Montecito Sanitary Latest

At their board meeting last week, the governing Board of Directors of the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) took action to clarify confusion in the community regarding the Sanitary District’s role in a recycled water project to serve the Montecito area. 

MSD Board members Judith Ishkanian, Tom Kern, Jeff Kerns, Warner Owens, and Bob Williams, unanimously voted to pass Resolution 2018-912, making it clear that MSD has been and continues to be ready and willing to recycle wastewater discharged to the public sanitary sewer system from inside homes and businesses in Montecito. “The Board of Directors wanted to set the record straight,” said general manager Diane Gabriel, who said there has been much erroneous information distributed about the District’s perceived lack of support for a water recycling program. “It’s simply not the case,” she told us, adding that Montecito Water District (MWD) is the only special district that can purvey water. “We need permission or collaboration with MWD in order to get a recycled water program in motion.”

The MWD Board of Directors will soon decide on the type of water recycling project that is best suited for their service area, and once that decision is made by the MWD Board, both Districts are prepared to work together to make it happen, Gabriel said. In the meantime, MSD is working on a pilot facility for recycled water to be used for District landscaping. “We’ll be able to demonstrate to the community how using recycled water will work on our own garden and help Montecito Water District determine the best course of action,” Gabriel said. 

The resolution, which is available to view online, clarifies that the Sanitary District, since 2004, has designated a site for recycled water treatment processes in anticipation of MWD’s request for recycled water, and for wastewater to be recycled and used in the MWD service area, the Water District would need to fund the production and distribution of recycled water, with the exception of recycled water that would be solely used and funded by the Montecito Sanitary District on its own property. The resolution goes on to reiterate the Sanitary District’s support for recycled water. 

MWD Board members Tobe Plough and Floyd Wicks, along with MWD general manager Nick Turner, were present at the MSD Board meeting and expressed their support and appreciation for MSD taking action to pass this resolution.

For additional information, visit www.montsan.org.