{"id":139658,"date":"2026-05-15T12:32:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/altadenas-latest-reconstruction-hurdle-how-to-pay-for-sewage-upgrades\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:05:09","slug":"altadenas-latest-reconstruction-hurdle-how-to-pay-for-sewage-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/altadenas-latest-reconstruction-hurdle-how-to-pay-for-sewage-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"Altadena’s latest reconstruction hurdle: How to pay for sewage upgrades?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Michelle Hanisi is doing everything she can to speed up the difficult process of rebuilding her Altadena home. <\/p>\n

But after navigating permitting delays, insurance impasses and design flaws, there’s still one big unresolved issue complicating his progress: sewage. <\/p>\n

Hennessy owns one of the approximately 700 properties in Altadena that never had sewer lines, instead serving decades-old septic tanks or even more outdated and environmentally hazardous cesspools. <\/p>\n

LA County officials \u2013 and many residents, including Hanisi \u2013 would like to connect these parts of Altadena to the county sewage system. <\/p>\n

But the cash-strapped county government said it could not afford the estimated $70 million cost of the new lines. And although officials hope the county can eventually secure state and federal funding for the project, the lack of certainty on the issue has left hundreds of fire survivors in an impasse. <\/p>\n

“Should I build a septic or wait for the sewer line?” Hanisi, 59, said. He said this issue has been especially frustrating because the county promised expedited reconstruction permits; “If they don’t speed up the infrastructure work, it doesn’t help much,” he said. <\/p>\n

This is also a big financial concern. Many fire survivors in this situation told The Times they feel torn between planning upgrades to county-run sewers, or moving forward with rebuilding and improving their onsite wastewater systems. Either option could bring huge costs, especially if the county does not pay for the sewer line upgrades and the burden falls on residents. The worst-case scenario, many said, would be to fix your septic system to meet current requirements, and pay for sewer line installation and connection later. <\/p>\n

“How do you proceed when you don’t know how much money you have to spend on construction?” Hanisi said. <\/p>\n

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On Alpine Villa Drive, shown on May 1, 2026, homes mostly operate on a now obsolete cesspool system for sewage. The county is looking to install sewer lines here while the community rebuilds, but funding issues have left the future of the project in limbo. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

County officials say they are aware of the quagmire these residents face, yet they have no timeline or guarantee for a resolution to the issue. <\/p>\n

“Everything comes back to money,” said Anish Saraiya, Altadena Recovery Director to L.A. County Supervisor Katherine Barger. \u201cWe have over $2.5 billion worth of public infrastructure that we have to rebuild, which includes these sewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the county is hoping Congress will give the region $16 billion in federal aid it requested for recovery from the Eaton and Palisades fires, which could be used on a sewer project \u2014 but that has not yet been allocated or even promised. He said his team is also looking into possible state funding or other outside funding. <\/p>\n

But even if the cash were available tomorrow, Saraiya said engineering and construction could be lengthy, and the project could be completed after the homes that need it are otherwise ready for occupancy. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of uncertainties,\u201d Saraiya said. \u201cWe are confident we can secure the funding needed to ensure this is not a liability on homeowners, but it is a bit of a timing challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Michelle <\/picture>\n
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Michelle Hanisi, shown on May 1, 2026, is trying to rebuild her home on Gaywood Drive as quickly as possible. But she said it’s hard to move forward with the uncertainty surrounding her home’s sewage system, since she’s always worked on a standalone septic system. The county has said it would like to install such homes and connect them to sewer lines, but does not have the money to do so. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

However, time is of the essence for fire survivors. Many say they can’t afford to lose their rebuilding momentum, worried about losing contractors, increased construction costs or additional delays that could further reduce their already declining insurance payments for temporary housing.<\/p>\n

Others feel completely stymied by this latest headache, which adds other unexpected costs and hurdles to an already complex process. <\/p>\n

\u201cWill we be forced into the sewers?\u201d said Hannessy’s neighbor Patricia Anderson, who still hasn’t decided if she can or will rebuild. “And will we have to incur any huge expenditure for this? Such issues are a matter of concern.”<\/p>\n

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\"Patricia <\/picture>\n
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Patricia Anderson, 83, shown May 1, 2026, would love to remodel her Altadena lot on Gaywood Drive, but a lack of clarity about a possible sewage upgrade for her street has escalated an already burdensome process. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

According to county records, about half of the 682 lots with on-site sewage systems \u2013 most of which contain septic tanks \u2013 experienced damage or complete destruction by the fire. According to a statement from the LA County Department of Public Works, these systems, scattered throughout Altadena, “pose significant risks of groundwater contamination, surface water pollution, and potential public health hazards.” But the department noted that replacing them all at once is a massive project that requires “a level of inter-departmental integration that has historically been difficult to achieve in disaster recovery settings.”<\/p>\n

So far, the county has funded technical planning for the sewer expansion, but environmental reviews, feasibility studies and securing resident permissions \u2013 because many of the affected streets are private \u2013 have not been completed. <\/p>\n

While county officials hope to find a way to pay for comprehensive sewer upgrades, they have also presented residents the option of forming small community improvement districts, or property tax assessment groups, to finance small portions of municipal sewer lines. About a dozen neighborhood groups are considering that option, but many fire survivors worry it would only add to their already squeezed budgets; Estimates of up to $70,000 per lot are circulating in neighborhood group chats, if not more. The county’s estimate of the cost by parcel is actually higher: between $85,000 and $134,000, depending on the property’s location and topography.<\/p>\n

But the idea of \u200b\u200bfragmented sewer installation and residents paying the bill misses the context of the moment, said Morgan Whirlage, a new representative on the Altadena Town Council, which can convey concerns or recommendations to Los Angeles County leaders but has no real governing power or spending authority. He is a fire victim whose home previously ran on a sump system.<\/p>\n

“This work presents an opportunity for coordination,” Whirlage said, noting the ongoing undergrounding of power lines by Southern California Edison and other large-scale construction. “You wouldn’t want to plow a road twice.”<\/p>\n

The county Department of Public Works has said that residents who are remodeling without making major changes to the size or setup of their home can continue to use on-site septic systems if they are in good condition. But any further reconstruction requires additional testing and possible upgrades or expansion. <\/p>\n

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\"Morgan <\/picture>\n
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Morgan Whirlage surveys the early stages of reconstruction at its Altadena lot on May 1, 2026, including where its old cesspool system is still underground. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

If residents are willing to gamble on an unfunded sewer expansion project, reconstruction can be approved “with the intent of adding on later, even if sewer installation is not yet scheduled,” the Department of Public Works statement said. <\/p>\n

Barger, Altadena’s most direct government representative, said she understands this is an issue “that could slow down the recovery if we don’t get it right.”<\/p>\n

“My focus is on finding a path forward that gives residents clarity, avoids unnecessary costs, and ensures we are rebuilding Altadena in a way that is sustainable for decades to come \u2013 not just stringing together short-term fixes,” Barger said in a statement. <\/p>\n

Some worry that 16 months after the fire it may be too late.<\/p>\n

Hanisi is still waiting for his permit, which if approved, includes a plan to connect to a new county-run sewer, which he hopes is not too optimistic. <\/p>\n

“This is a huge unknown liability for people who don’t have sewer lines on their streets,” Hanisi said. \u201cWe just want to go home and not be forced to sell and leave because of all these issues that are creating obstacles to rebuilding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since she is not building as such, if she needs to rely on her old septic tank, it will require additional testing and possibly expansion or updates, which will cost her more to rebuild. She’s also worried she’ll eventually have to pay for new sewage lines. <\/p>\n

Whirlage said what once felt like the quirks of his Altadena neighborhood \u2014 helping with street maintenance, running the sump \u2014 “all these things … have turned into a nightmare.” “It’s the cumulative effect of these incremental cost increases and compounding factors. It can be a huge blow at a time when you’re already really vulnerable.”<\/p>\n

He and his family converted from cesspool to septic for their rebuild, while also building for the possibility of a future sewer line connection \u2013 a plan he felt was cost-prohibitive for many fire survivors, especially when there was still a real chance that residents would have to finance the new sewer line.<\/p>\n

Clogging your old cesspool and buying a new septic tank already costs about $10,000, he said, and installation and testing could easily triple that. His insurance policy offers some reimbursement for the code upgrade, but he said it won’t come close to the cost the family is facing. <\/p>\n

“That’s a lot of money,” Whirlage said, “especially for something you may never want to think about.” <\/p>\n

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\"A <\/picture>\n
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A worker pumps sewage from a portable toilet on the property of Morgan Whirlage, which is in the early stages of reconstruction at its Altadena lot, which still has its old cesspool system underground. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Hanisi is doing everything she can to speed up the difficult process of rebuilding her Altadena home. But after navigating permitting delays, insurance impasses and design flaws, there’s still one big unresolved issue complicating his progress: sewage. Hennessy owns one of the approximately 700 properties in Altadena that never had sewer lines, instead serving<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[31164,7124,2621,1293,12532,12195,6064],"class_list":["post-139658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-verse","tag-altadenas","tag-hurdle","tag-latest","tag-pay","tag-reconstruction","tag-sewage","tag-upgrades"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139728,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139658\/revisions\/139728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}