Sewer Salvation for Rincon Point

The 72 homes perched near the epic waves of Rincon Point are now all connected to the Carpinteria Sanitary District, as a 15-year-old project to convert them off of their septic systems and onto sewage is finally complete.

The $6 million project, which was pushed into reality by the advocacy of Heal the Ocean, is aimed at ending the occasional pollution of the nearby shoreline that occurred during some storm events. After surfers reported getting sick over the years, Heal the Ocean commissioned a study to show that the septic systems were to blame.

Though beleaguered over the years by homeowner opposition (they each paid about $80,000), permitting delays, and funding issues, the at times controversial effort was finished on budget and according to schedule once the work actually began last September. That’s despite the community being more than a mile from the nearest sewer main and much lower in elevation, which presented unique engineering challenges.