Sonoma State, Rohnert Park at odds over sewer plan

<p>ROHNERT PARK – The City of Rohnert Park is raising a red flag over Sonoma State University’s plan to build a new, 700-bed student housing development without increasing its city sewer service.</p><p>Sonoma State says it needs the new development to keep pace with increased enrollment and higher student demand for on-campus housing, and that it will not wait for Rohnert Park to build more sewer infrastructure. </p><p>In a plan approved by the California State University Board of Trustees last month, the university proposed to build a 300,000 gallon holding tank so that it can store raw sewage during the week and then discharge it on the weekends, when campus sewage flows are typically lower. The tank could keep Sonoma State’s average daily sewage flow below the maximum allowed under its contract with the city.</p><p>“We’re not reinventing the wheel here,” university planner Christopher Dinno said of the proposed tank. “Municipalities do this all the time. Three of our sister campuses employ these tanks.”</p><p>City engineers and elected officials have expressed concerns about environmental and other risks of the tank, including potential leaks and the possibility that noxious compounds could corrode the city’s sewer collection system.</p><p>“Sewage is supposed to move fast and get to the transmission line,” said City Council Member Tim Smith. “It’s not supposed to sit around for a week.”</p><p>Sonoma State says its tank will include sophisticated aeration and mixing systems to avoid toxic buildups and that even if sewage leaked—a possibility it says is highly unlikely—it would flow directly into the sewer line.</p><p>Both sides agree that Sonoma State’s proposed $58.8 million project, Tuscany Village, could push the university’s sewage flows beyond the limit allowed under its contract with the city. Last September, Sonoma State asked Rohnert Park to more than double the university’s allowed sewage flow to 550,000 gallons per day and offered to pay for the difference.</p><p>Rohnert Park said it could not increase Sonoma State’s capacity until it builds a new, $19 million sewer extension line, which would be funded by the university and private developers who are planning new projects nearby. But those projects are being indirectly challenged by a conservation group that is contesting the results of a city water supply study.</p><p>City officials admit that until the lawsuit is resolved, the fate of the sewer line cannot be certain.</p><p>“It would be my hope that all of these improvements would occur prior to Sonoma State University needing to hook up their new students housing,” Mr. Smith said of the proposed sewer extension.</p><p>City public works director Darrin Jenkins said he is not familiar with the design details for the holding tank, but that the best solution is a new sewer pipeline. Since city sewage flows are typically higher during weekends—the opposite of the university’s pattern—Sonoma State’s tank plan would not help Rohnert Park’s overall sewage capacity, he said.</p><p>“They may be making it worse although technically working within the limits of the contract,” Mr. Jenkins said.</p><p>Since the university trustees already approved a version of the project that includes the holding tank, Rohnert Park, which does not have jurisdiction over Sonoma State’s land, can’t force the university to wait for more sewer capacity.</p><p>“We are working with them on technical solutions that would make the site better for both of us,” Mr. Jenkins said.</p><p>Mr. Dinno said Sonoma State’s “ultimate desire is to work with the city,” but that it will not delay construction of Tuscany Village. He said the university will move forward with the holding tank unless Rohnert Park can guarantee that a new sewer line will be ready for hookup to the housing development.</p><p>Construction of Tuscany Village is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2008 and is expected to be complete a year later. That leaves little buffer time for the stalled sewer line extension, which will take an estimated 18 months to complete.</p><p>“Once you start buying material and the tank is starting to get installed, obviously that would be a difficult process to want to stall,” Mr. Dinno warned.</p>