[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 5/15/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

May 15, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

Estimate for second sewage spill doubles

North County Times – 5/15/07

By Craig Tenbroeck, staff writer

 

VISTA -- More than 400,000 gallons of raw sewage --- double the previous estimate -- spilled out of a ragged hole in a Vista-owned sewage line in early April, though much of it was captured in an emergency basin, according to the city's report on the incident to water quality officials.

The leak, near South Melrose Drive in Carlsbad, resulted in the region's second major sewage spill in a matter of days and the temporary closure of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The first spill came in late March and early April, when more than 7.3 million gallons of waste poured into Buena Vista Lagoon from a breached sewer main jointly owned by Vista and Carlsbad.

 

The second spill, like the first, appears to have been caused by undetectable external corrosion on the iron pipe, according to the technical report, which described the soil in the area as "severely corrosive."

 

"It's exactly the same issue," City Manager Rita Geldert said Monday. "A complete anomaly."

Installed in late 1988, the pipe was about 18 years into its projected 50-year life, city officials have said.

"If you look at both sections of the pipe on either side, it's pristine," Geldert said.

The report on the second spill, which was made public Monday afternoon, describes how the city responded to the leak, uncovered its cause and cleaned up the sewage. State employees are expected to use the report to decide whether the city should face a fine.

Vista and Carlsbad submitted a joint report on the first spill -- one of the largest in San Diego County history -- on April 23.

Eric Becker with the state Water Quality Control Board said Monday that "we consider all spills of sewage from the system to be violations," but all factors are taken into account to determine whether penalties are appropriate.

Any fines would require board approval, an action which probably wouldn't happen until August, Becker said.

Becker said that both incidents will be evaluated separately, but the occurrence of multiple spills "could affect the amount" of any potential fine.

The second spill, near the city's Raceway Pump Station at 2685 Melrose Drive was discovered around 7:30 a.m. on April 3. With help from construction crews working nearby, city officials built an emergency basin to capture the waste. By 3:55 p.m., crews had installed a temporary sewer line, the report states.

About 411,000 gallons of sewage were spilled, with all but 79,000 gallons captured in the containment area and pumped back into the system.

Initially, city officials thought none of the sewage reached nearby Agua Hedionda Creek, but that determination "would later turn out to be incorrect," the report states.

It is now estimated that about 27,000 gallons entered the creek, with sewage reaching as far downstream as Cannon Road and El Camino Real, the report states.

Officials temporarily closed Agua Hedionda Lagoon as a precaution, but the sewage never made it that far, Geldert said.

Vista has since replaced about 850 feet of iron pipe near the rupture with more durable polyethylene, at a cost of $130,000, Geldert said.

"There won't be a problem in that area again in the future," Geldert said.

The city is still trying to determine the best way to analyze the risk of leaks on its other pressurized sewer mains, Geldert said.

"(We're) looking at anything and everything that's out there," she said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/15/news/coastal/3_22_205_14_07.txt