Storm sinks region's sewer systems
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 3:31 p.m.
Cities and utility districts across San Diego and south Orange counties struggled on Wednesday to contain sewage spills created by immense loads of storm water.
Even though the sewage and storm water systems generally are separate, they are commonly close enough together that major rains can create problems for both systems at one. For isntance, manholes in low spots allow storm water to infiltrate into the wastewater system, said David Gibson, head of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which polices sewage spills.
One of the hardest-hit spots in the region was the Padre Dam Municipal Water District in Santee. On Wednesday afternoon it was battling a massive sinkhole that resulted in a severed a water line, in addition to a failed sewage pump station that caused a spill of roughly 1.4 million gallons.
The mishaps started at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday when Sycamore Creek near the agency's operations yard topped its banks, busted a wall and flooded the facility. Waters rose to cover the wheels of some vehicles and caused a sewage pump station to stop working, said Melissa McChesney, a spokeswoman for the district.
That created a backup in the sewage system and forced wastewater to pour out of manholes near the Carlton Oaks Golf Course.
Padre Dam crews have placed sand bags on manhole covers to keep the sewage contained and they have put in place a temporary line to handle the flows and take pressure off the main line. A permanent fix may not be ready until next week, McChesney said.
Another challenge erupted about an hour later when a Santee storm drain collapsed and created a sink hole from one side of Pebble Beach Drive to the other near Williams Court. McChesney said that caused a water district mainline to break, cutting service to about 30 homes in the cul-de-sac.
Padre Dam dispatched a drinking water truck to service the neighborhood on Wednesday and is looking at repair options. It's not clear when the work will be done, though McChesney said the agency is trying to restore water service and partial traffic flow as soon as possible.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gibson reported several other sewage problems and asked residents to limit water use in hopes of reducing pressure on the region's pipes. His list of problems includes:
El Cajon — Capacity issue resulted in a spill at Fessler Avenue near Johnson. Initial rough estimate is 250,000 gallons. Caller stated he had 7 manholes pop at once.
Laguna Beach — Downtown underwater. System overwhelmed. Multiple sewage discharges. Multiple locations. Discharge amount unknown.
La Jolla — Although no reports have been received from the City of San Diego, news coverage shows sewer manholes popping off and sewage being discharged to the Ocean.
La Mesa — Collection system was overwhelmed and underwater. Unknown amounts of discharge. City will update when things calm down.
Moulten Niguel Water District — 50,000-gallon spill in San Juan Capistrano.
Oceanside — 40,000-gallon spill next to Buena Vista Creek. Creek flow was so high the check valve in the storm drain system closed and they were able to pump it out and put it back in the system.
San Diego city — Sewage spill at 30th & Redwood, 9:24 am to 10:15 am. Unknown quantity.
San Diego county (Bonita Area) — Collection system was overwhelmed and underwater. Unknown amounts of discharge.
Trabuco Canyon Water District — Mudslide hit pumping station. May be days until they can get it running again. They have evacuated residents from the canyon so there won't be a lot of sewage generated.
Vallecitos Water District — System overloaded. Discharges of unknown quantity to San Marcos Creek/Lake San Marcos.
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