Board directs study to assess sending Montecito wastewater to Santa Barbara

The board voted to direct staff to proceed with Southland Industries' Tech Memo No. 2, a technical feasibility study priced around $110,000 to evaluate sending district wastewater to the City of Santa Barbara for treatment. General Manager Weigold described the memo as assessing treatment capacity, design criteria, institutional and regulatory constraints and producing a draft and final technical memorandum.

Thomas Welch, Santa Barbara’s wastewater system manager, attended to offer regional context. Directors pressed staff on scope and timing: TechMemo 2 is a technical feasibility study only and would not by itself commit the district to later expenditures. Weigold said that if the board later pursued a service agreement with the city, the city indicated a potential refundable deposit or engagement fee (described in testimony as roughly $100,000) for negotiation and staff time. After discussion of options (sending effluent only, returning purple-pipe nonpotable water, or pursuing potable recycling), the motion to proceed passed on a board vote.