(a) The owner of any real property upon which is located a sanitary sewage, septic, or septic tank disposal system, which system is subject to abatement as a public nuisance by the district, may request the district to replace or repair, as necessary, such system. If replacement or repair is feasible, the board of directors, in its sole discretion, may provide for the necessary replacement or repair work.

(b) The person or persons employed by the board of directors to do the work shall have a lien, subject to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 31147, for work done and materials furnished, and the work done and materials furnished shall be deemed to have been done and furnished at the request of the owner. The district, in the discretion of the board of directors, may pay all, or any part, of the cost or price of the work done and materials furnished; and, to the extent that the district pays the cost or price of the work done and materials furnished, the district shall succeed to and have all the rights, including, but not limited to, the lien, of such person or persons employed to do the work against the real property and the owner.

(c) As an alternative power to the enforcement of the lien provided in subdivision (b), the board of directors may, by ordinance adopted by two-thirds vote of the members, fix the costs of replacement or repair; fix the times at which such costs shall become due; provide prior to the replacement or repair for the payment of the costs in installments over a period, not to exceed 15 years; establish a rate of interest, not to exceed 8 percent per annum, to be charged on the unpaid balance of the costs; and provide that the amount of the costs and the interest shall constitute a lien, subject to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 31147, against the respective lots or parcels upon which the work is done.

(d) With the written consent of the owner and the lienholder, if other than the district, the board of directors may issue an improvement bond pursuant to the improvement bond provisions of the Improvement Act of 1911 (Part 5 (commencing with Section 6400) of Division 7 of the Streets and Highways Code), to represent and be secured by the lien established pursuant to subdivision (b). The bond may be delivered to the lienholder if other than the district or may be sold by the board of directors at public or private sale. The amount of the bond shall be the amount of the lien, including incidental expenses allowable under the Improvement Act of 1911. The bond term and interest rate shall be determined by the board of directors within the limits established by the Improvement Act of 1911 and other applicable provisions of law.

(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1257, Sec. 2.)