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Sanitary district presents $52.8M sewer master plan; board delays adoption for further developer/stakeholder input
Summary
EPSD staff and consultants explained a three‑tier plan that prioritizes urgent Category 1 repairs and a larger suite of projects to support future development. Staff emphasized the master plan itself does not adopt rate changes; the board voted to continue the item to July 29 so staff can respond to developer questions.
Hamza Javed, district engineer for the East Palo Alto Sanitary District, opened the EPSD board’s presentation of the 2025 Sanitary Sewer System Master Plan, describing the master plan as a living roadmap to identify capital improvement projects required to maintain reliable sanitary service and accommodate future development.
Javed explained the team used updated hydraulic modeling and CCTV inspection data to group projects into three categories: Category 1 (existing deficiencies that can surcharge under peak wet weather flows), Category 2 (capacity projects tied to future build‑out projections) and Category 3 (pipe replacements tied to condition). He stressed that the master plan presentation was informational and did not itself propose fee increases: “in this particular master plan, the we are not proposing any fee adjustments or raises of fees.”
Consultant Jeff Tarantino reviewed the modeling criteria and project geography, including west‑side and east‑side CIP packages. He described engineering choices — adjusting the unit demand factor to 200 gallons per day per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU), allowing surcharge conditions with a 4‑foot freeboard for peak events, and accounting for scouring velocity in pipe sizing — and presented a recommended CIP portfolio. Tarantino put the program total at roughly $52.8 million, with $49.1 million attributable to development‑related capacity projects, and described phasing for urgent Category 1 repairs over the next four years.
Developers and board members pressed staff on outreach and fee timing; several board members and a developer requested more direct review and written responses to technical questions (baseline assumptions, inventory methodology, fee escalation). After discussion, the board voted to continue the matter to the regular meeting on July 29 so staff can collect written questions and provide formal responses before any adoption vote.
What’s next: EPSD staff will provide written responses to submitted technical questions and return with the item scheduled for the July 29 city council/board meeting. The finance item on sewer service charges will be presented separately at the July 29 council meeting per staff remarks.
