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Comprehensive Plan Sanitary Sewer Sub -Element groundwater contamination risks. Therefore, expanding the system to include all existing residential subdivisions with lots smaller than 1/2 acre is not needed. Instead, the county must establish criteria to differentiate between areas where retrofitting is required and areas where retrofitting is allowed. Because the cost of retrofitting projects within the urban service area is relatively constant, the most appropriate criteria to use to identify areas to retrofit are increased health risks and increased groundwater contamination risks. When any of the following conditions exist and the IRCHD verifies that the health and groundwater contamination risks cannot be sufficiently reduced by any means other than connecting to the regional system, retrofitting must occur. • Areas with small lot sizes. Where units are not connected to a regional potable water system, this refers to lots of/2 acre or less. • Areas with intense land uses. Intense land uses means commercial/industrial uses or residential uses greater than 6 units/acre. • Environmentally Sensitive Areas. This means areas within 500 feet of aquifer recharge zones, as identified in the Aquifer Recharge Sub -Element of this plan; within 500 feet of any public water supply well; within 500 feet of the Indian River Lagoon, the St. Sebastian River, or any body of water that drains into them. • Areas identified by the IRCHD as potential threats to public health or a history of septic tank failures. • New developments on oceanfront and riverfront lots For planning purposes, a history of septic tank failures is defined as follows: For subdivisions of 10 or fewer lots, this means 20% failures in five years. For subdivisions of 11 to 75 lots, this means 10% failures in eight years. For subdivisions of more than 75 lots, this means 2% failures in ten years. Residential subdivisions that meet those criteria are identified in Table 3.A.3. Generally, the most effective and efficient way to correct the wastewater problem of those subdivisions is to connect them to the regional system. Other options could involve adding fill and/or pumping the wastewater to another septic tank. Although the costs and effectiveness of these options vary due to specific circumstances, they seldom justify not connecting to the regional system. In the future, the county should continue to offer its assessment program that provides sanitary sewer to the neighborhoods where individuals benefiting from the connection to the sanitary sewer system pay for the cost of service expansion. Community Development Department Indian River County 30