Sewer Capital Improvment Project (CIP)
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WASTE WATER BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
Did you Know?
TCSD operates a sewer collection and pumping system serving approximately 2,500 connections and approximately 10,000 people. TCSD has over 30 miles of sewer lines and force mains. We pipe approximately 10% of our sewage to the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin (SASM in Mill Valley) and 90% to Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District (SMCSD). TCSD is member agency of the SASM and has a contractual agreement with SMCSD for service.
The majority of the TCSD collection system (i.e., sewer lines) was installed between 1945 and 1960, making the average age of the pipes almost 70 years old. The expected useful life span of these pipes is 60-65 years. In addition, the topography of TCSD, with a multitude of steep hills and winding roads, results in the District having about 80% more public main sewer lines in the ground per connection than a typical flat suburban community.
While the pipes have held up better than expected for their age, they do pose on-going repair challenges due to the materials of the existing pipes and have increased operational costs to maintain and service the lines.
Capital Improvement Goals
Replacement and rehabilitation of the lines will reduce cleaning times, Sewer System Overflows (i.e., spills) and rain and water inflow and infiltration (I&I) into the system. Ultimately, the District will save on operational costs to the rate payers because the new lines will reduce emergency responses caused by spills, potential fines and penalties to the District related to spills, maintenance costs, and I&I flows to the sewer treatment plants which have corresponding impacts to the fees we pay to SASM and SMCSD. The new lines and upgrades to the pump stations will also improve the health and safety to residents as we improve pumping redundancy and maintenance flow control. If the District did nothing, at some point, the lines would fail, regularly overflow, and/or become clogged on a regular basis, all of which would cause sewer back-ups and/or spills creating health and safety issues in neighborhoods.
Capital Improvement Projects
To address our aging infrastructure, in 2018, TCSD updated its long-range Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to maintain, repair, and replace the sewer system with a combination of debt and “pay as you go” cash. Over the past few years, we have been successful at replacing more pipe than expected for the prescribed budget. CIP Phases A & B have been completed. In an effort to continue to install these projects at a lower-than-expected cost to rate payers, TCSD has accelerated its CIP schedule for Phase C improvements using the savings from projects to help offset costs. The total costs for Phase C is approximately $2.9M. Phase C includes sewer main lining (i.e., slip line) and rehabilitation of over 12,000 linear feet of pipe on/near Dolan, Sheffield, Lowell, Peralta, Fern, Morning Sun, Pine, Marin, among others.
Completed Projects
Date Location/Work
7/5/22 - Marin Ave/Pine intersection: Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole cover; slipline of sewer main; work hours approx. 10am-noon
7/6/22- 321 Laurel Way: Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole cover; slipline of sewer main; work hours approx. 10am-noon
7/6/22- Dolan Ave. and Morning Sun Ave: CCTV work (i.e., “camera” sewer lines); work hours approx. 8am - 3pm
7/7/22 - 321 Laurel Way: Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole cover; slipline of sewer main; work hours approx. 10am-noon
7/8/22 – 342 Laurel Way: Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole cover; slipline of sewer main (approx. 10am-noon)
7/11/22 - Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole at 342 Laurel way(likely work hours 10am-noon). CCTV work at Dolan Avenue and Morning Sun Ave (8am- 4pm)
7/12/22 - Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole at 304 Bell Lane(likely work hours 10am-noon). CCTV work at Dolan Avenue and Morning Sun Ave (8am- 4pm)
7/13/22 - Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole at 304 Bell Lane(likely work hours 10am-noon). CCTV work at Dolan Avenue and Morning Sun Ave (8am- 4pm)
7/14/22 - Traffic control setup due to placement of winch at manhole at 378 Woodside Avenue(likely work hours 10am-noon). CCTV work at Dolan Avenue and Morning Sun Ave (8am- 4pm)
NOTE: Traffic Control generally means one lane of traffic around the work site and not a road closure.
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We plan to post to the website and send out project updates via the TCSD newsletter. You can receive project updates by signing up for the TCSD newsletter at: