Those of us in Phase III have had a long wait to "flush and forget." My fingers are crossed that our septic tank will last until the first day that we can hook-up, which is September 19, 2016 - although contractors are still so busy that we may not be able to book one to be ready with our lateral trench dug, pipe in place, and spots for the clean-outs scoped out.
The County held its last lateral workshop at 5:30 Monday evening at the South Bay Community Center. I think they are glad to have informed the last bunch on the phase info - now, onward and upward. Between 40% and 50% of homes have been connected and the reclaimed water is going to Broderson. There will be some other sort of meeting later, but what that would be, or the date, was not announced.
Phase III peeps have from September 19 to March 18, 2017 to hook-up. The next info I write below will be for people hiring contractors; do-it-your-selfers might want to contact the County at their 2025 10th Street office which is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
OK!
Step 1 - look on the County web page for the contractor list if you don't know some contractors already. (The County list gives the licence numbers held by these contractors. Check with the state board to verify in case something changed.) Get multiple bids and hire the person/company that you want to do the work. The contractor will pull the permits, which to save time, they can even do online.
Sidenote: State law requires that all homes have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. You will need to have this done to your home if you do not already have them be able to truthfully sign that you have them. You can find them at Miner's and Home Depot. You do not have to have hard wired ones, battery operated is fine. But this is a requirement.
Step 2 - The contractor gets the permit, digs the trench, lays the pipe, then calls for County inspection. This can take place in a few hours so you will not be without use of the facilities for very long. The septic tank pumping can be done days or weeks later, and the list of these guys is on that linked list above. You contractor might handle this - ask. The pumped goop goes to the Santa Maria facility that accepts septage.
Step 3 - You will decide to either abandon your septic tank in place OR you will convert it for reuse. (Keep in mind, that if used for rainwater storage, a 1,000 gallon tank is equal to 20 rain barrels which are $69.99 EACH at Home Depot - so your tank can be a valuable resource!)
Reuse may mean more things however. Here is a link to a quick overview:
But the full-on re-use booklet, which is downloadable, can be found at this link:
Here is a link to a downloadable booklet on rainwater harvesting:
Some may want to delve deeper into water re-use by using gray water, and here is a link to a downloadable booklet that explains how to do that:
A question came from the audience - "What is the cost difference between abandoning the tank and re-use?" The answer was that the trend now (that so much of the town has been hooked up) was that it was cheaper to re-use the tank. But situations can vary significantly: Is your tank under a patio? Is it made out of redwood or broken? Sometimes abandoning the tank is your best option.
The yearly cost was brought up. If your assessment was $24,949 (and you did not pay this up front), the typical house (not a business or rental units or a mobile home park) the yearly assessment payment is $1,100. There is also a flat fee service charge of $450/year. Then there is the service charge that is the actual usage fee - which WILL vary, as it is your actual usage of the system, i.e. what you flush. The calculation that was presented was for 2 1/2 people, which would be about $450/year for a yearly total of $2,000. This on your property tax, the bill coming in August or September for the pay dates in December and April.
The median cost for the on-lot work of trench digging, pipe laying, etc. has been $3,000.
Financial assistance is being offered if you are below a certain income level. Click this link to see the handout that was offered to see if you qualify.
If you would like to speak or send an E-mail to someone at the County office, fill out this form:
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP/Public_Forum_Meeting_Feb_2015/Financial_Assistance_Program_Interest_Form.htmThere is more info on this page:
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP/Project_Costs_and_Financial_Assistance.htm
The rebates that we get for changing out toilets and shower heads will continue until the end of 2017. Questions? Go to the County office mentioned above or call County staff at (805) 788-2759 or E-mail rheaslet@co.slo.ca.us There have been more items added which you would have missed if you were an early adopter, so I would check out what can be done now for HE washers, even lower flush toilets, and more. There may be more rebates in the future for outdoor water conservation measures, so stay tuned.
There is a "cash-for-grass" program available at $2.00/square foot. I had trouble reading the info, as there were annoying ads on each side of the page that covered up said info. But give it a try, maybe you will have better luck!
The PowerPoint that we Phase III-ers saw is not online yet, but is was very similar to this one, which you might want to check out:
Cleanouts! That is an important feature that has not been talked about much, but you will need a minimum of two - one of which has already been done by the County. It is that white pipe sticking out of your yard with the wire on top! And the other needs to be within five feet of the house. You need one of these every 100 feet, and more if your pipe must bend 180ยบ to reach its destination. More detailed info can be found on this link:
If your leachfield has failed due to bacterial overload, once it dries out, it may come back to life and you can use it to collect rainwater to put back into the sand we live on - and on down to the upper aquifer. On that cheery note, I will leave you with a photo of a useful system to clean up the rainwater from your leaf-filled gutter before it hits your repurposed tank!
Happy trenching!
