Introduction/Background

Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) provides wastewater conveyance, treatment, and disposal services for multiple jurisdictions including the County of Sacramento, and the Cities of Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova. Research has shown that there are approximately 4,150 septic systems in use in the SRCSD service area.

Although septic systems are a viable method of wastewater disposal, there are some instances where they do not function correctly creating the possibility that the public could come into contact with surfacing sewage.

State law precludes the County Sanitation District from using its rates or fees to finance construction of collector sewer. This puts the individual property owner in the difficult position of coming up with a large sum of money to finance the construction. To help homeowners with the cost of construction, the SRCSD Board of Directors approved the concept of a $1 million loan program for the Septic Tank Conversion Program in October 2003. Since this time the District staff is working on preparing a detailed plan to implement the Septic Tank Conversion Program.

Program Elements

• The program will be an SRCSD program so any homeowner located within the District may receive services.
• It will be a revolving fund so that as homeowners repay their loans, loans can be made to other individuals.
• Each participant chosen will be limited to no more than $25,000 of funds for design and construction based on the prepared estimate for their project. If the estimate or the actual costs incurred exceed $25,000, the homeowner is responsible for the difference.
• Loan money cannot be used to pay Sewer Impact Fees.

Program Goals

• To reduce the potential for disease transmission (or negative Public Health impacts) from the public coming into contact with surfacing sewage due to failing septic systems by encouraging homeowners to hook up to sanitary sewer.
• To avoid situations where properties are made uninhabitable because of a failed septic system and a lack of available funds to connect to public sewer.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the program your property must be located within the SRCSD service area. Only the legal owner of the property can apply for the program. This program is for residential and commercial properties.

The District has established selection criteria for the program as follows:

• Severity of the septic system problems as determined by Sacramento County Environmental Management Division (50%);
• Ratio of participants to sewer length necessary for construction (30%);
• Ability to repay loan (10%); and
• Collector sewer exists along the parcel frontage (10%).

Financial Items

The funding in this program is for loans, not grants. The interest rates on the loans will be set at the County Investment Pool Rate and will be adjusted annually. Each homeowner is limited to no more than $25,000 of fund for design and construction. If the costs for design and construction exceed this amount, the homeowner will be responsible for the amount that is over. There is a repayment period of 5 years on the loan. The typical loan payment is about $200 to $400 monthly. Repayment of the loan will be made though the County's billing entity (CUBS).

Application

For an application, call (916) 876-6397 or click on the link below:

Loan Program Application (105K pdf*)