Town Council Staff Report

To: Honorable Mayor and Town Council of Septicville

From: Melissa Polo, Town Manager
Date: November 4, 2014
Subject: Proposition 1 of the 2014 California Ballot
Recommendation: It is recommended that Town Council:

To support Proposition 1 because it will bring a multitude of much needed resources into
the town of Septicville.
It will finally take care of the water and sewer system issues afflicting our community.

Discussion:
The drought that has stricken California this year has been one of the worst droughts in our
states history. This crisis highlighted the failures we have made in water conservation and
brought this issue much needed attention to state officials everywhere. Proposition 1, known as
the Water Bond Act, is the state of Californias solution to the water crisis affecting communities
all over the state. Funds within this act will be allocated from general tax revenue to renovate
the state water supply infrastructure. Funds will go to strengthen water quality, supply, treatment,
and storage projects. This measure has provided Septicville a grand opportunity to put water
resource management high in its agenda.
Defining the Need
Septicville is currently using a septic sewer system that is no longer healthy for our community.
Years of using this type of sewer system have caused the seeping of contaminants into our
groundwater. Possible contaminants that may have leached through, include pharmaceuticals and
nitrates. Our primary source of water comes from groundwater wells, these wells have been
contaminated with pollutants from years of the current septic system usage.
A portion of our water also comes from the State Water Project. This water is used to dilute the
contaminants out of the ground water, and bring it up to safety standards. However, this is only a
short term fix for our current problem and the water provided by the state has been consistently
shortened. The reductions in water are a result of this years drought and the endangered species
protection some wildlife receive in the Sacramento Delta.
The state has required our town to build a new sewer system because of this issue. Measures
within the proposition offer funds to communities like Septicville that already need to create new
water infrastructure projects. The town council should seek to support this measure because it
will only be beneficial for the town of Septicville. However, within the staff report the benefits of
using a measure of this magnitude will be examined to effectively assure the citizens of
Septicville that this is an advantageous opportunity for our town.

Deeper Look into Proposition 1

The chart below highlights how the state will exactly pay for all the water resource infrastructure
projects and renovations. No new taxes will be issued, most of the proposition will be paid for by
general tax revenue. There will be new authorized borrowing within the measure which will
allow the state to sell about $7.1 billion dollars in bonds that will evidently pay for most of the
project. There will also be a redirection of $425 million dollars of unused bonds that were
originally going to be used for environmental purposes to go towards the water bond act. The
state will take an estimated 40 years to repay all of the bonds with interest, using the General
Fund. It is important to note that monies that this proposition provides will lower local
government spending because funds will be provided for water projects that many local
communities would have had to pay for anyway. In the long run, it will evidently save Septicville
money because the money that was going to be used for a new sewer system could go to other
projects that our town needs.

State Bond Cost Estimates

Total Cost

Authorized new borrowing

$7.1 billion

Average annual cost to pay off bonds

$360M

Likely Repayment Period

40 years

Sources of Repayment

General Tax Revenue

The second chart focuses on the fund that would greatly support Septicvilles current needs. This
fund is a category under Proposition 1 called Improvement in Groundwater and Surface Water,
which allocates $1.4 billion dollars of state bond money.

The fund is specifically to help those communities clean up already polluted

groundwater, improve availability of clean drinking water, and help towns like Septicville
pay for wastewater treatment.
More than half of the funding within this section of this proposition, $800 million dollars
to be exact, will be used for these needs
An estimated $260 million will be used to provide clean drinking water for
underprivileged communities and help with waste water treatment.
$100 million of Water Bond Act money will go to aid local plans and projects to manage
groundwater.
All of the terms mentioned within this fund specifically solve many of our communitys
current hardships in relation to water resource treatment.

Improvements to Groundwater and

$1420 (in Billions )-Total Cost

Surface Water Quality

Prevention and Cleanup of groundwater
pollution
Drinking Water Projects for Disadvantaged
Communities
Wastewater treatment in Small Communities
Local plans and projects to manage
groundwater

$800M(Millions)
$260M
$260M
$100M

Septicville receives a portion of State Water project water and the town has seen decreases in
amounts of water received these last couple of years. There is a measure under the proposition
that provides funds to protect and restore water sheds. The chart below highlights the following
points:

Under this fund monies will be used to restore bodies of water that inhabit endangered
species, purchase water to support wild life, and increase the amount of water flowing in
the rivers.
An estimated $140M dollars will be used to refurbish watersheds specifically in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin delta. This would eliminate one of the factors that brought
decreases to the state water project water Septicville receives each year, and adding yet
another reason to be in favor of Proposition 1.

Watershed Protection and Restoration

Watershed restoration and habitat protection
in designated areas around the state
Certain state commitments for environmental
restorations
Restoration programs available to applicants
statewide.
Projects to increase water flowing in rivers
and streams.

$1,495(in Billions)
$515M
*Sacramento Delta Projects receive $140M
of this money
$475M
$305M

$200M

Town Manager Recommendation: The town manager recommends the support of Proposition
1. This measure will provide funds to replenish our current water supply, eliminate the temporary
fix that we have to make our water at standard level and help establish a new sewer system. This
proposition is only beneficial to the town of Septicville and it would be a mistake not support it.