Gilroy
– The latest five-year financial plan for the South County
Regional Wastewater Authority proves it to be a shining example of
effective government, Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa said
Wednesday.
Gilroy – The latest five-year financial plan for the South County Regional Wastewater Authority proves it to be a shining example of effective government, Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa said Wednesday.
“This is a model of cooperation between organizations,” Baksa said of SCRWA’s Gilroy-Morgan Hill partnership. “It shows how two agencies can come together, take the best of both, and make the product better.”
Baksa said the agency has a stable budget outlook and is prepared to meet growth demands for several decades. He said it will be at least four or five years before Gilroy needs to raise sewer rates.
“SCRWA has really gotten itself ready for the future,” he said. “It knows exactly when facilities are supposed to go in and is flexible enough to adjust for changes in population and growth. SCRWA is set for the next 30 years.”
In the forecast released this month, SCRWA plans to spend $76.9 million over 20 years on four major projects to boost South County’s capacity to treat and recycle water and enhance its disposal capabilities.
About 58 percent of SCRWA’s capital comes from Gilroy’s sewer fund, but the agency’s centerpiece project, a $28-million effort to double the use of reclaimed water in South County over the next 10 years, will also be funded by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
SCRWA is also lining up a project to expand its treatment facility to handle 12.75 million gallons a day, up from the current 7.5. Baksa said Gilroy will issue bonds for its share, but has luxury of waiting for a stronger local economy.
And over the next two decades, SCRWA plans to nearly double it’s discharge capabilities, eventually emitting treated water into the Pajaro River.
