Project Information
Looking for detailed information about the Sewer Project’s past and present? You have come to the right place. Check out FAQs, current technical documents, and archived documents as far back as the 1980s!
Technical Documents
Current Docs
2024 Collection System and Export Pipeline Basis of Design Report
2023 Town Council Approval/LAFCO Resolution
2023 Inter-Municipal Agreement, City of Chico Wastewater Treatment Services
Archived Docs
2022 Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program
2022 Carollo City of Chico Regionalization Planning Report
2022 HDR Technical Memo 7 Public Involvement Plan
2022 HDR Technical Memo 8 Export Pipeline Analysis
2022 HDR Technical Memo 9 EIR Construction Analysis
2022 HDR Technical Memo 10 Analysis of Extended Collection System
2022 HDR Technical Memo 11 Environmental Permitting Strategy
2020 HDR Phase 1 Executive Summary
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 1 Project Definition
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 2 Design Criteria
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 3 Collection System
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 4 Local Wastewater Treatment and Disposal
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 5 Regional Alternative
- 2020 HDR Technical Memo 6 Comparison of Alternatives
2020 Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board Alternatives Analysis
2012 TOP Wastewater Treatment Historical Background and Comparative Analysis
2004 TOP Downtown Revitalization Area Clustered Wastewater Treatment System(s) Master Plan
2000 TOP Downtown Revitalization Master Plan
1992 TOP Wastewater Collection, Treatment and Disposal Preliminary Design Report – Volume 1
1992 TOP Wastewater Collection, Treatment and Disposal Preliminary Design Report – Volume 2
1989 TOP Sewer Project Feasibility Study
1985 TOP Wastewater Management Plan Phase II Report
1984 TOP Wastewater Management Study Supplementary Phase I Report
Environmental Review Process
Appendix A: NOP Scoping Report
Appendix B: Town of Paradise 1994 General Plan Resolution and Amendments
Appendix C: Regulatory Framework
Appendix D: Emissions Modeling
Appendix E: Vegetation Community Descriptions and Special-Status Species Accounts
Appendix F: Swainson’s Hawk Survey and Elderberry Shrub Mapping Report
Appendix G: Tribal Consultation
Appendix H: Pump Station Energy Consumption Calculation
Appendix A: NOP Scoping Report
Appendix B: Town of Paradise 1994 General Plan Resolution and Amendments
Appendix C: Regulatory Framework
Appendix D: Emissions Modeling
Appendix E: Vegetation Community Descriptions and Special-Status Species Accounts
Appendix F: Swainson’s Hawk Survey and Elderberry Shrub Mapping Report
Appendix G: Tribal Consultation
FAQs
Project Overview
In 2023, a rate analysis was performed that concluded that the Paradise Sewer Project needed to be entirely grant funded in order to be financially feasible for the rate payers. After completing the Basis of Design Report in 2024, the cost estimate for the Regionalization Project with input from the design engineer and contractor exceeded the amount of publicly available grant funds for projects of this nature. As a result of these reports and discussions with the State Water Board, it has been determined that it is not financially feasible to proceed with the project with the regionalization option. The Sewer project team is actively looking at alternatives for a local wastewater treatment solution that decrease the total project cost and align with State Water Board objectives.
Town staff are currently evaluating options for a treatment facility location, in partnership with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Location selection will be dependent on several factors including treated effluent disposal, residuals management, land availability, and environmental impacts.
Professional studies from industry experts in every decade since 1980 have been completed and all essentially come to the same conclusion: the Town is running out of time. It is inevitable that the continual degradation of groundwater quality, and exceedance of soil capacities to absorb and treat high volumes of wastewater will require action on behalf of the Town and its constituents. Please see below for a quick recap of the various studies that have been conducted to date.
The Paradise Sewer Project Ad Hoc Committee was formed in January 2025 with the goal to increase project momentum while keeping the public apprised of project progress. The Ad Hoc Committee will meet monthly with the project team to assess opportunities and potential action. Mayor Steve Crowder and Councilmember Heidi Lange were appointed to the Sewer Project Ad Hoc Committee in January 2025. Additionally, Sewer Project updates will be given monthly at Town Council meetings.
Since 2015, the Town has held 65+ public discussions on the project in order to share information and allow for public comment. To learn more about these past meetings, click here.
The Town is holding a community meeting about the project on March 5, 2025 at 6pm. You can sign up for project updates and future public meeting notices at the bottom of this page.
The Town of Paradise is soliciting technology ideas in determining the best wastewater treatment alternative for the Paradise Sewer Project. For more information or to submit an idea, click here. All information must be received by Friday, March 21, 2025.
GROWTH INDUCEMENT & OTHER CONNECTIONS
The project is being sized to serve the urban core of Paradise, termed the Sewer Service Area (SSA). Generally speaking, the SSA may includes parcels along Skyway, Pearson Road and Clark Road. The Environmental Impact Report approved and certified by Town Council addressed only serving the SSA. Scalability is a major priority to meet the needs of the Town now and into the future, so there may be possibilities to phase implementation of the original SSA including potentially expanding the SSA as funding becomes available.
The proposed sewer system will function better with more initial flow. Therefore, the Paradise Town Council has directed staff to find a way to quickly connect as many parcels within the SSA as possible, at the lowest possible cost. However, no rules or requirements for connecting have yet been established. One option would be to develop a program that incentivizes or subsidizes early connections. The Town will continue to develop this approach as the project advances.
The Town lost 83 percent of its residents during the Camp Fire. As the Town builds back and re-establishes its pre-fire population level, the project will support the recovery of housing and economic activity within the Sewer Service Area.
COST & SCHEDULE
The current phase of the project will roughly cost $30 million, which includes design and right-of-way procurement along with some contingency for inflation. The Town is attempting to obtain sufficient grant funding to cover the cost of constructing the Paradise Sewer Project in order to minimize financial impacts on existing property owners within the Sewer Service Area. More information on construction costs and connection fees will be available as the project progresses.
The Town is pursuing a number of potential funding sources to fund design, right-of-way efforts, and construction. Potential funding sources include:
- A state appropriation (working in conjunction with the City and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development funds
- California Department of Housing and Community Development, Community Development Block Grants – Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR)
- U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
- U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Construction for the project is currently estimated to begin in mid 2027 and go through late 2031.
Progressive Design Build Team
PDB is an alternative delivery process for design projects that differs from the traditional Design-Bid-Build process. In Design-Bid-Build projects, the designer is hired to bring the design to 100%, the project is then sent to contractors for bids/pricing, and then the lowest-priced contractor is hired to build it. In PDB projects, the designer and contractor are hired at the same time (usually under the same contract). This allows the designer and contractor to collaborate on the constructability of the design, leading to a better and cheaper project. It also allows the contractor to start building portions of the design earlier.
The Town hired Mountain Cascade Inc (MCI) and Carollo Engineers in March 2024.
The Town performed a rigorous interview and scoring process to determine the best PDB Team for the project. Seven teams proposed and were interviewed by a panel of 5 Town representatives. The panelists then ranked each team based on 5 evaluation criteria, including project understanding, relevant experience, and price. MCI/Carollo ranked the highest among the Town representatives and was awarded the job in early 2024.