SEWER PLAN DETAILS AIRED RATES SET TO RISE $1.75 A MONTH.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

RESEDA - Plans to increase sewer rates 40 percent over five years were detailed Saturday for a handful of San Fernando Valley residents who braved the rain to attend the first of seven neighborhood meetings on the issue.

The rate hike will pay for sewer-line upgrades mandated in a $2 billion legal settlement stemming from thousands of sewage spills over the past decade.

The city of Los Angeles estimates the sewer service charge will increase an average $1.75 a month - more for Valley users - each year for the next five.

``This whole process is going to help us. We're going to have a better infrastructure, better quality of life, cleaner water and healthier beaches,'' said Sam Alavi from the city's Bureau of Sanitation, who spoke at the West Valley Regional Branch Library meeting.

``It's worth it. A dollar seventy-five is what you pay for a cup of Starbucks coffee.''

The city has not increased sewer rates for more than a decade, although water rates were just raised 11 percent and may increase again this year.

Even with the sewer increase, Alavi said, local rates will remain comparable to cities throughout the nation.

For example, an average Los Angeles household pays about about $21 a month in sewer fees - a bill that would rise to about $30 by 2009, he said. That compares to Seattle's rate, which is close to $50 monthly, he said.

The increase will help the city replace about 60 miles of sewer line a year.

In doing so, the city will meet settlement terms of a lawsuit with Santa Monica Baykeepers. The group filed suit in 1998 after sewers overflowed during that year's El Ni!tildelowno storms.

The city also agreed to pay the federal government $800,000 in cash penalties; to carry out $8.5 million in environmental projects and to clean 2,800 miles of sewers annually, as part of the settlement.

West Hills resident Leonard Horowitz said he was torn about the proposed rate hikes. As a resident, he doesn't like it, but as a businessman, he says he'll likely benefit from them.

Horowitz' business, California Utility Services, installs certified Department of Water and Power water meters that allow for more accurate readings of how much water goes to the sewer of a home or business.

Since the rate hikes were proposed in November, Horowitz has seen a 20 percent upsurge in calls and orders, he said.

``As a businessman, the higher the rates, the more my business will increase,'' he said.

The next community meeting will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday in South Los Angeles at 1201 W. 48th St.

The next San Fernando Valley meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 22 at the Lake View Terrace Branch Library, 12002 Osborne St.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Feb. 2 on the proposed increase and, afterward, could vote to approve it.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com