City of Morgan Hill Sewer System Master Plan 2017

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August 2017 1-1 City of Morgan Hill
Sewer System Master Plan
2017City of Morgan Hill
1.0 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides a brief background of the City of Morgan Hill’s (City) sewer system (also
known as a wastewater collection system), the need for this master plan, and the objectives of the
study. Abbreviations and definitions are also provided in this chapter.
1.1 BACKGROUND
The City of Morgan Hill (City) is located approximately 22 miles southeast of the City of San Jose,
and 8 miles northwest of the City of Gilroy (Figure 1.1). The City provides sewer collection
services to approximately 10,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional accounts.
The City owns, operates, and maintains the sanitary sewer collection system, which consists of
over 34 miles of gravity trunks and force mains, with up to 30-inch pipe sizes, which convey the
flow to the South County Regional Wastewater Authority (SCRWA) Wastewater Treatment Plant
(WWTP). The WWTP has an average daily capacity rating of 10.1 million gallons per day (MGD).
In 2002, the City developed a Sewer System Master Plan that identified capacity deficiencies in
the existing sewer system and recommended improvements to alleviate existing deficiencies and
serve future developments in the Urban Growth Boundary.
The City recognizes the importance of planning, developing, and financing the sewer system
infrastructure. The City retained the services of Placeworks to develop a comprehensive, long-
term General Plan for the orderly development of the community, while integrating the City's
social, economic, and environmental goals. On July 27, 2016, the City Council adopted the
Morgan Hill 2035 General Plan, a comprehensive update of the City's General Plan.
1.2 SCOPE OF WORK
As a part of the General Plan update, the City also initiated the update of the infrastructure master
plans. These master plans, which were closely coordinated and paralleled the preparation of the
General Plan, included:
x 2017 Water System Master Plan
x 2017 Sewer System Master Plan
x 2017 Storm Drainage System Master Plan
City Council approved the preparation of the General Plan in June of 2013, which included
authorizing Akel Engineering Group Inc. to prepare this master plan. The 2017 SSMP evaluates
the City’s sanitary sewer system and recommends capacity improvements necessary to service
the needs of existing users and for servicing the future growth of the City. This 2017 SSMP is