MENIFEE: Quail Valley residents get sewer update

Residents in the rural, disadvantaged Menifee community of Quail Valley were given some words of encouragement recently from officials hoping to replace their failing septic tanks with a full-blown sewer system.

"I'm more optimistic than some people but I'm hoping that within five years, we'll see construction on a new sewer system here," said Ron Sullivan, a board member with the Eastern Municipal Water District. "But we have to be patient when we're working with state and federal funding sources."

Sullivan was among the handful of speakers to address a crowd of about 45 Quail Valley residents earlier this month at Quail Valley Elementary School. In separate English- and Spanish-speaking sessions, residents listened intently as officials updated them on the progress of installing sewer connections to about 1,460 Quail Valley homes.

"Rumors go around that nothing is happening and that's not the case," Sullivan said. "There is more going on than what people realize."

Quail Valley has long had a problem with failing septic tanks and drainage systems, especially during heavy rains. Most of the homes were built decades ago for part-time residents, but now are occupied by families that live there year-round.

During rainy seasons, homeowners have found their underground drain fields swollen by rain, which has pushed up household wastes into their yards. The bacteria-laden water drains downhill toward Canyon Lake which, while it has a water treatment plant, is still is a drinking-water source for thousands of area residents.

The problem is so bad that a building moratorium is in place until sewers can be installed.

Several agencies have tried to get funding for a sewer system, but so far they've secured only enough to design a portion of the overall plan.

Estimates in 2005 indicated it would take about $45 million to $65 million to complete the overall project, according to Armando Arroyo, a civil engineer with the Eastern Municipal Water District.

But officials say the door may be open a little wider now that a similar $16 million project is nearly completed in the Enchanted Heights area of Perris.

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MENIFEE: Quail Valley residents get sewer update