FPUD approves sewer service to airpark

The Fallbrook Public Utility District approved the development of an agreement with the County of San Diego to provide sewer service to Fallbrook Community Airpark.

The 4-1 FPUD board vote July 25, with Archie McPhee in opposition, approves future sewer service for a capacity of one equivalent dwelling unit. “It’s just to provide service for an office trailer at the airpark,” said FPUD engineering and planning manager Jack Bebee.

The sewer service agreement will also give County Airports the infrastructure for other potential buildings provided that the airpark doesn’t exceed the stipulated discharge capacity. “That gives us eventually the ability to tie in another terminal or a new airport management office,” said County Airports director Pete Drinkwater.

The airpark is within the water district boundaries but not within FPUD’s sewer service latent powers area. In 1994, FPUD merged with the Fallbrook Sanitary District, which had been located entirely within the boundaries of FPUD prior to the consolidation, but Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approval is required for FPUD to expand its sewer service latent powers beyond the former sanitation district boundaries. LAFCO approval will be necessary for the eventual sewer connection to the airpark, as will San Diego County Board of Supervisors approval of a funding agreement.

“They’re responsible for all the costs associated with building that facility,” Bebee said. “They’ll have to fund all the infrastructure and capacity fees that are required to connect to our sewer system, and they’ll have to go through the LAFCO process.”

The County of San Diego will also be responsible for the LAFCO processing fees. The agreement between FPUD and County Airports will require the county to pay all permit and capacity fees along with ongoing maintenance and capital improvement costs, and the agreement will also limit discharges to one equivalent dwelling unit.

The preliminary design work for the Fallbrook Community Airpark master plan improvements was completed last year, and County Airports has begun the full-scale engineering design. “We’re going to design in the sewer connection,” Drinkwater said.

Construction of the airpark improvements is expected to take place in the next two to three years.

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