Public warns county that Crescent City wastewater plan may understate capacity costs

Naomi Pena told the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors that a crucial element is missing from the basis of design for the Crescent City wastewater treatment plant: the cost of increasing capacity to serve projected population growth.

"There’s a critical piece of information missing before a decision is made to invest $50 or $80 million in the existing plant," Pena said during public comment. She said the Jacobs Engineering basis of design assumes Crescent City’s population will not grow over the 20‑year planning period and therefore excludes capacity‑increase costs.

Pena urged the board to request a revision to the basis of design that includes population projections for Crescent City and the entire sewer district, visitor‑season loads, and the cost of a suitable capacity increase. Without that, she said, the total cost of planning and construction could be much higher than presented and might make building a new plant outside the tsunami zone a better option.

Board members did not take formal action on the wastewater planning document at the meeting; Pena framed her comments as a request for the public and board to know the full fiscal implications before major investments are approved.

Why it matters: Wastewater infrastructure is capital‑intensive and long‑lived; planning assumptions about population and capacity directly affect whether to repair, expand or replace a treatment plant and where to site it. Omitting realistic growth and capacity costs can lead to underbudgeting and later cost overruns.

What’s next: Pena asked that a revised basis of design be requested from Jacobs Engineering to include realistic population projections and capacity‑increase costs so the public and decision‑makers can evaluate total project costs.