Agenda Item 8BAGENDA ITEM # 813
APRIL 11, 201I
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM: Report on Septic Tank to City Sewer Conversion Program
SUBMITTED BY: Jim Hanson, City Mana
DATE: March 31, 2011
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this staff report is to provide a status report of the City's
Septic Tank to Sewer System Conversion Program
State law requires septic tank owners to connect to a publicly owned sewer
system within one year after availability. Septic tanks can often create
serious environmental problems, particularly if they are located in close
proximity to shallow wells used for irrigation or drinking water, or if they
are close to a creek or other public water body. In 1999, there were almost
300 septic tanks in Atlantic Beach with sewer lines easily accessible.
However, the cost to convert from a septic tank to the sewer system is
usually several thousand dollars plus sewer connection and impact fees.
This cost can be a major financial burden on property owners. With these
factors in mind, the City Commission adopted an ordinance in May of
2000 delaying the enforcement of the State law. This new ordinance gave
septic tank owners a minimum of five years of notice before the
conversion would be required. They were separated into two groups; those
with outstanding assessments for installation of water and sewer lines and
those without assessments. For those without assessments, the timetable
for enforcement was five years from the effective date of the ordinance
(May of 2005). Those with assessments would have their conversion
dates delayed until one year after the assessments were paid off. There
were three areas in Atlantic Beach with ongoing assessments with pay out
dates ranging between 2005 and 2011. Consequently, the required
conversion dates ran from 2005 for those without assessments until 2012.
To make the septic to sewer conversion even easier for property owners,
the City offered various financing packages with low interest rates. Some
homeowners who qualified were offered funding under the CDBG
Program.
City Utilities Staff have provided considerable assistance to homeowners
through the years to convert to the City's sewer system. This has included
helping them find contractors and inspecting their work.
This program has been tremendously successful since its inception. The
original number of septic tanks to be converted was 279. There have been
a number of additions and deletions to that list. For some, it was
AGENDA ITEM # 813
APRIL 11, 2011
determined that sewer service was not close enough to their house to be
considered "available" under the State definition. The City found several
other customers that should have been on the original list, some houses
have been torn down, and new lines have been added in some areas to
provide availability where it did not previously exist.
At the present time, we are down to 67 residences that have yet to convert
to the City's sewer system. This is approximately 24% of the original
number that existed in 1999. There can be no doubt that the amount of
pollution in public waterways has been significantly reduced through this
innovative project that was created originally in Atlantic Beach. Since
that time, several other utilities have asked for information on our program
and copied various portions to create their own.
BUDGET: There are no budget implications from this staff report because there are
no recommendations. This is for information only.
RECOMMENDATION: This staff report is prepared as background information to help understand
the staff recommendation in a later report concerning the use of
Community Block Grant Funds for Fiscal Year 2012. No action is
required from the City Commission on this report.