September 22, 2026
Public Works
DATE: September 22, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Chavarria, PE, Director of Public Works
Hillal Hamdan, PE, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT: Keller Beach Sanitary Sewer (KBSS) Feasibility Study – Presentation of Findings and Alternatives Analysis, and Direction on Recommended Interim and Long-Term
Improvements
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The recommended action to receive this presentation and provide direction on the recommended alternatives does not require an immediate appropriation or expenditure of funds.
The draft KBSS Feasibility Study (BKF Engineers, August 2026) identifies planning-level construction and environmental compliance cost estimates for each alternative, in 2026 dollars, as detailed in Attachment 1.
No funding source is identified or requested at this time; staff will return to Council with a specific funding and appropriation recommendation as part of future design and construction phase approvals.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
• January 18, 2022: City Council adopted Resolution No. 08- 22 accepting the findings of the KBSS CCTV Review and
Assessment Report (NCE-Coastland) and adopted Urgency
Ordinance No. 01-22 N.S., establishing the City’s first temporary moratorium on new sanitary sewer connections
to the KBSS Interceptor.
• March 1, 2022, through April 4, 2023: City Council
extended and renewed the moratorium through a series of urgency ordinances (Ordinance Nos. 05-22 N.S., 02-23
AGENDA
REPORT
September 22, 2026
N.S., and 03-23 N.S.), maintaining the moratorium through February 16, 2025.
• February 18, 2025: City Council adopted Urgency
Ordinance No. 06-25 N.S., re-establishing a 45-day
moratorium on new sanitary sewer connections to the
KBSS Interceptor.
• April 1, 2025: City Council adopted an Interim Ordinance extending Urgency Ordinance No. 06-25 N.S. for 22
months and 15 days (through February 16, 2027),
continuing the moratorium on new sanitary sewer
connections within the Point Richmond neighborhood
served by the KBSS Interceptor pending development of
interim and long-term solutions.
• The City executed a contract with BKF Engineers, effective August 19, 2025, to prepare the KBSS Feasibility Study.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The Keller Beach Sanitary Sewer (KBSS) Interceptor is a Cityowned gravity sewer main, constructed in 1959, that conveys wastewater from approximately 340 lots (290 connections) in the Point Richmond neighborhood along the Keller Beach
shoreline to the Keller Beach Pump Station (KBPS). The
pipeline is a concrete-encased cast iron main, approximately one mile long and 8 to 12 inches in diameter, constructed within the beach and intertidal zone. A 2021 CCTV inspection found the pipe in poor structural condition, with only 70 percent of the line successfully inspected due to sags, water levels, and access constraints; a follow-up 2026 inspection confirmed that visible conditions remain consistent with the 2021 findings.
Because the pipeline is located within the shoreline and subject to wave action, erosion, corrosion, and future sea level rise (tidal elevations at the site are projected to rise 3.6 to 6.5 feet over the next 50 to 75 years), it presents a high
consequence of failure, with the potential for substantial regulatory fines under the federal Clean Water Act, the California Porter-Cologne Act, the State Water Resources Control Board’s Sanitary Sewer Systems Waste Discharge
Requirements, and the City’s NPDES permit if a spill or overflow occurs. The City retained BKF Engineers to prepare a feasibility study evaluating interim and long-term alternatives to bring the KBSS system into compliance and reduce this risk.
September 22, 2026
RECOMMENDED
ACTION:
RECEIVE a presentation on the findings and recommendations of the draft KBSS Feasibility Study; PROVIDE direction to staff to proceed with implementation of the recommended interim and long-term improvements; and return to Council with a final report and recommended action in November/December 2026 - Public Works Department (Hillal Hamdan 510-621-
1612/Daniel Chavarria 510-620-5478).
DISCUSSION:
Background
The Point Richmond neighborhood along the Keller Beach shoreline was subdivided between 1902 and 1912. Sewer lines built between 1909 and 1916 originally discharged directly to San Francisco Bay. The Keller Beach Sanitary Sewer (KBSS) Interceptor was constructed in 1959 to intercept those flows and convey them to the Keller Beach Pump Station (KBPS) instead of discharging to the Bay. The KBSS Interceptor is approximately one mile long, 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and is a concrete-encased cast iron pipe located within the beach and intertidal zone, serving approximately 340 lots (290 connections) along Ocean Avenue, Western Drive, and the surrounding shoreline streets. Photographs taken during recent site visits show sections of exposed and undermined pipe along the shoreline, as well as slope failure and erosion near the top of the bank in the Western Drive/Crest Avenue area.
A closed circuity television (CCTV) inspection performed in 2021 found the pipe in poor structural condition, and staff brought a report on the inspection findings to City Council in January 2022. Of the interceptor’s approximately 5,392 linear feet (per as-built drawings), only 3,842 feet (70%) were successfully inspected in 2021; 379 feet (8%) were incompletely inspected and 1,171 feet (22%) were not inspected at all, due to sags, high water levels, tuberculation, and limited access (crews were required to pull cable and hose through private property to reach shoreline manholes). A follow-up inspection effort in early 2026 (temporary bypass pumps were installed on January 29, 2026, and remained in place through at least the week of February 23, 2026) found that visible pipe conditions are consistent with the 2021 findings. Because the condition of the pipe has likely only worsened since 2021, and because further inspection is costly, time consuming, and constrained by the same access and tidal limitations, staff and BKF concluded that additional comprehensive inspection is not warranted at this time.
In response to the January 2022 report and continuing concerns about the condition of the KBSS Interceptor, the City Council adopted an Interim Ordinance on April 1, 2025 extending Urgency Ordinance No. 06-25 N.S. for 22 months and 15 days (through February 10, 2027), continuing the moratorium on new sanitary sewer connections within the affected Point Richmond service area, and directed staff to (1) evaluate and communicate interim measures, and (2) evaluate removing, replacing, or relocating the pipeline. The City executed a contract with BKF Engineers, effective August 19, 2025, to prepare the KBSS Feasibility Study addressing Council’s direction. Staff and BKF, together with the outreach consultant Kearns & West, also conducted public outreach
September 22, 2026
on the project, including seven meetings (two in person) and dozens of individual calls and emails with affected residents, along with coordinated site visits.
Alternatives Evaluated
BKF developed and evaluated seven alternatives across three groups, summarized below.
Group A – Flow Diversion. A1 (Gravity Flow, interim, ~$0.8M), A2 (Pumped Flow, interim, ~$3.3M), and A3 (Pumped Flow, final, ~$18.1M) divert wastewater from a portion of the service area away from the existing KBSS pipe using new gravity or pumped connections, reducing the volume conveyed by the aging interceptor.
Diversion alternatives require no environmental permits and can be implemented the fastest, but the interim diversion options alone do not meet the City’s legal and regulatory objectives because the KBSS pipe would remain active and in poor condition; two of the three Group A alternatives also require new pumping. Group B – Beach Alternatives. B1 (Rehabilitate the existing pipe in place, ~$17.4M, using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), HDPE slip lining, or Fold-and-Form PVC slip lining) and B2 (Construct a new pipe on the existing beach alignment by open-cut, ~$20.9M) limit impacts to private property, require no private pumps or new municipal pump stations, and are likely less expensive than the roadway alternatives. Beach construction is challenging to permit, is limited to low-tide work windows, requires dewatering and temporary damming, and remains susceptible to future erosion, corrosion, and sea level rise; rehabilitation may not fully address existing pipe “bellies,” and both approaches will likely still require excavation and rebuilding of the pipe’s concrete encasement. Group C – Roadway Alternatives. C1 (Traditional open-cut relocation to the roadway with new municipal pump stations, ~$19.9M) and C2 (Trenchless relocation to the roadway with fewer pump stations, ~$18.7M) eliminate impacts from waves, erosion, and corrosion; allow inspection and maintenance with standard equipment; and may eliminate the need for the existing Keller Beach Pump Station. However, both require private pumps at nearly all oceanfront homes, with pump feasibility requiring lot-by-lot review, the highest impact to private property (side yards, driveways, back yards), permanent easement acquisitions, and are likely the most expensive and most disruptive alternatives to the community.
Next Steps
The draft KBSS Feasibility Study was released for public review on September 15, 2026, beginning a 30-day public comment period that will run through October 15, 2026 (Attachment 1). BKF, City staff, and Kearns & West will hold additional meetings and outreach during the comment period and will prepare written responses to comments received. The report will be finalized by October 30, 2026, and staff anticipate returning to the City Council with the final Feasibility Study and a recommended course of action in November/December 2026.
September 22, 2026
CONCLUSION:
City staff will return to Council with a final Feasibility Study, responses to public comments, and a recommended course of action in November or December 2026.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Draft Executive summary for Keller Beach Sanitary Sewer (KBSS) Feasibility Study, BKF Engineers
Attachment 2 – City Council Presentation: Keller Beach Sanitary Sewer Feasibility Study