SEWER BILL HIKES IN PIPELINE CITY COUNCIL OKS RELEASE OF NOTICES.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. residents will begin to learn the cost to repair the city's aging sewer system Noun 1. sewer system - facility consisting of a system of sewers for carrying off liquid and solid sewage sewage system, sewage works facility, installation - a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry; "the this week with City Council approval on Tuesday of a notice to all residents that rates will begin to rise in the near future. Under the action, notices are being sent to all customers that sewer rates will go up by $1.75 a month, each year, after a Feb. 2, 2005, hearing in order to meet the terms of a lawsuit settlement with the Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. Baykeepers group. The costs will rise that same amount each of the next five years, going from an average of $21 to $30 a month, officials said. ``There isn't much we can do about it,'' said Councilman Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. , who chairs the council's Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. Committee. ``We are faced with court orders and federal orders and we have to keep the city sewer system operating in a safe and clean manner. And, add to that the increase in the costs of materials and it means higher rates, unfortunately.'' The costs are part of a $2 billion legal settlement reached this past summer with Santa Monica Baykeepers to prevent sewage spills. Under the court order, the city will need to replace 60 miles of sewer lines each year. City voters earlier this month also voted to tax property owners - an average of $34 a year for a house - as part of the $500 million Proposition O bond issue to clean up the Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River is an intermittent river flowing through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley, 51 miles (82 km) southeast to its mouth in Long Beach. and the Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is an arm of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume . The sewer-rate increases will apply to all 4 million residential, industrial and commercial users, which includes users in 27 other cities in the region that contract for services. The vast wastewater system includes more than 6,500 miles of pipelines and four wastewater treatment and water reclamation plants. Under the settlement agreement, the city agreed to replace its sewer system at an accelerated pace, upgrade the entire system, clean 2,600 miles of sewers each year, inspect at least 10 percent of the system each year, work to mitigate odors and carry out $8.5 million worth of environmental projects. Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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