PARADISE >> The sewage pipeline project between Chico and Paradise may have hit a hefty roadblock as the overall cost for the project continues to grow.

Public Works Director Marc Mattox delivered a presentation to the Paradise Town Council on Tuesday that provided an update on the project as well as the news that the cost has begun to outgrow the revenue.

The project is being planned using the Progressive Build Design which allows the town, the construction company and the designers to work in unison to develop the plan with not only a firm project outline going into 2030, but to also create a set, expected cost. The issue arises between 2025 and 2030 when the expenditures start to outpace funding.

Mattox noted that the shortfall is connected to decreased revenue from the state level.

“When we were looking at the regional option and there was more funding available that this project would have been eligible for,” Mattox said. “There was certainly a budget surplus and now we’re operating at a state level into a budget deficit that is not expected to resolve for quite some time.”

Mattox said that the state-level issues have run downhill and affect local jurisdictions.

“We are understanding of that information as disappointing as it is for us as our hopes and desires were to secure full funding around this time but with the change in the economic climate across the federal levels as well, we are not on track to do that at this time,” Mattox said.

State budget woes are only one part of the funding issue for the sewer project.

Other issues, Mattox said in his presentation, were comprised of higher costs for engineering design and other portions of the project. In his presentation, Mattox offered a series of alternatives that were discussed by the council, but ultimately it was determined that the town would need to seek public input at a later, unspecified date before making a decision on how to move forward.

Alternatives

The project as it has currently been planned is relatively large in scope. It connects lower portions of the Skyway and Clark Road, along with numerous roads and properties in between, to a pipe that runs down the Skyway into Chico’s system.

As it stands, that plan is no longer feasible thanks to a lack of funding and increased costs.

Mattox provided some alternative looks at which the project could be that may bring it back into the budget. One potential change would be to shrink the coverage area that the sewer would connect to in Paradise.

Mattox showed a series of maps that showed individual portions of the coverage area within the town and the pros and cons of cutting them from the initial project.

For example, the area between the two main roads which contains Paradise High School and Ridgeview.

Removing planned portions of the project would reduce the overall cost but the town council opted to hold off and have a public hearing before moving toward that discussion.

Another option, which deviates even further from the original plan, would be for the town to create its own water treatment plant rather than connect to Chico’s. Mattox cited instances in 2017 and 2020 when the town reviewed possible plant locations but noted that building and operating a treatment plant, even a smaller one, would be a large undertaking both financially and operationally.

“It is something that is very complex and has a lot of regulatory requirements for us to address in that process,” Mattox said.

Additionally, the plant would need an output to release the treated water, which creates its own set of problems such as determining a stream or river, which would likely be lacking within the town limits, or the town would need to create a channel.

“You would have water going into the drainage channel that would be almost entirely treated wastewater,” Mattox said.

While the council decided to wait on making any decisions, a public meeting will likely be planned in the near future to drum up ideas and input from the public.