Soledad council adopts Miramonte water and sewer master plan amendments, cites $20M+ infrastructure needs

The City of Soledad on April 1 adopted amendments to its water and sewer system master plans to accommodate the Miramonte (Miramarie/Miramonti) specific‑plan development.

Public works director Don Wilcox and consultant Tony Acal presented hydraulic modeling, recommended new pressure zones, booster pump stations, two new 1,000,000‑gallon storage tanks, new transmission mains and roughly 1,700 gallons‑per‑minute of additional supply capacity. Acal said the water‑side improvements total about $20,000,000, including transmission mains ($7 million), storage tanks and booster upgrades; the sewer collection work adds roughly $13,900,000 in upgrades, with about $1.8 million credited to existing users and the remainder attributed to the Miramonte development.

Council members pressed staff on how the work would be funded; staff and consultants said the city will rely primarily on developer‑installed infrastructure, development impact fees and phased triggers so that improvements align with build‑out. Wilcox noted the city’s treatment plant currently can treat roughly 5.7 million gallons per day but has about 4.3 million gallons per day of disposal capacity, identifying disposal capacity as a long‑term issue to be addressed through a wastewater management plan and potential purchase of an adjacent treatment site and infiltration basins.

The council adopted Resolution 6,064 to accept the master plan amendments after asking for clarifying language on triggers, funding sources, and the phasing schedule. City staff said they will return to council with more detail on financing options, the development agreement and the project’s impact on rates and impact fees.