Hi Drew,
Thank you very much for getting back to me.
This is, in fact, an issue for the City of Menlo Park. A major
component of the problem is that the City of Menlo Park, unlike most
other cities in the Bay Area, doesn't maintain the sewer lines from the
property boundaries to the main line connection (that is, under the
sidewalks and roads). For us, and probably most people on Willow Road,
that is where the major problems occur. Because Willow Road is a major
thoroughfare, for me to repair just that part of the line (which is now
heavily damaged by cracks and offsets) I am told would cost about
$30,000. Almost all of that cost is for tearing up the road, traffic
control, and repairing the road. That is a huge amount for me, and it
seems unreasonable that the taxes we pay don't cover a basic utility
that is not on our property. It is particularly unreasonable because
the extreme traffic on Willow Road, due in part to City policies, is
likely responsible for much of the damage to the sewer lines.
I'd be happy to have further discussions with you about this. A Zoom
meeting is probably not necessary; you are welcome to call me at any time.
Take care and best wishes - Larry
Lawrence R. Bernstein
285 Willow Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025-2711 US
Tel.: 650-799-5616
Email: LawrenceRBernstein@gmail.com
On 12/7/2020 10:53 AM, Combs, Drew wrote:
> Hi Lawrence, I've reached out to city staff about your email. Since the sewer lines aren't maintained or owned by the city, they weren't able to confirm the information you provided. Have you reached out to WestBay about this issue. Even though this is more of sanitation district issue, I'd been happy to meet with your over Zoom to discuss this further. - Drew
>
>
> Drew Combs
> Menlo Park City Council
> 701 Laurel St.
> Menlo Park CA 94025
> Tel: 650-924-1890
> Email: dcombs@menlopark.org
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Lawrence Bernstein
> Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 9:15 PM
> To: _CCIN
> Subject: Serious sewer problems on Willow Road
>
>
>
> I moved into my house at 285 Willow Road in 1998. Since then, I’ve had
> to entirely replace my sewer line twice, and now it has to be replaced
> again. In addition, the part of the line under Willow Road is broken
> and severely displaced in several places. Such conditions are common on
> Willow Road.
>
> The main reason for the problems is that there is very little slope
> between the house and the main line: no matter how many times I replace
> the line, water will back up and the line will rapidly deteriorate.
> Today, West Bay Sanitary was out here, and said that the main line
> itself runs slowly, because it is too small and has too little slope.
> This contributes to backups into the houses.
>
> Menlo Park, unlike most other Bay Area cities (including all of San
> Jose), does not service sewer lines from the service connection to the
> main line; that is, the part under the road. In the case of Willow
> Road, the extreme traffic is certainly responsible for much of the
> deterioration of the sewer pipes running under the road.
>
> It is unconscionable that the residents of Willow Road, who already must
> endure the city funneling all possible traffic onto Willow Road instead
> of distributing it more equitably, must also be responsible for sewer
> damage caused by the heavy traffic and the poor condition of the main
> sewer line.
>
> Now is the time for the city to replace the ancient sewer lines on
> Willow Road with larger, deeper lines that can serve the present
> population density, as well to replace all the lateral lines to all the
> buildings along Willow Road. If this work is not done, I and other
> property owners will be forced to spend thousands to tens of thousands
> of dollars every few years to deal with a situation beyond our control,
> a situation of the city’s making.
>
> The hundreds of residents of Willow Road pay the same taxes as all other
> Menlo Park residents, but we have long been treated as second-class
> citizens. The city must now do something to help us with the basic
> necessity of a working sewer system. If a city cannot do at least that,
> it represents a serious failure of government.
>
> Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Lawrence R. Bernstein
> 285 Willow Road
> Menlo Park, CA 94025
> Tel.: 650-799-5616
> Email: LawrenceRBernstein@gmail.com
>
>
