A push to craft a wastewater solution for Los Olivos continues to creep forward, but the young community services district’s lack of revenue has made the process sluggish. 

Leaders of the Los Olivos Community Services District provided an update to the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation Commission during Thursday’s meeting in Santa Maria.

In 2018, Los Olivos voters seeking to maintain local control overwhelmingly approved the CSD’s formation to solve a nitrate problem contaminating groundwater and concerning regulators. The solution? Eliminate septic tanks and handle wastewater differently.

Since then, the agency has hired consultants to conduct studies, contemplated types of wastewater treatment options, toyed with whether Solvang could help out, and weighed whether the solution should happen in phases. 

“Really, our ability to move with any speed is funding,” said Julie Kennedy, president of the Los Olivos CSD board of directors.

The agency currently operates on a $243,000 budget, with revenue coming from property taxes. 

LAFCO Chair Jay Freeman said the agency needs funding for studies that would eventually allow them to get more property tax revenue.

“It just feels like this weird Catch-22 process,” Freeman said. 

To assist the CSD, contributions have come from a Santa Ynez Valley nonprofit group and environmental health services agency, but the CSD hopes to land more than $400,000 in federal grant funds to complete the studies.

“If that comes through that would allow us to do several things in parallel,” Kennedy said, adding several steps have had to occur sequentially due to limited funding. 

While some communities in Santa Barbara County have been labeled disadvantaged, making them eligible for government help in some instances, Los Olivos has not. That’s put some financial aid out of reach despite regulators calling for the community to fix the problem linked to septic tanks.

As the CSD explores options, the focus has centered on methods for collection, treatment and disposal. 

They’ve also drilled wells for testing that strongly suggested the contamination’s source “most probably” being household use, not ag operations, Kennedy said. The presence of nitrates was more prevalent around downtown, while a well near an area with larger lots showed nitrates remained less prevalent. 

The costs of wastewater treatment solutions to replace septic tanks remains a top concern among community members, with others including treatment plant location, odor, and viewshed impacts.

One treatment option under study involves assessing if the city of Solvang wastewater treatment plant could handle the CSD sewage. An answer is expected in November.

“If that answer’s yes, then the good news is we’ll take on the next step which is to look at what would it cost, what’s the construction, what would we have to do to make that happen,” Kennedy said. 

At the same time, they’re assessing what a local treatment option would look like, whether they pick the gravity-fed or effluent collection systems. 

“The goal would be to have a good, solid apples-to-apples comparison for our community in terms of costs, pros and cons,” Kennedy said.

They also must assess whether to use a phased approach, which if selected likely would see the focus on the downtown core and smaller lots nearby initially.

Once the options have been researched, voters in Los Olivos would have their say in what’s called a Proposition 218 process. That vote on a bond measure to pay for the final system likely won’t occur until 2026.

Whatever solution gets picked, residents have made it clear the fix shouldn’t promote growth, Kennedy said. 

“There’s been a lot of emphasis on making sure whatever we do maintains that rural, local feel that we have. Again, (it’s) a big priority for the local community,” she added.

The CSD will hold a workshop at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Church, 2901 Grand Ave. in Los Olivos, to share about the two collection system options and possible costs while answering questions and gathering comments.