and costs are refined.
