Sewage Bonds: Yes on M

The city of Los Angeles must modernize its sewage-collection and -treatment system. Los Angeles is under orders from state and federal agencies and the courts to do so. And there is only one practical way to finance the $3.4-billion job: through the floating of bond issues. To keep this critical project on track, Los Angeles voters should vote Yes on Proposition M on the city ballot Nov. 8.

Proposition M would provide for the issuance of $1.5 billion in revenue bonds to be repaid over a 30-year period through income to the city from sewage-collection fees, revenue from other cities like Glendale and Santa Monica that use the Los Angeles system, and other sources.

Yes, Los Angeles city sewage bills will increase to help pay for the project, from an average of $8.24 per home per month now to an estimated $17.52 per month by 1992-93. But without the bond issue the monthly bill would soar to an average of $27, a difference of about $115 a year, because construction costs would have to come out of current revenues. The average monthly bill in Los Angeles now is below the California average of about $10. Sewer fees currently run as high as $14.63 a month in San Francisco and $22.84 in Santa Rosa.

Portions of the extensive Los Angeles collection, treatment and disposal system are as much as a century old. Much of the project cost will be to rebuild the Hyperion treatment plant near Los Angeles International Airport to provide full secondary treatment of sewage. This will permit the city to end the dumping of poorly treated sewage into Santa Monica Bay and prevent any further unintended spills of untreated effluent.

The project also will allow the city to double the amount of reclaimable water that the city produces and to replace and expand some of the 6,400 miles of mainline sewers that cannot currently handle the expected demand.

Much of this work should have been done years ago but could not proceed because proposed bond issues were rejected in the past. That must not happen again. Losing this bond issue would only mean more delay, rapidly escalating sewer fees and much higher total construction cost, for the city has no choice but to proceed with the work under court edict.

There is strong, unified city support behind the bond issue, including Mayor Tom Bradley, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the business community and organized labor. For a modern city sewage system and a cleaner Santa Monica Bay, Los Angeles voters should give Proposition M a resounding victory in the Nov. 8 general election.