$5 Mill Sewer Plan for Wine Country Rejected

The approved a plan on Tuesday to partially finance construction of an expansive sewer system in the Temecula Valley Wine Country using hotel and motel taxes but declined to pledge county reserve funds for the project.

Supervisor Jeff Stone, whose district encompasses the area, proposed appropriating $5 million from the county's $80 million Waste Management Enterprise Fund to cover the set-up costs associated with laying a several-mile-long sewer trunk line along Nicholas and Rancho California roads.

Stone said a modern inter-connected sewage system is needed to move away from the hodgepodge of septic tanks used by businesses sprinkled throughout the 22,000-acre Wine Country.

Treated wastewater from the tanks is seeping into the Temecula aquifer, contributing to rising levels of salinity, Stone said.

The roughly 30 vineyards operating in the area rely on the aquifer. To sustain further development in the area, the groundwater issues have to be addressed, Stone said. Five vintners have promised $4 million for the new sewage system.

The initial build-out costs are estimated to be $16 million. Stone's proposal to allocate $215,000 in transit occupancy tax revenue collected from Wine Country lodges was approved in a 4-0 vote, with Chairman John Tavaglione absent.

However, Supervisors Marion Ashley, John Benoit and Bob Buster each expressed reservations about drawing down the Waste Management Enterprise fund -- part of the county's reserve pool -- to pay for the project.

"That's tantamount to borrowing from the general fund,'' Ashley said. "We all know the county budget will be in the doldrums for some time to come. This action opens the door to other requests," Buster said. "I want to jealously guard our county reserves in tough times. I don't see this as primary to the county's mission right now.''

Stone argued the county would reap sizable dividends by committing the seven-figure sum, helping create construction jobs initially and "thousands'' of leisure and hospitality jobs later.

"Even if we start today, it'll take two years to get the sewer completed,'' Stone said. "This is stimulus for Temecula, Murrieta, Fallbrook. People come to the Wine Country from all over the United States. It's a wonderful investment.''

Benoit agreed the project had "huge future potential,'' but said a major sewer installation between Mecca and Thermal was on hold because of a funding shortfall, so a study should be commissioned to determine what infrastructure projects deserve priority attention.

Ashley suggested the Eastern Municipal Water District, which drew up plans for the new sewage system, as well as other parties with a stake in it should consider sharing the financial burden.

Stone's chief of staff, Verne Lauritzen, said that the Wine Country master plan envisions 110-120 wineries eventually operating in the region. "We hope that at some point in time several other parties will join us in bringing this (sewer project) to fruition,'' Lauritzen said.