Septic systems below the sewer lines may no longer be exempt
By Oakley Brooks
Saratoga city leaders recently took another step toward eliminating septic systems within the city, as part of the ongoing effort to clean up Saratoga Creek.
Already, a 1999 city law required residents within 200 feet of a sewer line to get rid of their septic systems.
The law was part of the city's settlement with the Friends of the Santa Clara County Creeks and the San Francisco Baykeepers, Inc. over the contaminated Saratoga Creek.
Some 10 properties along the creek, and nine other septic users elsewhere in the city, were exempted from the 1999 law because their septic systems were downhill from sewer lines.
But last week the city council asked staff members to notify affected property owners that the council will begin the process of removing the below-grade exemption.
The creek's fecal coliform count has gone down in recent years, as a result of septic abatements and efforts to repair leaky sewer lines and those feeding directly into the creek.
But water tests still do not meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for coliform, which comes from the intestine of mammals.
And city officials have been adamant about cleaning up the creek.
"We owe it to our kids and grandkids," Mayor Nick Streit said on April 23. In December, in his opening speech as mayor, Streit held up a picture of actress Donna Reid wading in Saratoga Creek, symbolizing the end goal of the creek efforts.
The shift from a septic system to a sewer line involves installing a holding tank and an electric pump to send sewage from the tank through new piping to the sewer main.
Public Works Director John Cherbone estimates that hook-up to the sewer lines will cost septic-system users between $8,700 and $17,000 if they live within 100 feet of a sewer line. Costs depend on the size of the sewage tank, which would serve as a holding tank during power outages.
Cherbone said April 24 that the West Valley Sanitation District has funds available to assist with septic conversions.
The city also has $43,000 available in community development funds from 2000-01, earmarked for conversions.
For more information, contact Public Works at 408.868.1241.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
