Yuba County, CA
Yuba County, CA - Wastewater (only recruiting subject matter expert/student team mentor)
Water
Wastewater
Structures
Committees/Events
Civil Works
Project Background
The community has 58 residential lots, of which 26 are developed. There are currently 26 active users of the water system who own septic systems on their approximate ⅓ acre lots. These systems were originally built in the 1960s.
Given the age of the systems, the tanks are outdated and in need of replacement. Rather than replacing the existing tanks with new, individualized septic tanks, the community is looking to assess the feasibility of establishing a centralized wastewater system.
Description of the Community:
The predominantly Latino community is comprised of low and fixed income residents. The greater Yuba County area has a 15.5% poverty rate, and the community has stated that they do not have the funds to hire engineering services to perform the study.
Project Scope of Work:
In order to facilitate planning for future wastewater management, the community is looking for support with assessing centralized wastewater treatment alternatives to address current community-wide septic systems challenges. Additionally, produce Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) summarizing alternatives, capital improvement costs, long term O&M costs and rates adjustments, and making a recommendation on path forward. The PER will be used for a future funding application. This will culminate in an alternatives assessment and PER for a centralized wastewater system to replace existing septic tanks.
The community’s preference is for a low-energy system like a constructed wetland, lagoon, community septic, advanced ecologically engineered system (“living machine”); however, a conventional activated sludge plant should also be considered.