What cost or program changes are expected in the future?
Under a new permit expected to be issued by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LA-RWQCB) and State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) this year, Santa Clarita would be expected to increase its activities to prevent pollution from entering the Santa Clara River. This potentially includes a significant monitoring requirement. L.A. County currently pays for a single mass emissions monitoring station on the Santa Clara River and has stated it will not pay for additional monitoring. Staff estimates the increased monitoring will likely cost the City $1.5 million during the first year. If significant pollution levels are found, monitoring costs will likely increase; if not, the monitoring costs could decrease. There are hundreds of pollutants to monitor for that the City has little experience with mitigating. The expense of response largely depends on the type of pollutant, if any, found. Some pollutants, like bacteria, requires disinfection, metals requires filtration,
