Wastewater in Los Olivos

The Los Olivos Community Services District was formed to ensure its residents maintained local control for a wastewater treatment solution. The district has specific boundaries that generally include the businesses and residential lots south of Highway 154.

We are working to solve our portion of a groundwater pollution problem that resulted in large swaths of the Santa Ynez Valley being designated a Special Problems Area in 1974. No other organization has been formed to solve the problem. While it is taking longer than hoped, we continue to make steady progress.

We will complete our primary wastewater engineering studies by December. Those studies will be the basis for a series of workshops that will educate residents on the pros/cons/costs of potential solutions. Using input from the workshops, the district’s Board of Directors will draft a project. The project will undergo environmental review and then be voted on by property owners in the district.

I’ll say that again. Property owners in the district who will pay for the project will have the final say — not the county, not the state, and not those who live outside the district.

Let’s work together to solve this 50-year-old problem.

The Los Olivos Community Services District meetings are open to the public. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month, 6 p.m., at St. Mark’s In-The-Valley Church, 2901 Nojoqui Avenue, Los Olivos. More information on the district can be found at: www.losolivoscsd.com.

Guy Savage is general manager of the Los Olivos Community Services District.