The unincorporated area that we broadcast from is called Joshua Tree, but it isn’t a town like Yucca Valley or a city like Twentynine Palms. Most of the times it is referred to as the “Village of Joshua Tree,” and everyone in that village currently uses a septic tank for wastewater treatment.
What was brought up at last night’s Joshua Basin Water District (JBWD) board meeting wasn’t a plan or a project guide. In fact, it was stressed multiple times that what was being discussed was early… very early.
Possible sewer system could get state and county funds
General Manager Sarah Johnson presented some of that preliminary information she gathered from county sources, including some explorations into how a sewer system would be paid for if it were planned for Joshua Tree and who would have “full sewer authority” – the district or the county. Third District representative Dawn Rowe and Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh both signed letters of support sent to the state seeking preliminary funds for a sewer system exploration.
Those letters were forwarded to Congressman Jay Obernolte and obtained by JBWD Vice President Stacy Doolittle. Doolittle says she contacted Congressman Obernolte about those funds, which was discussed to be around 5 million dollars for preliminary planning. That amount was knocked down to $750,000 and put into a bill which hasn’t been presented or passed yet at the state level.
GM Sarah Johnson then shared what she called “back of the cocktail napkin” math using a wastewater treatment strategy that was drawn up in 2009. At that time, the cost of a sewer system would be about 91 million dollars, which would roughly be about 130 million in today’s dollars.
That leaves any discussion about a possible sewer system as purely that – discussion, as no actions were taken last night.
Board and Staff Discussion
A few points stood out:
VP Doolittle says that a sewer system shouldn’t change the village feel of the downtown Joshua Tree area, making sure that a commercial wastewater treatment system didn’t mean that large commercial enterprises were welcome in Joshua Tree. To that point, Director David Fick asked if there are current constituents who want this to happen, instead of projecting out what future residents and developers may want. Fick also spoke about a previous “overlay district” that was floated for Joshua Tree a few years back, though no action has been taken since.
While General Manager Johnson said that she had heard from business owners that the lack of a sewer system makes development difficult, others brought up the point that Joshua Tree’s residents may also eventually be on the financial hook for a sewer system, either in increased water fees, a separate sewer bill, or the cost for hooking up homes to the sewer mains.
There’s also possible Western Joshua Tree mitigation costs.
Some comments from the public and staff cited the many residents who are on a fixed income are already getting hit with the high cost of water and other utilities, and adding a sewer system bill on top of that may be unpopular and unwanted. There was also talk about limiting a future sewer system to the downtown commercial corridor at first, and then rolling in the rest of the roughly 96 square miles that makes up Joshua Tree.
General Manager Sarah Johnson expressed doubt that a sewer system would be necessary for every home in Joshua Tree, especially as residential lots become less dense on the edges of Joshua Tree and aren’t a threat to the aquifers they sit on.
The entire reason for the early discussions about a Joshua Tree sewer is the along the same reasons Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms are looking ahead to better wastewater management. The aquifers where Joshua Tree draws its water is in balance with the amount of septic systems in the area. As population and water use grows, so do nitrates in the soil which can eventually leech into the water table.
The discussion ended without any action, but as Joshua Tree continues to grow you can probably expect to see more of these conversations at the district, county, and village levels.
Previously reported:
