Lake County has taken the first steps towards absorbing the responsibilities of the essentially defunct Del Mar Woods Sanitary District, a tiny government unit consisting of a subdivision with fewer than 90 lots and deteriorating sewer pipes.
The County Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve an ordinance proposing the creation of Lake County Special Service Area 18, an initial step towards getting the county’s Department of Public Works to take over operations and maintenance, and dissolve the old sanitary district.
According to an online county report on Del Mar Woods, the SSA will generate money for infrastructure improvements and create an estimated annual additional levy of about $675 per property in the subdivision over a period of 10 years.
The sanitary district was created in the late 1970s, the report said, by residents of the Del Mar Woods subdivision to maintain recently installed sanitary sewer pipes. But it’s “performed few functions” in the last decade, and the county has struggled to find willing appointees.
It was a big day for Del Mar resident Robert Aitchison, a two-decade member of the leadership board for the Del Mar Woods Sanitary District who has been championing the dissolution effort for the last decade.
Aitchison said he was feeling “great” Tuesday morning, with the future of the neighborhood’s lines to sit much more securely in the hands of the county. While the district has some funds for maintenance, it wouldn’t be enough for more serious work, he said.
Consisting of only a handful of blocks of sewer pipes, Aitchison said it just made sense for the district’s responsibilities to be taken over by an existing government unit.
A January 2025 engineering report observed “material degradation” throughout the district’s sanitary system. The pipes are “asbestos cement,” which is no longer used for such construction and can “rapidly degrade once it begins degrading.” Asbestos is also a hazardous material.
According to the county’s assessment, it could take roughly $600,000 for the sanitary sewer rehabilitation effort and to provide maintenance funds for infrastructure.
Several board members spoke in support of the effort on Tuesday. Jennifer Clark said it showed the “importance of county government and working together as a community,” and Paras Parekh noted how long the effort has been underway.
Board member Ann Maine congratulated Aitchison after the meeting.
“These things don’t work unless there’s one person who puts in their heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears, and that’s you,” Maine said.
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