BBWC Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)

View & Download: Notice of Availability & Advice Letter 21-S

The County of Santa Cruz is willing and able to assume possession and control of the WWTP on July 1, 2024, assuming the community and the Court approve of Court Receiver’s Consolidation Plan and the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California (“CPUC”) approves Advice Letter 21-S, which Court Receiver filed on behalf of BBWC on April 19, 2024. Court Receiver previously filed a different vertion of the Advice Letter on April 12, 2024, which required revisions. Court Receiver, the County, and the Central Coast Water Board publicly announced the Consolidation Plan to the WWTP community on March 4, 2024, at the Boulder Creek Library following many months of discussion and negotiation. On March 12, 2024, the County Board of Supervisors formally accepted the Engineer’s Report and adopted all necessary resolutions to formalize the public hearing and community voting processes for the Consolidation Plan. The Public Hearing is set for April 30, 2024, at which point all votes, and any protests, will be counted.

In the meantime, Court Receiver continues to operate and manage the WWTP in collaboration with Cypress Water Services. Though there has been no interruption in service or overflow incident since Court Receiver’s appointment—a fact which is particularly notable in light of the multiple extreme weather events occurring in the Big Basin area between November 2023 and February 2024—the WWTP is unable to continue functioning once the public funding secured by the Central Coast Water Board runs dry. Court Receiver expects the WWTP will run out of capital to support its operations and management by July 1, at the very latest. Court Receiver is working closely with the Central Coast Water Board to budget and plan so as to keep the WWTP operational until July 1, 2024—the time at which the County has agreed to assume possession and control.

Details of Consolidation Plan:

With the full support of the Central Coast Water Board, Court Receiver and the County have agreed to initiate the consolidation process of the WWTP into the County’s existing CSA 7 sewage district as intricately described in the Preliminary Engineer’s Report prepared by Bowman & Williams, which is attached to Advice Letter 21-S as Exhibit B. If consolidated, the BBWC WWTP parcel area would form Zone 2 of CSA 7; the current CSA 7 parcels on the charge report would comprise Zone 1. The method of apportionment used to charge each parcel in CSA 7 Zone 2 is the equivalent benefit unit (“EBU”) method, as specified and supported in the Engineer’s Report. The total annual cost of operating, maintaining, and servicing CSA 7 Zone 2 is divided by the sum of all equivalent benefit units to determine the cost per unit, which is similar to the method used in the formation of CSA 7 Zone 1 charges. Of the 32 parcels included in Zone 2 of CSA 7, 12 contain active connections and 17 are standby. For the 12 parcels containing active connections, the proposed annual sewer charge for fiscal year (“FY”) 2024-2025 is $3,728.81. For the 17 standby parcels, the proposed annual sewer charge for FY 2024-2025 is $932.20. The remaining 5 parcels in Zone 2 of CSA 7 either contain WWTP infrastructure, are unbuildable, or do not contain existing sewer laterals; these 5 parcels will not be charged. BBWC currently charges $1,440 annually per active connected parcel for sewer services. For the 12 parcels containing active connections, the proposed annual rate increase for FY 2024-2025 is $2,288.81. For the 17 standby parcels, the proposed annual rate increase for FY 2024-2025 is $932.20.

View & Download: Receivership Appointment Order

The WWTP is a Class D sewer utility with a service area covering 32 parcels. The WWTP-served parcels are located within—but not currently included in the charge report for—the Boulder Creek County Service Area No. 7 (CSA 7), which the County Board of Supervisors established by passing and adopting Resolution number 345‐68 on May 21, 1968. A significant portion of the residential community homes served by the WWTP and portions of the WWTP were damaged or destroyed in the CZU lightning complex wildfire in 2020. The WWTP suffered a long-term loss of power, and several vital pieces of process and transmission equipment were destroyed. The WWTP was inoperable until August 17, 2023.

On November 9, 2023, the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Santa Cruz signed and entered the Receivership Appointment Order, submitted by the People of the State of California, ex rel. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region, appointing Serviam by Wright LLP, formerly Silver and Wright LLP, as Court Receiver for the WWTP.