BACKGROUND: The Sewerage Commission – Oroville Region (SC-OR) operates and maintains the Oroville area wastewater treatment plant under the authority of a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Oroville, Lake Oroville Area Public Utility District and the Thermalito Water and Sewer District. LOAPUD bills wastewater customers for the sewer collection and treatment services provided by LOAPUD and SC-OR through quarterly sewer service billings. 

SC-OR has been experiencing increasing wastewater treatment costs due to regulatory changes that have created new requirements that are more restrictive for wastewater discharges to freshwater.  Currently the SC-OR wastewater treatment plant is not capable of meeting the more stringent effluent limits, requiring improvements to the plant.  Compliance with the new standards is mandatory, with significant penalties for noncompliance.

LOAPUD strives to provide a high quality of service to its customers.  In order to do so it is essential to continue to perform maintenance and replacement of existing, aging facilities in addition to installation of new facilities.  It must do this while balancing stagnant growth with increasing fuel, construction, material, administrative, and overhead expenses.  While LOAPUD has been proactive in controlling costs, an increase in revenue is required to keep pace with rising expenditures.