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50 <br />Richmond Hills Sewer Service Extension <br />Habitat for Humanity is proposing to create Richmond Hills as a 43 unit subdivision on a tract of <br />land on the east side of Richmond Road in Efland. The property is within the Efland transition <br />area and is also within the designated service area of Phase l (the existing phase) of the <br />Efland sewer system. Existing gravity sewer lines in Richmond Road abut the western or <br />southwestern portion of the property. Under existing County rules of operation for the Efland <br />sewer system and County planning, zoning and land use policies, there is no reason why <br />Richmond Hills should not be provided with sewer utility service from the Efland sewer system. <br />Developing the proposed subdivision, particularly with 43 units, is not feasible without the <br />extension of wastewater collection lines throughout the portion of the property where houses are <br />to be constructed. The topography of the Richmond Hills tract is such that any sewer collection <br />system that would serve all of the proposed 43 units of the subdivision must rely on wastewater <br />pumping to ultimately convey the subdivision's wastewater to the neazby gravity portions of the <br />Efland sewer system. <br />At the heart of the discussion about the Richmond Hills project is the lack of agreement between <br />Habitat officials and consultants and County administration/staff as to the type of technology <br />that should be utilized to provide wastewater collection for the subdivision. Habitat officials and <br />consultants have proposed a conventional gravity wastewater collection network (consisting of <br />$" diameter lines and manholes) draining to a single on-site pump station which would then <br />convey wastewater to a nearby portion of the existing gravity collector network. County <br />administration and staff have proposed that the development be served by a community STEP <br />system which consists of: 1) a 1000 gallon septic tank and a 1000 gallon pump tank with a single <br />effluent pump located at each home site; and 2) a network of small diameter (4" or less) Force <br />main collectors that would convey wastewater to a nearby portion of the existing gravity <br />collector network. <br />The extant rules of operation for the Efland sewer system aze very vague. They provide no <br />guidance in determining the types of wastewater technology that aze most appropriate for any <br />particular situation. Furthermore, as there have been no major expansions of the Efland sewer <br />system or extensions of sewer service to date, there are no service expansion or extension <br />precedents that can provide guidance. Finally, there exists no BQCC-approved master plan for <br />the development/expansion (or expansion technology) for the Efland sewer system. <br />Consequently, there is no conclusively correct or self-evident choice available to the BOCC as it <br />deliberates whet6~er a STEP collector system or a gravity collection/central pumping station <br />system should Ixs used to extend sewer service to the Richmond Hills subdivision. As might be <br />reasonably expected, however, there are advantages and disadvantages inherent to each type of <br />collection system. These advantages and disadvantages are outlined below. However, the nature <br />of these advantages and disadvantages is such that they are not entirely unambiguous, nor do <br />they all fall strictly within the domain of typical utility concerns. <br />