Morro Bay Water Reclamation Facility Project:  Issues, Concerns, and Solutions



Since 2003, the City of Morro Bay has been attempting to address the problem of its aging  wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).  The facility is 63 years old, deteriorating, and a significant challenge to maintain and keep running.  The plant dumps insufficiently-treated sewage into the ocean, making it an ongoing source of environmental damage.


A project to upgrade the existing plant, the “ WWTP Project” began in 2003.  The current Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) project, which began in 2013, is essentially a rework of the original project, pursuing the same objective through the building of a new plant.


So far, attempts to resolve the City’s WWTP problem have failed.  Despite City officials’ claims to the contrary, the 13-year effort has essentially gotten nowhere.   Serious errors and bad decisions have wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, and the aging plant continues to pollute the environment.  Thus far, the only ones benefiting from more than a decade of project failures are the highly-paid consultants.


Morro Bay residents have suggested a number of possible reasons for the failures, including:



Whatever the reasons for failure, the owners of this site, and many other Morro Bay residents, believe that it is time for City officials to:


The City needs to focus on results, and hold both consultants and City staff to very specific, well-thought-out standards and objectives. The City must monitor progress more closely and more frequently, and take immediate corrective action when it is determined that standards and objectives are not being met.