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Wastewater Projects Receive Funding

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 21:01 CST

By Herbert Atienza, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Mar. 7--Major wastewater projects in the San Jacinto, Temecula and Perris valleys are among those receiving funding from a $160 million bond sale just concluded by the Eastern Municipal Water District.

Rapid growth in the water district combined with favorable interest rates have prompted the sale of the bonds to finance the projects, district Chief Financial Officer Chuck Rathbone said.

People who buy new homes will be responsible for repaying the revenue bonds through one-time hookup fees, Rathbone said. About 570,000 people are served within the district, with the number expected to reach about 1.4 million people by 2040, he said.

Bond proceeds will pay for a number of capital improvement projects, including:

--$46.3 million to construct a 24,210-foot pipeline for the North San Jacinto Sewer System to accommodate the growth in the San Jacinto Valley. The project, whose estimated total cost is $50 million, has a completion date of February 2007.

--$31.4 million to design and build additional treatment capacity at the Perris Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility. The project, with an estimated cost of $101 million, has a completion date of July 2010. $7.1 million for upgrades to the San Jacinto Regional Water Reclamation Facility. The work, with an estimated cost of $9.5 million, should be completed later this year.

--$9 million for upgrades to the Temecula Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility. The upgrades, which would increase the capacity of the treatment, have an estimated cost of $49 million and should be completed later this year.

--$7.8 million to completely fund the construction of a pre-treatment facility in Sun City to remove iron from brackish water found in some agricultural areas that feed into the district's desalination plants. The facility should be completed October 2007.

Other sources will make up for the amount not paid with bond proceeds, Rathbone said.

District spokesman Peter Odencrans said the projects were an investment in the fast-growing district, which serves a 555-square-mile area from Moreno Valley to Temecula, and from Hemet and San Jacinto, to Good Hope and Mead Valley.

"Because the interest rates were at a pretty good level, we looked ahead and decided it's a good time to pursue projects that were needed," he said.

According to a district news release, the majority of the bonds were sold at an interest rate of about 4.54 percent.

Odencrans said that since it is new development that has required facility expansions, the bonds, which are essentially loans, would be repaid mainly through new customer connection fees.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

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Source: The Press-Enterprise

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