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Town Of Paradise Inches Forward With Long Awaited Sewer Project

John W. McDonough

The town of Paradise is the largest municipality in California without a sewer system.

 

The town has been studying options to build one for over fifty years, but the Camp Fire exacerbated this need. After studying several options, the town is now hoping to move forward with a plan to build a sewer system that connects to Chico’s facilities.

 

At a joint meeting between Butte County municipalities Wednesday, Katie Simmons, Disaster Recovery Director for the Town of Paradise, said the town’s ability to make a full recovery from the Camp Fire is constrained by its reliance on septic.

She added that the sewer project could also improve safety along evacuation routes.

 

“If we’re able to build multifamily housing back along these corridors with the sewer in place, then we can place our densest population along our evacuation routes, that’s obviously very appealing when we think about the town,” she said.

 

The town of Paradise previously studied the possibility of building a wastewater treatment within its jurisdiction.

 

Clint Snyder, assistant executive officer with the Central Valley Water Board, said a local plant would pose too many challenges for the town.

 

“It just does not pencil out,” he said. “It does not make sense to pump a bunch of funding into a local wastewater treatment plant when at the end of the day the town will outgrow that wastewater treatment plant at some point.”

 

A feasibility review completed in November of 2020 found that connecting to Chico’s facilities would be the best option.

 

At its meeting on Feb. 2, the Chico City Council unanimously voted to study the potential impacts of the project. The environmental impact review will take place over the course of 18 months and is fully funded by a grant.